For many fans of Ted Lasso, the absence of Jamie Tartt has been a real let-down. But the show’s writers have a brilliant reason for why he isn’t in the new season.
After what seemed like an end to the journey of Ted Lasso in Season 3, the eponymous show has returned for a fourth season, with a focus on AFC Richmond’s new women’s team.
As such, there was an expectation that the actors who portrayed the players on the men’s team wouldn’t return. But for a fan favourite like Jamie Tartt, the writers needed a good explanation for his absence.
Photo by Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images
Ted Lasso writer says Jamie Tartt won’t be in season 4 because he joined FC Barcelona
In an in-depth conversation with Variety, Ted Lasso co-creator Brendan Hunt, who also plays Coach Beard on the show, explained why Jamie Tartt’s character wouldn’t return to the show.
While in reality, Phil Dunster, the actor playing Tartt, was busy filming the HBO Max show ‘Rooster,’ his character Jamie Tartt’s excellent form earned him a move to FC Barcelona.
“Phil was going to be busy, but also, it would have strained credulity a bit further than we wanted to if all the old team were still on Richmond.
“If this team is doing so well, then the best players would be gone. They’d be bought by bigger clubs.”
The in-canon narrative absolutely makes sense, given that Tartt had been described, from the first episode of the show, as a generational talent.
In Ted Lasso, Tartt was a Manchester City academy prospect who had played under Pep Guardiola, the now-former Manchester City head coach.
Of course, Guardiola rose to prominence as a player and as a head coach with FC Barcelona, the club he joined at a young age as part of its La Masia academy.
On top of that, AFC Richmond’s in-canon style of play was derived from Johan Cruyff’s ‘Total Football,’ which was a key aspect of the Dutch coach’s time at Barcelona.
This, combined with Tartt sitting under Guardiola’s learning tree, who himself had learned from Cruyff, narratively justifies the move for Tartt.
AFC Richmond are also set to return in the new EA Sports FC 27 game, but one has to wonder whether Tartt will be included in the FC Barcelona roster or not.
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