EXCLUSIVE: Ted Lasso fans, this is not a drill. In a major step toward the long-awaited fourth season of Apple TV+’s hugely popular soccer comedy, the series’ studio Warner Bros. Television has picked up the options on the three original cast members who had been contracted under the aegis of the UK acting union Equity, sources tell Deadline. They are Hannah Waddingham, who plays AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Walton, Brett Goldstein, who plays hardman Roy Kent and Jeremy Swift, who plays Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins.

After securing the trio, the studio is expected to start reaching out to Ted Lasso cast members with SAG-AFTRA contracts whose options had expired, so they will need to make new deals, we hear. In addition to co-creators/executive producers Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) and Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard), that is believed to include Juno Temple (Keeley Jones). We hear one of the Ted Lasso OGs, Phil Dunster (Jamie Tart), has not been picked up, presumably due to a conflict with another series; he is on both Prime Video’s The Devil’s Hour and Apple’s Surface.

It is unclear which other stars may be approached about Season 4; the cast have all said repeatedly that they would be happy to reprise their roles if an opportunity arises. Many would likely pop in for guest appearances.

Getting the cast back paves the way toward a Season 4 greenlight, contingent on budget approval and scheduling as actors whose options have lapsed may have joined other series that have them in first position, sources said.

While the outreach to the cast is underway, early preparations are also being made to open a writers room. If all elements come together, we hear production on a fourth season is eyeing an early 2025 start. Reps for WBTV and Apple TV+ declined comment.

Starting the process for a Season 4 greenlight indicates that the main Ted Lasso driving force on and off-screen, Sudeikis, is on board for a new installment as the studio would not have proceeded without his consent.

The fate of Ted Lasso has always hinged on Sudeikis, who’d originated the character in NBC Sports videos. While being open that they would love to extend Ted Lasso, one of the biggest and most acclaimed comedies of the past decade, Apple and Warner Bros. executives have made it clear that it would be up to Sudeikis whether the show would continue.

The Saturday Night Live alum, who co-created Ted Lasso with Hunt, Joe Kelly and Bill Lawrence, had originally conceived the comedy as a three-season story arc and he stuck with the plan despite the series’ enormous success. But he had not shut the door to more Ted Lasso — which is why Season 3 was not labeled as final — contingent on finding the right idea. Much to Ted Lasso fans’ delight, more than a year after the Season 3 finale, it looks like that has happened.

With its uplifting tone and a good-natured, eternal optimist lead character, Ted Lasso was the perfect show to launch at the height of the pandemic in August 2020. The comedy became an instant global hit and Apple’s signature and most-watched ever original series.

In addition to its immense popularity that catapulted it into the pop culture zeitgeist, Ted Lasso earned 13 Emmy Awards during its original three-season run, including two back-to-back Outstanding Comedy Series trophies and acting wins for Sudeikis (2), Goldstein (2), who is also a writer-producer on the show, and Waddingham.

The May 2023 Season 3 finale saw Keeley and Rebecca potentially partnering for a new venture, AFC Richmond Women’s Team, with all the main characters getting a happy ending, including Ted, last seen coaching his son on a soccer field in Kansas.