Hannah Waddingham shares theory about why British people don’t watch Ted Lasso

Hannah Waddingham has proffered her own theory about why UK viewers aren’t so keen on Ted Lasso.

The actor stars opposite Jason Sudeikis in Apple TV+’s series about an American college football coach who takes over as the manager of AFC Richmond, a struggling Premier League team in the UK.

Waddingham appeared on This Morning on Friday (31 March), with host Dermot O’Leary saying that the show is “about football, but it’s not really about football”.

“I’m so glad you said that, because I wonder sometimes if British audiences don’t watch it because they think it’s about football,” Waddingham theorised.

“But it’s actually about very much the human condition that we find through comedy, all the ridiculous things about ourselves, with the backdrop of football. A brilliant backdrop of football, but it’s about all of us supporting each other.

Waddingham is hosting the Olivier Awards this weekend, and will also be at the helm of the Eurovision final in May.

Earlier this month, the cast of Ted Lasso visited the White House, where they were asked a question by The Independent’s (fictional) reporter Trent Crimm.

Ted Lasso is currently airing its third and – it was originally believed to be – final season.

However, there have been suggestions that the show could continue in another form, with Sudeikis telling Deadline that the show was originally pitched as a three-season arc and “this is the end of this story that we wanted to tell, that we were hoping to tell”.

“The fact that folks will want more and are curious beyond more than what they don’t even know yet – that being Season 3 – it’s flattering,” he said.

“I think that we’ve set the table for all sorts of folks… to get to watch the further telling of these stories.”

You can read The Independent’s review of season three here.

Ted Lasso airs on Apple TV+, with new episodes arriving on Wednesdays.