Ted Lasso Smashes Apple TV Viewership Record Amid Season 5 Renewal Wait

Published Oct 28, 2026, 11:19 AM EDT

Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour.

Apple TV has yet to announce a season 5 renewal for Ted Lasso, but the soccer dramedy's recent fourth season was a record-breaking hit with subscribers.

After three seasons, it seemed like Ted Lasso had come to an end. However, co-creator, co-showrunner and star Jason Sudeikis eventually reprised his role as the optimistic soccer coach, with Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple and Brendan Hunt all returning as well, with the focus shifting from the men's to the women's team.

Ted Lasso season 4 ended three weeks ago, and now Nielsen has revealed that viewers watched 3.6 billion minutes of the series from September 1 to 30. While that timeframe skips the first half of the season, the available data shows that this sets a new record for Ted Lasso and makes it the second-most streamed original series in September.

During the month of September, the only show to have more streaming minutes viewed was Prime Video's Reacher (4.6 billion).

Below Ted Lasso but still in the Top 10 are Neagley (3.3 billion), Lioness (3.3 billion), Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story (3.1 billion), The Gentlemen (2.8 billion), SEAL Team (2.2 billion), Beauty in Black (1.9 billion), Outer Banks (1.7 billion) and Silo (1.4 billion).

Ted Lasso has been a huge hit throughout its run. After debuting in 2020, it continued building an audience, and by the time the series returned this August, viewers watched 296.6 million minutes of the season 4 premiere in the first two days, a new record for Apple TV.

Critics have also showered overwhelming praise on Ted Lasso, which has earned Certified Fresh status on Rotten Tomatoes for every single season, with scores ranging from 80% to 98%. The show's average score is 90% and is currently sitting at 81% among audiences.

That success has carried over into awards season as well, where it's won 13 Emmys, two Golden Globes and three SAG Awards, not to mention all the additional nominations at each of these events.

Sudeikis has talked about wanting to continue the series. In the Ted Lasso season 4 finale, Zelda Southport's control over AFC Richmond grew, Roy Kent was hired as Chelsea FC's new manager, Rebecca Welton and Matthijs got engaged, and Alice Chilton got promoted to head coach.

That latter development opens up the door for several storyline opportunities in a possible Ted Lasso season 5, especially since the show is now focused on the women's team and the fact that Ted is now in the assistant manager position instead of the coach.

So even though Apple TV hasn't made a renewal announcement yet, the Nielsen data proves that Ted Lasso is more popular than it's ever been, which is a good sign for its future.

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  Ted Lasso

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  Rebecca Welton

Ted Lasso is an American football coach who moves to England, hired to manage a struggling soccer team despite having no experience. With cynical players and a doubtful town, Ted has to convince everyone he's fit for the job.