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The Super Mario Bros. Movie is just a month away from hitting theaters and the Nintendo/Illumination PR team is going all-out to promote it. In addition to crafting an interactive website for a hypothetical Mario Bros. plumbing business and releasing a new, final trailer yesterday showing off even more of its Mad Max-inspired Rainbow Road sequence.

The cast and crew weren’t done yet, though. The film’s voice actors — consisting of Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, and Charlie Day — stopped by The Tonight Show for a musical sketch in which they sing the iconic Super Mario Bros. video game theme song acapella alongside the show’s host Jimmy Fallon and house band The Roots.

In a Brady Bunch-like sequence, each singer appears in their own squares, which slide and shift across the screen while scenes from both the video game and the movie scroll by. Jack Black appears to be having an utter blast, especially when the game’s underground theme kicks in. Then, as they all reach the “end” of the level, they’re joined by a few more special guests: Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (who gets vocal backup from the Minions, naturally).

It’s a cute bit, which is to be expected from The Tonight Show, but it’s also a testament to how truly iconic and generational the Mario brand has been for the past four decades.

Watch the clip above.

Last week, Lady Gaga expressed her concerns about the difficulty the arts and culture sectors are experiencing as it relates to the public appreciation of the expression. However, there’s one visual arts company that the public can’t get enough of, and that’s Madame Tussauds, where Lady Gaga is a beloved fixture. Today (March 10), the company’s Hollywood location revealed its latest wax figure of the singer.

With a total of twenty figures of the performer featured at various locations around the world, fans are losing their minds (or as Gaga sang in her award-winning song “Shallow” featuring Bradley Cooper, diving off the deep end) over just how accurate the newest figure is.

Instead of opting for one of Gaga’s famous red-carpet looks or concert costuming, the sculpturist chose to immortalize the entertainer’s 2019 Oscars look. Wearing a custom strapless all-black Alexander McQueen ballgown with matching gloves as her bleach blonde hair elegantly tucked away into a sleek updo, it is currently a tamer look for the musician but gorgeous overall.

The only problem with the wax figure is the jewelry featured around the sculpture’s neck. In 2019, Gaga wore the infamous Tiffany & Co.’s 128.54-carat diamond Yellow Diamond to which a representative for her told People, “She was proud to wear the pieces and connect with their legacy.” But following an investigative piece produced by The Times, it was revealed that the necklace has a dark past.

Fans didn’t seem to care about a replica of the necklace being featured instead praising it for its authenticity.

Sam Smith confessed to forging a note to skip school to see Lady Gaga perform live, we wonder if others will do the same to see her latest wax figure. For more information and how to visit Madame Tussauds Hollywood, click here.

[This post contains spoilers for The Last of Us season finale]

Throughout season one, HBO’s The Last of Us has cast performers from the Naughty Dog video games in key parts. Good! The acting in The Last of Us Part I, as it’s now known, and The Last of Us Part II is top notch. And Troy Baker, who plays Joel in the games and David’s right-hand man James on the show, and Merle Dandridge, who is Marlene in both, deserve the live action roles.

The season finale will also feature an actress from the video games in a big role. The Last of Us Twitter account shared a photo of a pregnant woman in the woods. “Anna,” the tweet reads. Mini spoiler alert, but Anna is Ellie’s mom, and she’s played by Ashley Johnson, who provided the voice and motion capture for Ellie in the games. It’s like she’s giving birth… to herself? Weird.

“There are other stories that were written since the game had come out for different projects that, for one reason or another, didn’t happen,” The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann told Rotten Tomatoes about adding Anna to the show (she’s never seen, only mentioned, in the games).

He continued, “When Craig [Mazin] and I started talking about the story and breaking it down, I mentioned some of those to him, and he was wide-eyed like a fan and said, ‘Oh my God, we got to put these on the screen, we’ve got to get them on the show.’ Ashley Johnson plays Ellie’s mom, and that was one of those stories that were near and dear to my heart, and I’m so glad that it gets to live.”

The Last of Us season one wraps up this Sunday, at the same time as the Oscars.

