Are ‘Ted Lasso’ Episodes Too Long? Depends on How You’re Watching The Show

Ted Lasso Season 3 is tearing viewers apart. With nine out of twelve episodes from the Apple TV+ show’s third and potentially final season in the rearview, week after week the series has fans arguing that episodes are too long, just right, or not long enough. So which is it? Well, it depends on how you’re watching the show.

When Ted Lasso Season 1 premiered in August 2020, it was a delightful half-hour comedy that skillfully weaved dramatic elements into impressively concise storytelling. During its debut season, not a single episode surpassed 33 minutes, which is partially why Season 3 — with episodes ranging from 43 minutes to 63 minutes long — is causing such a ruckus. Some argue that the dramedy should have stuck to 30-minute episodes; that the “bloated” weekly installments are a sign the series has “lost its way.” Others are unbothered by — and in some cases, thrilled about — the lengthier runtimes, savoring every second spent watching their favorite fictional footballers. The topic is largely subjective, but how you engage with television (and how charmed you are by the collective comfort show) definitely helps shape your opinion on Season 3’s extended runtimes.

If you’re thinking about Ted Lasso critically, there’s a good chance episodes are too long for your liking. As the series has evolved over the years it’s maintained a brilliant balance of lovable humor and a penchant for tackling serious topics. But if you want Ted Lasso to stay the same 30-minute sitcom that collectively soothed our souls during the pandemic, Season 3 isn’t for you. Many viewers examining the season through a critical lens claim the series feels more like a prestige drama (or dramedy) than a prestige comedy this time around, in part because of those hefty installments. But they aren’t solely taking issue with long runtimes, they’re also questioning how the show uses that extra time. There are arguments to be made that longer runtimes gave writers a chance to properly flesh out some of Season 3’s fan-favorite dynamics like Roy and Jamie, or Trent and Colin. It’s also given fans a peek at a full football season, including away games with Westham and an exhibition match in Amsterdam. But otherwise, critics have called Ted Lasso out for sprawling storytelling, excess subplots and characters, and other meandering fillers this season.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, what critics view as indulgent scripts, ride-or-die fans may see as ambitious. Many Ted Lasso superfans can’t get enough of the show, and some get so engrossed in episodes they haven’t even noticed the length issue. They’re grateful for whatever time they can spend in this fictional world, and devoted fans who embrace — nay believe in — the writers’ vision may also be more open to experimentation and trusting of the process. They may question certain creative choices week to week, but their unwavering love for the show makes them more trusting in the end result than critics.

When asked about Season 3’s longer episodes, co-creator and star Brendan Hunt told TheWrap, “It wasn’t that conscious of a decision… We just kept writing the stories that we wanted to tell, and Apple didn’t seem to mind if they were longer than expected.” Hunt went on to describe breaking the confines of a typical 22 to 30-minute sitcom as “a great luxury” of being on a streaming service, saying, “It’s wonderfully liberating really…To be able to let the story decide [how long it needs to be] is a wonderful luxury and we don’t take it lightly.”

There’s one factor that supersedes both critical thinking and fandom, though… When the end credits roll after any episode of television, your opinion on its length ultimately depends on whether on not you liked what you saw. The last five episodes of Ted Lasso Season 2 ranged from 42 to 49 minutes long, yet the extended runtimes didn’t elicit a heated debate, which brings up another crucial factor: the uncertainty of Ted Lasso‘s fate. Because fans and critics alike are unsure if Season 3 is Ted Lasso‘s last, episodes are being held to higher standards by critics and cherished more deeply by fans because there’s a possibility that these are the show’s final hours.

To be clear, the debate is more complex than “critics vs. fans” and no one viewer should be placed into a box. Fans of the show who aren’t feeling the longer runtimes exist, as do critics who love the direction Ted Lasso has taken them this year. There’s no right or wrong opinion on Ted Lasso Season 3’s episode length, but it’s crucial to acknowledge that watching the series with a more critical eye and watching for pure enjoyment are different viewing experiences that can understandably result in different takeaways.

Or in simpler terms: stop fighting about episode lengths, and enjoy the show. Or don’t! Coach Lasso will love you either way.