Jason Sudeikis reunited with his Apple TV+ co-star Hannah Waddingham on Saturday at his annual Thundergong! charity event in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, where the Emmy winners performed a duet of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.
Before Waddingham stepped onto the stage, Sudeikis told his fellow Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte, “There is nobody I would rather sing this song with,” prompting a chorus of cheers from the audience.
And though Forte seemed to think he'd be the one taking on Lady Gaga’s verse, Waddingham strode toward Sudeikis and jokingly put her palm on Forte’s face to push him away from center stage as she summoned her award-winning vocals to croon, "Tell me something boy...
Waddingham, 49, and Sudeikis, 48 — whose characters began as enemies but developed a close relationship — performed the rest of the duet together, with Forte exiting the stage. The former costars shared several sweet moments together during the song and as it ended, they wrapped their arms around each other and shared a hug before Waddingham left the stage.
Forte, 53, got a shoutout from Sudeikis, too, after he thanked Waddingham for her appearance at the annual charity event, which raises money for amputees in need.
Sudeikis and Waddingham’s duet comes five months after the final episode of Ted Lasso premiered in June.
The actress reflected on the show’s conclusion as she told Entertainment Weekly that she and her costar Brett Goldstein were “in mourning.”
She also shared that “none” of the cast knew whether the show would continue in some form — whether as a spinoff or a storyline without the titular character. “I don’t know,” she said. “None of us know. I don’t even know if Jason knows. If he does, he is a sly dog.”
As for the possibility of a spinoff focused on her fan-favorite character, Waddingham said, “It’s not really something I’ve thought of.”
She continued, “But if there were more to come, I’d certainly entertain the idea. I’d be crazy not to. It’s a beautifully crafted role that I’ve thankfully had a large hand in. I’m fully invested in her, so I would always entertain that.”
After the series concluded, co-creator Brendan Hunt revealed that the fate of Waddingham’s character could have been very different — and perhaps involved a romance with Ted.
Hunt replied to a fan’s question on a Reddit chain about whether a romance was considered between the two characters as he said: "Out of professional responsibility, yes. But never with enthusiasm."
He also discussed the choice not to have Ted and Rebecca tell each other “I love you” in the final episode.
"It was not something particularly discussed," Hunt said in his reply to another fan’s question. "I will note, as have you, that Rebecca doesn’t say it either, so I wouldn't call that imbalanced."
He described Rebecca as Ted’s “cosmically connected platonic soulmate” and said that in the emotional airport scene where they say goodbye “they are both struggling with whether or not to say it.”
“But they both know instinctively that if they do, it could open a floodgate they’d rather not open.”