After working with Tim Burton on the hit Netflix series, Wednesday, rising star Jenna Ortega is reportedly on track to re-team with the director for his next project: Beetlejuice 2, a direct sequel to the 1998 cult classic. Michael Keaton, who hasn’t been shy about reprising his most iconic roles, is set to come back as the foul-mouthed spirit. As for Ortega, she’s reportedly in talks to play the daughter of Winona Ryder’s character from the original film.

Via Variety:

The sequel has been in the works at Warner Bros. for some time before Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B officially boarded it in February of last year. The original “Beetlejuice” centers on Charles (Jeffrey Jones), Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and Lydia Deetz (Ryder), who inhabit a home previously occupied by the Maitlands (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis). The Maitlands died in a car accident, but their ghost selves want to re-inhabit their former house, recruiting Beetlejuice (Keaton), a “bio-exorcist,” to scare away the Deetzes.

Ortega working with Burton again comes at an interesting time. She recently gave an interview where she claimed to have rewritten her lines for Wednesday because they were “boring.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to put my foot down on a set the way I had to on Wednesday,” Ortega said on the Armchair Expert podcast. “It’s so easy to fall into that category, especially in this type of show. Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all.”

Clearly, Ortega’s words didn’t affect her relationship with Burton one bit.

(Via Variety)

Miley Cyrus’ new album Endless Summer Vacation is gearing up to be one of the buzziest releases of the year. On her most cohesive effort to date, Cyrus details the events leading up to her divorce, as well as the subsequent heartbreak. A song on the album called “Thousand Miles,” which features Brandi Carlile, has become an instant fan-favorite.

On this collaboration, Cyrus seems to have finally let go of what she had with her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth and is ready for the next chapter of her life — albeit unsure where it will lead her. At this point in her grieving process, she’s simply ready to get the hell out here.

“I’m not always right, but still, I ain’t got time for what went wrong / Where I end up, I don’t really care / I’m out of my mind, but still, I’m holding on like a rolling stone / A thousand miles from anywhere,” Cyrus and Carlile sing on the song’s chorus.

Though much of Carlile’s vocals beautifully accentuate Cyrus’ in the background, fans will immediately recognize Carlile’s signature guitar stylings throughout the song, as well as her harmonica sounds near the song’s bridge.

Listen to “Thousand Miles” above.

Endless Summer Vacation is out now via Columbia. Find more information here.

I remember worrying that last year’s Oscars would be uneventful (because that’s how they generally went during the pandemic), and as everyone now knows, that broadcast did not fail to deliver drama. No matter how Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith’s reflections on the cause of the slap differ — he believes that Will Smith was releasing pent-up frustration over being ridiculed for Jada’s cuckolding, and she asserts that Rock is “obsessed” with her — it’s apparent that some very personal feelings spilled into the broadcast.

One year later, and Chris Rock has released a well-timed standup special, Selective Outrage, to make his feelings clear on the subject. And will the Oscars also note the (approximate) one-year mark, too?

No matter what The Academy chooses to do on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, there are bound to be detractors. Bringing up the incident could surface complaints that people are tired of hearing about The Slap, yet ignoring that figurative elephant doesn’t seem possible. Jimmy Kimmel has already joked that he’s ready to throw down if someone pulls a repeat. And it seems that the Oscars plan to keep that same vibe going. The broadcast’s executive producer, Molly McNearny (also wife to Kimmel), revealed that the subject will be handled briefly and with humor. Via Variety:

“We’re going to acknowledge it, and then we’re gonna move on.” She added, “We don’t want to make this year about last year. It’s certainly something we can and will address in a comedic fashion.””

One thing that we definitely won’t see during the broadcast will be a live reaction shot of Will Smith following whatever this mention turns out to be. The Emancipation star (who also won last year for King Richard) was banned from the event for a decade. As well, Smith has reportedly declared that he would really like for Chris Rock to move on, so it’s safe to say that he probably won’t be a fan of the subject surfacing again from The Academy.

We’ll find out how this comedic reference will go down when the Oscars arrive on March 12, 8:00pm EST on ABC.

