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AFC Richmond heads to Wembley Stadium in Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 8: “Man City.” A lot happens but co-creator and star Brendan Hunt  — he plays Jason Sudeikis’ on-screen best friend Coach Beard — has been excited for fans to see the episode but also bracing himself for backlash.

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 8: “Man City”]

‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 Episode 8 was initially much longer

A scene from 'Ted Lasso' with Brendan Hunt's character sitting in a chair in the coach's office with hands thrown up wearing a black shirt with a blue vest with red stripes on the chest and a blue hat.
Brendan Hunt on ‘Ted Lasso’ | AppleTV+

Anyone who has watched the latest episode knows “Man City” is eventful, to say the least. Richmond heading to Wembley Stadium, Jamie Tartt coming to blows with his father in the locker room, and Jason Sudeikis’ title character revealing how his father died are just a few of the things that happen.

Jam-packed, it’s not much of a surprise the episode initially ran long. In an August 2021 Vulture interview Hunt said it’s, to his recollection, their “longest-ever episode.”  

“There’s just so much happening in it. Like, a lot of times we would get the first cut of an episode — the director’s cut — and the title frame tells you how long the episode is,” he said. “Usually it’ll be like 42 minutes or something like that, and something in the back of your head goes, ‘We’re looking for cuts here.’ But the first cut of episode eight was like 54 minutes or something.”

Brendan Hunt worried viewers would complain the episode’s too long

Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis hold coffee cups as they walk down a street in 'Ted Lasso' Season 2
Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis in ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 | AppleTV+

In the same interview, Hunt admitted he didn’t want there to be any backlash about the length of the episode.

“Hopefully, it won’t be a backlash of, ‘I give you half an hour a week, Ted Lasso! What’s up with the 45 minutes?! Boo!’” he said before adding that he’s “always waiting for the backlash anyway.”

Asked about the backlash concern, Hunt said it’s more that he’s “worried than expecting” it because it seems “anything that’s good has to pay for it at some point.” 

The co-creator’s reaction to cutting scenes in ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 Episode 8 was ‘oh no’

Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis, and Nick Mohammed cross their fingers on 'Ted Lasso'
(L-R) Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis, and Nick Mohammed in ‘Ted Lasso’ | Apple TV+
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“When something’s that long, you’re looking to cut scenes, basically,” Hunt said. 

But there was a problem. To him, there wasn’t much to cut. 

“Watching that was like, ‘Oh no. There’s a lot of good s— in this episode. I’m not quite sure what we’re going to do,’” he said, adding that the episode ultimately came to a “tight” 45 minutes. 

“There’s not a lot of — I can’t think of anything less coarse than this — smelling our own s— in the episode. There’s event after event, after event, after event, and even stuff that happens early — the Roy [Brett Goldstein] and Phoebe stuff that doesn’t appear to be germane to everything else — technically is.” 

Any Backlash among Ted Lasso fans regarding the length of the episode remains to be seen. “Man City” is now available to watch on AppleTV+. A new episode of Ted Lasso drops every Friday on the streamer.

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