Brett Goldstein reveals ‘Ted Lasso’ was inspired by ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Posted On November 28, 2024November 28, 2024

British actor Brett Goldstein has revealed that Ted Lasso, in which he plays Roy Kent and serves as a co-writer and executive producer, is significantly inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

This is a theory that fans have been discussing online for several years, with some of the show’s allusions to the classic tale more obvious than others. Fans have previously pointed out everything from the pinball machine featuring an image of The Wizard of Oz on it, to a t-shirt Goldstein’s character wears that features a red and yellow tie-dye spiral like the pattern on the floor in a scene from the 1939 movie. 

Goldstein has finally addressed these theories in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that the characters are all inspired by those from The Wizard of Oz. “I’m the Tin Man, Ted is Dorothy, Rebecca’s the Lion, and the Scarecrow is Jamie. I’m sure this is going to cause a lot of trouble,” he shared.

The actor also added, “The pinball machine is the one that’s always ‘Ted has to go home. There’s no place like home.’ And then, there’s no place like Richmond F.C. Yes, that’s all Wizard of Oz.”

Ted Lasso began airing in 2020, with Jason Sudeikis playing an American football coach (from Kansas, to be precise) whose only experience has been working with a college team. Unbeknownst to him, he is hired to manage AFC Richmond in England so that the team will fail.

The sports comedy has been incredibly popular since it arrived on Apple TV+, and since its third season aired in 2023, fans have been wondering if a new season is on the way or not.

Will there be a fourth season of Ted Lasso?

In August, it was revealed that a fourth season is potentially happening, with several cast members reportedly agreeing to the project, including Goldstein, Hannah Waddingham, and Jeremy Swift. However, it hasn’t been officially greenlit yet, so fans are waiting for official confirmation.

It seems like season four will be arriving in the near future, though, with Phil Dunster revealing on the Always Be Comedy podcast, “It’s been announced that series four is going to be a thing. There’s been a commission to write the fourth series, whether that ends up being a show, I don’t know. I don’t know any of that stuff. I don’t know if I’ll be in it.”

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