(Via Variety)

Jenna Ortega is one of most popular stars in Hollywood at the moment, with a hit TV show and multiple scream queen movies to her name. But even she still gets nervous around other celebrities. Ahead of her SNL hosting debut, Ortega dropped by The Tonight Show where she discussed sitting at the same table as Zendaya at the SAG Awards. Also at the table: Paul Mescal, who is nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars for his fantastic performance in Aftersun.

“I was kind of freaking out because she was sitting next to Paul Mescal, who I think is so talented and so good,” she said. “And I was so nervous to meet him and I knew he was going to be at my table. And I remember he introduced himself to me when I wasn’t expecting it.” This proved to be too much for Ortega, who was caught off guard and “kind of couldn’t look him in the eye.”

This interaction — or lack there of? — must have been the talk of the Paul Mescal/Joe Alwyn/Hot Priest group chat that night.

Ortega was less nervous around Aubrey Plaza, who she presented an award with at the SAGs. ‘I would do anything with her,’ she said. ‘She’s another one of those people where everyone kept saying, ‘Oh you remind me of Aubrey, or, ‘You two should get together.’ And we just never did until we were backstage then.” The fact that a Thelma and Louise remake with those two hasn’t been announced yet is everything wrong with Hollywood.

You can watch Ortega’s The Tonight Show interview above.

Earlier this month, 50 Cent shared an image from the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and wrote, “I will explain this later, GLG GreenLight Gang this sh*t bigger than Power trust me. Boom.” Naturally, this had people thinking that he was teasing some sort of involvement with the GTA franchise, perhaps in the highly anticipated sixth mainline game in the series. Now, though, we know what the post was really about: A new show that has a current working title of Vice City.

Deadline reports that Paramount+ is developing the show from Lionsgate Television, Paramount Television Studios, and G-Unit Film & Television. The publication’s summary of the show reads:

“Vice City follows three friends, and former soldiers, who return to their home city of Miami in the mid-’80s after being dishonorably discharged from the military for their involvement in the Iran Contra scandal. Disgraced, displaced, and forgotten by the country they served and with no good job prospects, the three friends partner with a mysterious Colombian immigrant, uniting their financial needs and criminal ambitions to form a heist crew. Fueled by the need for American green, they traverse a violent and dangerous path in pursuit of the American Dream.”

The show is written and executive produced by Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters (both known for their work on Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts), while Chad Stahelski (of the John Wick franchise) will serve as executive producer/director.

It’s the movie industry’s biggest night!

Or it will be this Sunday, when the 95th Academy Awards air on ABC (at the same time as The Last of Us season finale). You can expect slap jokes, a lively performance of “Naatu Naatu,” and tightly-contested races. Last year’s four acting winners (Will Smith, Jessica Chastain, Troy Kotsur, and Ariana DeBose, pre-doing the thing) were basically locks — that’s not the case for the 2023 ceremony. It’s going to be an interesting (and potentially historic) Oscars.

You’ve seen the nominees and Best Picture contenders ranked. Let’s get to the predictions, beginning with some quick hitters.

Best Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water
Best Film Editing: Top Gun: Maverick
Best Costume Design: Elvis
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Elvis
Best Cinematography: All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Production Design: Babylon
Best Sound: Top Gun: Maverick
Best Original Song: “Naatu Naatu” from RRR
Best Original Score: All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Animated Short Film: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
Best Live Action Short Film: An Irish Goodbye
Best Documentary Short Subject: Stranger at the Gate
Best Documentary Feature: Navalny

Now we move on to ten of the biggest categories of the night.

Best Animated Feature Film

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red

Will Win: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Should Win: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

With the exception of Best Visual Effects and Best Supporting Actor, this is the easiest category of the night to call. Famous last words, but Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio has a lot going for it. For one thing, there’s the name of a Best Director winner in the title (no, not Pinocchio; his directorial debut was dogsh*t). That means something to Academy voters who don’t animation seriously. Also, in a year of bad Pinocchio movies, this is a great Pinocchio movie! It’s funny, weird, creepy, and the stop-motion animation is a wonder. The other four Best Animated Feature Film nominees could win in another year, but in 2023, it’s Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’s race to lose.

