Ted Lasso loses his mustache in delightful animated Christmas special

Christmas is nearly here, and for those of us (myself included) who haven’t done any preparation or shopping, it’s officially time to start panicking. Thankfully, the eternally optimistic Ted Lasso is here to spread a little holiday cheer. Apple has released an animated Ted Lasso Christmas special that features the show’s cast reprising their roles in claymation form as they search for Ted’s missing mustache.

If you need a primer on the series, it stars Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso, an “American football coach hired to manage a British soccer team—despite having no experience. But what he lacks in knowledge, he makes up for with optimism, underdog determination…and biscuits.”

The Ted Lasso Christmas special features the voices of Jason Sudeikis as Ted, Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca, Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard, Jeremy Swift as Higgins, Junto Temple as Keeley, Brett Goldstein as Roy, Phil Dunster as Jamie, and Nick Mohammed as Nate. Now… I haven’t watched Ted Lasso, so I’m sure I’m missing a lot of inside information, but fans will likely be pleased. This isn’t the first time that Ted Lasso has flirted with claymation as the opening credits of an episode from season 2 were created in the same style.

Apple has already renewed Ted Lasso for a third season, but whether or not it winds up being the end of the series remains to be seen. “The cool thing about this show is when we started, we plotted out everybody’s beginning, middle and end of a three-season arc,” series co-creator Bill Lawrence said earlier this year. “I would say that this story is going to be over next year, regardless — even if the show finds another story to tell and goes on.” The third season of Ted Lasso is currently being written and will likely start shooting early next year.