We believe in Ted Lasso Season 3, but only because Apple has already confirmed it (months ago). In other words, now is the time to dive into what to expect (and when to expect it) from the third season of Mr. Lasso's non-American football experience.

Of course, I'm going to have to warn you that spoilers for "Ted Russo" Season 2 will follow below, but you've already seen the finale, right? You've already had a taste of the emotional roller coaster of that game. So let's jump right into the story of Season 3.

The folks at Apple haven't made it official yet, but that hasn't stopped the leaks. We don't know who The Hollywood Reporter's sources are (not that they'll tell us, and we don't know them on a Rathbos/Crim level), but the magazine reports that Apple intends to air "Ted Rathbos" season 3 by summer 2022.

The wait between Season 2 and Season 3 is relatively short - less than a year. - This appears to be due to proper planning. As noted above, Apple decided on Season 3 of Ted Lasso in October 2020, before Season 2 debuted.

This head start would have allowed Team Lasso's brain trust to begin planning and writing the new season early. But judging by the structure of AFC Richmond's Season 1 relegation and Season 2 promotion, it is safe to say that showrunner Bill Lawrence and his team have a plan.

The Apple press release announcing Ted Russo Season 3 mentions only the primary cast. Namely, the core cast of Ted Lasso: Jason Sudeikis as Coach Ted Lasso, Brendan Hunt as his right-hand man Coach Beard, Brett Goldstein as the gruff Roy Kent, Rebecca Welton as the Boss Lady herself We know to expect Hannah Waddingham, Juneau Temple as Keely Jones, and Jeremy Swift as Higgins. And Nick Mohamed as Nathan "Nate" Shelley.

However, most of the others are expected to return as well, led by new West Ham United owner Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head).

But the big news in the Season 2 finale is that there will be no shortage of Sam Obisanya, who remains with the team. Tohib Jimoh has been very successful this season, and more is expected in Season 3.

Other cast members likely to return include:

Ellie Taylor as Rebecca's friend Sassy, Elodie Bromfield as Roy's niece Phoebe, and Phoebe Walsh as Coach Beard's on-and-off girlfriend Jane. expected, but none of these appear to have been committed.

More James Lance as the independent Trent Crim is also needed.

I would be shocked if Kieran O'Brien does not return as James Tart, Jamie's abusive father. Speaking of possible recurring roles, Sam Richardson is sure to return as Edwin Akuffo, the man who wanted to hire Sam out of Richmond.

THR also noted that production on "Ted Lasso" Season 3 is expected to begin in January 2022. That would mean about 5-7 months of filming and post-production, as per Apple's desire for a summer 2022 release. Would that be too short a turnaround time?

We don't know that.

So, as Nelson Lowe's team of announcers mentioned, AFC Richmond is (currently) a Premier League team without a championship trophy. It's time to change that, and that seems to be the whole point of Season 3. It is also expected that season 3 will be the end of the Ted Russo story, as showrunner Bill Lawrence revealed that this was the plan all along. A spin-off is a possibility, though (Roy Kent and Rebecca Welton seem like prime candidates to make the show, if you ask us).

But let's back up a bit to how the "Ted Russo" season 2 finale ended. First, Trent Crim's revelation to the Independent publicly revealed Ted's struggle with insecurity. Coach Beard is back with Jane (we think). Higgins gets his office back and Rebecca gets emotional about Sam staying. Sam and Rebecca (hello Cheers fans) are still on break and we wonder if they will reunite.

The big story right now is that Roy and Keely's relationship is still tenuous. And with Keeley leaving Richmond to run an entirely new company, it will be interesting to see how their relationship will change.

Ted Lasso's overall larger storyline is that Rebecca's ex-boyfriend and former owner of AFC Richmond, Rupert Mannion, now owns West Ham United and has hired Nathan "Nate" Shelley as some sort of coach, and their relationship, visually reminiscent of Emperor Palpatine (Rupert) and Darth Vader (Nate). Nate's story in Season 2 is one of ego and anger that led him to betray Ted.

It will be interesting to see if Ted Russo tries to redeem Nate. Season 1 ended with Jamie Tart leaving the team, but she eventually returned to the team in Season 2 and is now likable. Except when he told Keeley he still liked her.