Best International Feature Film

All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Close (Belgium)
EO (Poland)
The Quiet Girl (Ireland)

Will Win: All Quiet on the Western Front
Should Win: Close

All Quiet on the Western Front is the 15th foreign-language film to be nominated for Best Picture — only one (Parasite) has won. But while the Netflix anti-war movie will likely be shut out for the night’s biggest prize, it has a solid chance of winning here: four of the last five films nominated in both categories won International Feature (Drive My Car, Parasite, Roma, and Amour). It faces competition from EO, but that’s not even the best donkey movie of 2022 (if you include Jackass Forever, it’s in third). All Quiet will make some noise.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, and Ian Stokell, All Quiet on the Western Front
Kazuo Ishiguro, Living
Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie (story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks), Top Gun: Maverick
Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Will Win: Women Talking
Should Win: Women Talking

To quote that famous feminist Mark Wahlberg, women ARE talking — but are they winning Best Adapted Screenplay? Sarah Polley’s powerful script and Writers Guild of America Award winner is the most loquacious of the nominees (a.k.a. it done use a lot of words all fancy like), but don’t overlook a push for Top Gun: Maverick. The dialogue is quippy, but a screenplay is more than its one-liners; it has to tell an engaging story, and the thrilling Top Gun sequel resonated for millions of people. There’s also All Quiet on the Western Front, which won Best Adapted Screenplay at the BAFTAs, and Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel.

With all due respect to the truth-teller scene from Glass Onion, I think this category comes down to two films. All Quiet might have won the battle with more nominations overall, but Women Talking will win this war.

Best Original Screenplay

Todd Field, Tár
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness
Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans

Will Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Should Win: Tár

Every year, the Hollywood Reporter talks to anonymous Oscar voters, and every year, I’m blown away by numbskull rationalizations like, “With Avatar, I don’t know what’s real and what’s animation,” as if that’s a bad thing, or, “I’m hoping that the Academy stops treating Marvel movies like second-class citizens.” Cue the “that’s what the money is for” GIF.

The oddest anonymous ballot came from an Academy member explaining their Best Original Screenplay vote: “The term is ‘original screenplay,’ and if you can’t call Everything Everywhere All at Once the most original of this group, then nothing means anything.” Huh.

If Original Screenplay went to the most “original” movie, then Crimes of the Future, a movie where a little kid eats plastic, Viggo Mortensen sits in a skeleton chair to help him eat, and Kristen Stewart plays the horniest person alive, would be the winner. Actually, that sounds good. Let Crimes of the Future win Best Original Screenplay. But that’s sadly not what happened, and “most original” is a silly barometer anyway. That being said, while I don’t agree with how the voter got there (and Tár has a sharper screenplay), I do agree that Everything Everywhere All at Once will win. If only for, “In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Will Win: Jamie Lee Curtis
Should Win: Kerry Condon

A theme of this year’s Oscars is how difficult the acting categories (minus Best Supporting Actor) are to predict. That includes Best Supporting Actress: Hong Chau should have been nominated for a different performance, but the other four nominees all have compelling arguments to win. Kerry Condon is the steady presence at the heart of The Banshees of Inisherin; Stephanie Hsu is every bit an equal to her Everything Everywhere All at Once co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, favorites in their respective categories; and Jamie Lee Curtis and Angela Bassett are Jamie Lee Curtis and Angela Bassett. Everyone loves them! It’s chaos among so-called experts; even the BAFTAs, SAGs, and Globes split the vote between Condon, Lee Curtis, and Bassett.

I will probably change my mind in an hour, but for now, I’m going with the more established Everything Everywhere All at Once supporting actress. Lee Curtis is a long-time Hollywood favorite who has been campaigning hard for the film (even if her younger co-star gave a better, more demanding performance). The same could be said of Bassett, but Lee Curtis won the SAG, and the supporting actress winner there has also won the Academy Award 12 out of the last 13 times. I think Marvel will be just fine without an Oscar.

