Jason Sudeikis Channels His Inner Dad for Season Three of Ted Lasso

When it comes to channeling his inner parent for his role as the loving, divorcee dad on Ted Lasso, Jason Sudiekis doesn’t have to look far for inspiration.

The father to son Otis, 8, and daughter Daisy, 6, with ex-fiancée Olivia Wilde, Sudeikis recently opened up to TODAY about how being a parent informed his role as Ted in season three of the Emmy award-winning show. “It does help, yeah. I’m not learning about parenting on Wikipedia. You know, be like, ‘OK, how’s empathy change your life, change your DNA?’ It’s method. I went full method. My training,” he joked.

In the new season, which kicked off March 15, Ted’s life as a dad becomes even more pronounced, with audiences watching his teenage son stay with him in England for six weeks and head back home to America after a teary goodbye in the first episode.

"Sometimes when you work for a living and you leave, you have to compartmentalize that. Ted’s been able to do that to a certain degree, and put his family focus on his chosen family of the team and the people surrounding the team. Now the little guy (had) been part of that during the summer and he’s like, ‘Now what?’” Sudeikis explained.

The Emmy award-winner himself talks about how this work-life balance can even be a struggle for him in his real life as a dad. For Sudeikis, the time commitment required for the show has to be worth it, especially since his kids joined him for the London shoot. "A big part of it is like, especially after having kids, is: Is the thing that you’re going to do worth the time, the energy? Because the kids were in London with us, it wasn’t like Ted and his son. But you just want it to not be inconsequential, it’s got to be worth it,” he said.

Sudeikis also shared that his kids, Otis and Daisy, watch the show, but he limits their exposure to its PG-13 content—primarily Roy Kent’s foul-mouthed language. “My kids watch it. One, so they know where Dad goes and they know what he’s doing. But, I’m like, ‘You can hear it, but you can’t say it,’” he joked.

Despite the show’s success, Sudeikis remains coy about a possible fourth season. “We were overwhelmed by the response, continuously,” he said, a humble dad through and through.