'Ted Lasso' kills off Mae and fans are wrecked going into the finale
Apple TV+'s returning comedy has one episode left in Season 4, and it just used its penultimate hour to say an irreversible goodbye to a character who's been there since day one.
In brief
'Ted Lasso' kills off Mae, and fans are wrecked going into the finale
Nobody warned you. The episode was even named after her. And still, when it happened, it hit like a gut punch you didn't see coming even though the title was right there in the episode card.
On Wednesday, the new episode "Mae Rides the Bus" began streaming on Apple TV+, and as the title suggests, it marked a farewell to Mae Green, played by Annette Badland. The fourth season of the feel-good sports comedy aired its penultimate episode, and broke the hearts of fans with the death of Mae Green, the matronly yet straight-shooting bar owner whose honesty has charmed viewers since the start of the show.
The series was renewed for a fourth season in March 2025, and it premiered on August 5, 2026. The show had already been carrying the weight of real-world grief this season. Anthony Head, who played Rupert Mannion, passed away on June 1, 2026, at the age of 72, due to complications caused by pneumonia. Episode 9 is dedicated to the late Anthony Head, but it's Mae Green who has fans in tears before the credits roll.
What happened on the bus
Dedicated Richmond fan and pub owner Mae Green dies in the latest episode. In the installment titled "Mae Rides The Bus," Ted (Jason Sudeikis) invites Mae to join the team for the away game against Bristol City WFC. Mae gives up her luxury seat near team owner Rebecca Welton, played by Hannah Waddingham, choosing instead to join the other fans in the pit.
That choice cost her everything.
Opting to watch from the fan pit, Mae gives up her seat to enjoy the rowdiness of the crowd, but when the fourth goal is scored, she is nowhere to be seen, having collapsed. Ultimately, Rebecca is informed about Mae's medical event, and the final moments of the episode follow her walking into the locker room to find Ted and share the news. Rebecca receives the news and tells Ted without audible dialogue. The camera stays with his reaction, allowing shock and grief to replace the show's usual speeches before the credits arrive quietly.
There's no dramatic monologue. No farewell speech from Mae herself. Just Ted's face, and silence.
Annette Badland didn't know until they were almost done filming
Speaking to Deadline ahead of the episode airing, Annette Badland shared that she didn't know when she signed up for Season 4 that her character was to be killed off. "I didn't know till about, I suppose, maybe November," she explained. "We were only an episode away filming that."
Badland admitted: "I was shocked, but I'm very proud being in the show, and I admire Jason [Sudeikis]."
Badland told TV Insider that she was "devastated" to learn the news when Sudeikis told her, and immediately asked: "Can she come back as an angel?", prompting Sudeikis to make some changes to the 10th episode. Badland revealed: "She is there as a presence, if not a full-bodied human being."
Badland has since come to terms with her character's fate, stating: "It's what Jason wants to say about the world of human beings, and I think that is terrific." She added, per her interview with Deadline, "That's what happens. You're involved with folks, and they disappear. And she loved her life. She made the very best of her life and really relished it. So she went, I suppose, for her, in the very best way."
The internet is not handling it
Mae has been an indelible part of the comedy series across its four seasons, often acting as a comforting yet direct voice amid the chaos and shenanigans around AFC Richmond. Her passing has left many fans inconsolable.
One social media user on Threads described Mae as the "heartbeat of this fan base for the entire series." "And this episode reminded us of that before ripping her away," the Threads user said.
The restraint works because Mae was never just a background publican. She represented Richmond memory and local ownership, so Ted's face carries both personal loss and the sense that the club has lost part of its home.
A fifth season is yet to be confirmed by Apple TV+, but Jason Sudeikis previously made it clear that he had envisioned a three-season arc for Ted Lasso's stint at the helm of the Lady Greyhounds. Badland also confirmed that Ted Lasso wasn't originally designed to return for another season, with the cast convinced it would just be three. So Season 4's finale, dropping next Wednesday, could be the last time anyone sees AFC Richmond at all.
Also in the comedy world's grief: Reggie McFadden, 57
The entertainment community absorbed a separate loss this weekend. Reggie McFadden, the actor and stand-up comic who got his big break on Def Comedy Jam and worked for a season on the 1990s Fox sketch series In Living Color, has died. He was 57.
McFadden's sister, author Bernice McFadden, told TMZ that the U.S. State Department contacted the family Sunday and informed them that Reggie had died in Tanzania, where he had been living for approximately the last 18 years. The State Department did not indicate when or how he had died.
In 1991, McFadden made it on HBO's Def Comedy Jam, and after moving to Los Angeles, he landed small roles on Martin, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Moesha, and Coach, among other TV shows. He is perhaps best remembered for In Living Color, appearing on 23 episodes of the fifth and final season in 1993 to 1994 in sketches including "Wheel of Dozens" and "All Up in the Family." His stand-up career kept growing as well, and he performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and Last Call with Carson Daly.
Comic Tony Luewellyn paid tribute on Facebook, mourning McFadden as another fallen veteran of the comedy brotherhood. Comedian Guy Torry shared the news publicly and remembered him as a great writer, comedian, actor, father, and friend.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
