‘Ted Lasso’ Finds the Christmas Spirit With Heartwarming Animated Claymation Short for Apple TV+

Apple TV+ just surprised Ted Lasso fans with a new special. The streaming service released an animated short featuring the voice talents of the Ted Lasso cast. In the stop motion short, the gang helps Ted search for a lost item that ultimately leads him to realize the meaning of the holiday season. The special features the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Phil Dunster and Nick Mohammed.

The special comes on the heels of the show winning multiple Emmy Awards and being named an AFI Television Program of the Year. Two seasons of Ted Lasso are available on Apple TV+, and the third season is set to be in production in February. Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca in Ted Lasso, appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden and revealed that filming will begin on Valentine’s Day. 

“They write the framework of the show, and me with lots of… emotional monologues, I will suddenly get completely different words just before the camera’s about to go on me,” Waddingham said, per Indie Wire. “And I think they like doing it because you get the immediate knee-jerk reaction to something, but my mid-40s brain can’t cope with it at all. I’m one stage away from having idiot boards, because it’s hardcore, man! They’re just used to that ‘SNL’ kind of world.”  

While fans wait for Season 3, many are wondering if the third season will be the last? It has been said the Ted Lasso story is only three seasons long, but Apple TV+ could ask for another season (or two) if the show continues to be a critical and commercial success. 

“I feel like a real coach when I have to tell folks you can’t look at Season 4 when we’re in the middle of Season 3,” Sudekis told Entertainment Tonight in October. “We can’t worry about the championships when we’re in the first round of playoffs, you know?” Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a college football coach hired to manage a British soccer team – despite having no experience. But the team — AFC Richmond —rallies behind him because he makes his players believe in themselves. Sudekis is also an executive producer on the series along with Bill Lawrence.