This is how Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso is connected to Solihull footballer Jack Grealish

Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso is on its third season and the season finale is not too far off. And, it is not known if it would return for season four.

Season three saw the return of the main characters: Jason Sudeikis who plays Ted Lasso, Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard, Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent, Phil Dunster as Jamie Tartt, Nick Mohammed as Nathan Shelley, Juno Temple as Keeley Jones, Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton and the rest of the AFC Richmond team.

Star and co-creator Brendan Hunt told Digital Spy that the creators “definitely saw it as a three-part story and this will be the end of that story.”

The show began with Waddingham’s character Rebecca hiring Ted Lasso, an American football coach, for the fictional AFC Richmond so she could ruin the team to get back at her former husband. However, as the show progressed, Rebecca warmed up to Lasso, a peppy coach with a positive outlook on life.

The show also delves into serious issues like mental health, racism and emotional abuse in romantic relationships.

Is Jamie Tartt based on Jack Grealish?

Firstly, as a Ted Lasso fan, it is not possible to ignore how much Tartt looks like Jack Grealish, the former Aston Villa captain and player.

Grealish, who grew up in Solihull, now plays for Manchester City - something Tartt does as well, even though his stint is brief.

Phil Dunster who plays Jamie Tartt, a striker for the fictional AFC Richmond, has opened up about the inspiration for the character.

Dunster said Tartt is inspired by Grealish and three other famous footballers. Dunster told Soccer AM a few years ago Tartt is a combination of Grealish, Mason Mount, Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Yeah, I watch football pretty much every day, so I have taken a whole bunch of characters, Jimmy Bullard and obviously Jack Grealish, and there’s a lot of young players like Mason Mount,” Dunster said.

“He is a flair player, Jamie Tatt, so there’s a bit of Bernardo Silva, a bit of Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Ted Lasso’s Brummie actress

And, this is not the only connection to the West Midlands that Ted Lasso has.

Annette Badland, who plays pub landlady Mae, is from Birmingham. She has been a patron of The Old Rep in Birmingham since July 2019.

She said: “The Old Rep was so important to me when I first fell in love with theatre and acting... When I was younger I used to enjoy Shakespeare at The Old Rep... I just found it a magical place to be so I used to just come whenever I could.”