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Will Win: Ke Huy Quan
Should Win: Ke Huy Quan

“Oscars season,” whatever that cursed phrase means to you, is too long, too out of control, too self-satisfying — but if Ke Huy Quan wins Best Supporting Actor, all that will be forgotten. It’s remarkable that the young actor from The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, who quit acting due to a lack of opportunities (and the roles that were offered were often stereotypical depictions of Asians), is now the frontrunner to win an Oscar. Good for him! It makes the months of prognostication worth it… well, almost worth it.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Will Win: Michelle Yeoh
Should Win: Michelle Yeoh (or maybe Cate Blanchett, idk!)

Ana de Armas? Great actress! Michelle Williams? One of the best. Andrea Riseborough? The weirdly controversial Hollywood favorite! But none of them stand a chance. Best Actress is between Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once and Cate Blanchett in Tár. A win for Yeoh would make history, but Lydia Tár should not be underestimated; she’s already won the BAFTA, Critics’ Choice Movie Award, and Golden Globe, and if you get on her wrong side, she’ll sing a song about how you’re going to hell (“Apartment for Sale” was robbed). Both actresses are fantastic in arguably career-best performances… but I’m leaning the slightest bit towards Yeoh. So much physicality is required of her in Everything Everywhere All at Once, but she’s also heartbreaking and hilarious, depending on what the scene requires. And besides, Blanchett already has two Oscars. It’s Yeoh’s time (and has been since she was robbed for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

Best Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living

Will Win: Austin Butler
Should Win: Austin Butler

Do I want to know if Austin Butler will end his acceptance speech with “thank you, thank you very much” in the Elvis voice then deep throat the mic? Of course. But would I also like to see internet favorite Brendan Fraser win an Oscar (even if the movie he’s winning for isn’t, um, good)? I do. One of these scenarios come true, unless either of the charming Irish lads stages an upset. That would be preferable, actually, because then I wouldn’t have to pick between Butler and Fraser. I’m generally in favor of actors playing original characters rather than doing an impression of a real-life figure — but what an impression it is. The fact that Butler sells his scenes while Tom Hanks is giving the goofiest performance of his career tips the scale towards The King.

Sorry, Brendan! Maybe you’ll win for Bedazzled 2.

Best Director

Todd Field, Tár
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

Will Win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Should Win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Since 1960, Best Director has gone to a pair of filmmakers only twice: Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for West Side Story and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country of Old Men. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert will be the third.

The Coen brothers came up when Uproxx‘s Vince Mancini spoke to the Daniels before Everything Everywhere All at Once became A24’s highest-grossing movie of all-time. Kwan once read an interview with the Coens where either Joel or Ethan said, “If you keep the budget low enough, people will let you do whatever you want.” The Daniels are already doing what they want, whether it’s casting Harry Potter as a farting corpse ridden by the Riddler or writing and directing a multiverse mind-bender where a butt plug is a key plot point or making extremely memorable music videos. But a Best Director trophy (trophies?) would be the cherry on top.

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking

Will Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Should Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

What do It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Silence of the Lambs have in common? They all won the Oscar for Best Picture, yes, but also Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Original/Adapted Screenplay. They’re the only three films to do so. Everything Everywhere All at Once won’t be the latest member of the Big Five club (there’s no Best Actor nominee; sorry, Raccacoonie), but it will get close.

Everything Everywhere All at Once is an absurdist grab-bag of genres grounded by a heartfelt story that became a critically acclaimed, crowd-pleasing box office hit. Those don’t come along every year. The A24 film also has math and history on its side. As noted by Indiewire, “Besides 1995’s Apollo 13, every film that has won the top prize at the DGA, PGA, and SAG Awards has moved on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.” EEAAO recently completed the hat trick.

Everything Everywhere All at Once had its world premiere on March 11, 2022. One year and a day later, it’s going to win Best Picture.

Something interesting happened at the end of the second season of Ted Lasso. Nate, the team’s brilliant tactician who had been elevated from kitman to assistant coach, left Richmond to become the head coach of another team. A team now owned by Rebecca’s ex-husband Rupert, who used to own Richmond and remains devious and slimy behind that charming smile, and who stepped in as Nate’s new Bizarro Ted father figure – lord, does Nate love a father figure – when various life stuff caused Ted to point his laser beam of positivity and attention in another direction for a bit. Things got a little dark. There was a surprising amount of spitting involved. I did not enjoy that part very much.

