‘Ted Lasso’ Co-Creator Brendan Hunt On Theme Song Switch In Season 4 Finale & If Brandi Carlile’s Version Is Here To Stay

Ted Lasso fans were in for a surprise when tuning in for the Season 4 finale, which was released on Apple TV on Wednesday. When time came for the comedy’s signature main title credits after the opening scene, it played to a haunting cover of the “Ted Lasso Theme” sung by 11-time Grammy winner Brandi Carlile.

This is the second time Ted Lasso has used an alternate version of the theme song, which was originally co-written and performed by Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons and composer Tom Howe. Jeff Tweedy did a cover for the Season 2 episode “Beard After Hours.”

Deadline asked Ted Lasso co-creator, executive producer and star Brandan Hunt, who co-wrote the finale with fellow co-creator, executive producer and star Jason Sudeikis, about the decision to change up the theme.

“Well, we knew that to come out of Mae’s wake or whatever you want to call it there and go straight into ‘Yeah’ (singing the start of Mumford’s bouncy version) that would’ve been a bit abrupt. So, in the first cut that we were putting together, we dropped in the Jeff Tweedy version from the ‘Beard After Hours’ episode, which is a very simple acoustic version that we were so fortunate to have Mr. Tweedy grace us with.”

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Hunt explained how Carlile got to do the song and teased a full-length version that is a must listen.

“Jason and Brandi are friends, she’s actually contributed to the show before, and you just have to see, would she do it?” Hunt said. “She said yes. And let me tell you, that 30-second version here is good, but I’ve heard the whole version, and it literally brought me to tears. It’s incredible, and I hope it gets up on streaming somewhere because it’s really really good.”

While Carlile’s version is melancholy, it also is the first time a woman has performed the theme song, which would fit into Ted Lasso’s new focus on a women’s football team. So will the show keep it or was it a one-time thing?

“It’s a bit funereal, and if we do come back, I’m not sure that every episode will start with a funeral,” Hunt said. “So, I don’t know if that’s quite the energy we want to go into every episode with. We’d have to see about that.”

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Below is the Season 4 finale opening-credits scene with Carlile’s take on the theme. For Hunt’s breakdown of the finale’s major developments and a likely Season 5 renewal, read the rest of Deadline’s interview, which will be posted later today.