Joy Behar turned down the role of 'Ted Lasso' due to a heat wave
UPDATE: 12-1-23 8:55 PM ET
When asked if Behar was asked to play Dottie Lasso in the Apple TV+ series in a PEOPLE panel on Thursday, January 11, co-creators Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt expressed their surprise.
“Not me. Joy Behar out The view?” Sudeikis asked quizzically, while Hunt added, “With all due respect, it would be news to us. We just work there.”
Sudeikis then added that he would be happy if Behar joined the organization Ted Lasso family. “She likes to sit at the table,” he said.
Original story below:
Ted Lasso almost looked a little different – with Joy Behar playing the titular character's mother.
“You were contacted about the opportunity to be on my favorite show of all time,” said The Display producer Brian Teta said on the talk show “Behind the table” podcast during a Wednesday, Jan. 10 episode, adding that Behar, 81, “quickly rejected” the role. “You turned it down because it would require you to spend your break in London.”
Behar confirmed that she had turned down the role, adding, “It was too hot, remember there was a heat wave going on at the time, like 100 degree weather, and I had to get on a plane and go? in the middle of the heat? No. Listen, I'm a writer, I write my own stuff, I don't care about other people's stuff. I mean, I don't have to be there for everything.”
While Teta, 47, told Behar the series was “the most popular show on TV,” she countered, “It wasn't the most popular show on TV.” She added that if the Apple TV+ series had been shot in the spring or fall, she “might” have taken the role — “but not in the middle of the heat wave.”
The series was cast instead of Behar Becky Ann Baker as Ted Lasso's mother, Dottie Lasso. Baker went on to earn an Emmy nomination for the episode titled “Mom City.”
When Teta Behar pointed this out, she replied, “Well, good for her. Bravo.” Teta added that he “couldn't help but notice” that there were “Joy Behar-esque aspects” to the character.
“Well, that's why they asked me,” Behar said, before adding that she doesn't regret not taking the role. (While Behar is best known for her role as a panelist on The viewshe has previously dabbled in acting, appearing in film and TV, including 2009 Madea goes to jail1993 Manhattan murder mystery and 2016 Crisis in six scenes.)
Ted Lasso centered around football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) making a move across the pond to coach a football team. The series, which earned widespread praise throughout its run, premiered in August 2020 and concluded with a season 3 finale in May 2023.
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While fans hoped the series would add another season, Sudeikis, 48, seemingly shut down those rumors in May 2023.
“The story is done,” Sudeikis explained in the “Fly on the Wall” podcast. “It sounds like a political answer, but it is the truth. We only came up with these three [seasons]then this thing became a big old thing.