The result of it all is that Ted Lasso enters its third with as close as it has ever had to a real, actual villain to deal with, unless you count things like “anxiety issues” and “family struggles” and “general befuddlement about the sport you are being paid to coach” as villains, which, I mean, I won’t fight you on. But this is a more concrete thing. The new team – the one owned by Rupert and coached by Nate – literally wears black, if it all wasn’t clear enough for you. It’s kind of a Mighty Ducks situation in reverse, where the protege leaves to become evil and destroy the sweetheart mentor, but with a lot more swearing. Roy Kent remains a maestro with the f-word. So… not everything has changed, I guess

My suspicion here is that you, like me, see where this part of the story is probably headed. There is probably a redemption in our future. I don’t see how this show — a show whose whole deal is overcoming personal issues and a slew of imperfect people becoming more whole with the help of the people around them — can build Nate up and turn him into Darth Vader all of a sudden and have Ted destroy him. Or have him destroy Ted. Something has to give there, even if it would be kind of funny if the show just leans into it all and goes full Breaking Bad in the final season.

Oh, about that: This is the final season of the show. Allegedly. Probably. The braintrust at the center of it all has been a little cagey about what that means. Brendan Hunt, who serves as an executive producer in addition to playing my beloved Coach Beard, summed the whole thing up thusly when asked about it.

“It’s not necessarily the end of the series. It’s just likely the end of this story because we always saw it as a three-part thing. We never even knew for sure we’d be able to tell all three parts — and suddenly, here we are. So, there will be some type of closure to this beat but closure is not necessarily the end.”

Which is, you know, both helpful and maybe not very helpful. He also suggested a spinoff where Coach Beard starts a band, which I wish he hadn’t done because now it’s the only thing in the world I want. We all have problems. The main thing here is that the story as we know it is coming to an end, both for better and for worse, in a few different ways.

It will also, if the first few screeners released to critics are any indication, be a pretty busy affair. People are growing and branching out and taking on new roles and/or challenges. Keeley is off running her own public relations firm and the show sometimes follows her path over there. We check in on Nate and Rupert a lot, sometimes with more spitting, which I still do not enjoy but am starting to understand. Trent Crimm, fired at the end of last season for outing Nate as his source on the story about Ted and his issues, is back in the fold to work on a book, and if you wondered if this resulted in me sending a text to a fellow critic that read “I would watch a show where Roy and Trent go on a vacation together,” the answer is yes and I stand by that.

It does put a lot of balls in the air, though. More than the show had up there before when all of its main players were under one roof. I’m interested to see how the new season deals with all that. A lot of balls in the air can be fine! It can also be messy, especially when you are not allowed to use your hands to control them. (This is a soccer joke.) (I’m sorry.) The people who make this show have done a good job of navigating a tricky premise so far (a goofy concept — American football coach with a goofy name flies to England to coach the other football — that went on to become one of television’s most honest depictions of mental health in the workplace), so I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

There’s also the thing where the setup is promising for a last ride, though. Richmond, back in the Premier League and widely assumed to be headed toward relegation again, has a natural enemy. Ted’s mustache-based Midwestern niceness will be put to the test by various outside forces. Roy, now an assistant coach of the team he used to play for and dealing with some of his own self-inflicted personal issues, has plenty of excuses to swear and grumble. There’s a minor character introduced early on whose last name is Disco. At one point, Jamie Tartt says the phrase “it’s just poopy,” but with his accent, it sounds more like he’s saying “poop-eh.” These last two things are admittedly less important than the other stuff but I’ve been holding them in for like 48 hours and I was going to explode.

It’s a bummer that one of our better shows is coming to an end, especially with… all the other good shows coming to an end soon, but it might be for the best. Let’s let these maniacs try to bring it all home before it gets weird. They’ve got their work cut out for them so far, but if there’s one point Ted Lasso has pounded on in its first two seasons, it’s that it doesn’t cost you anything to believe a little bit.

The third and final season of Ted Lasso premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, March 15, with new episodes dropping weekly