Ted Lasso dedicates season four’s penultimate episode to Anthony Head

Ted Lasso paid tribute to Anthony Head at the end of its season-four episode released on 30 September 2026 on Apple TV+. The penultimate episode closes with a card reading ‘In Memory of Anthony Head.’ Head played former AFC Richmond owner Rupert Mannion; the character is discussed in the episode, but the actor does not appear on screen.

The dedication is the episode’s explicit tribute to the actor, who died in June aged 72. TV Insider and The Independent both reported the wording of the card on 30 September. Their accounts place it at the end of episode nine, rather than in a scene featuring Head’s character.

Where the Anthony Head tribute appears

TV Insider identifies the episode as ‘Mae Rides the Bus.’ Its account says the memorial card appears after Rebecca tells the team what happened to Mae following a victory. The placement gives the dedication a distinct moment at the close of an episode already dealing with a death in its fictional story.

That storyline takes pub owner Mae to Bristol with Ted and Richmond’s women’s team for an away game, according to TV Insider. Mae collapses and dies in the match’s final moments. These events concern the show’s character; the card that follows separately names Head, the actor being remembered.

Rupert Mannion’s place in season four

Head played Rupert Mannion, Rebecca’s former husband and the former owner of AFC Richmond. The Independent says he appeared intermittently during the show’s first two seasons and became a regular in season three. His role connected him directly to the club and to Rebecca, even when he was absent from a particular episode.

Season four shifts the show’s focus to a newly launched, second-division women’s team, with Jason Sudeikis’s Ted returning to England to manage it, The Independent reports. The episode’s references to Rupert sit within that changed setting. His name remains relevant to the club’s affairs, despite Head having no physical appearance in the season-four episode.

TV Insider reports that episode nine resolves one question about the club’s ownership: Zelda, played by Tracey Ullman, is the person seeking to acquire the team, rather than Rupert. The report leaves the outcome of that effort for the finale. The episode therefore uses Rupert’s name in its plot while identifying another character as the prospective buyer.

The Independent says Head did not film for season four. Citing sources who spoke to Deadline, it reports that the show’s storylines were not changed after his death and that there had been no plans for him to film for the season. That account does not establish why the memorial card was placed at this precise point in the episode; neither report supplies an explanation from the production.

What is known about Head and the series’ future

The Associated Press reported in June that Head died at 72. It said his daughters told the Press Association that he had died from complications of pneumonia. Beyond Ted Lasso, Head was widely known for playing Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role the AP identified alongside his later portrayal of Rupert Mannion.

The memorial card recognises Head as a performer; it does not itself settle what will happen to Rupert in the show’s fictional world. The Independent says the character has not been written out. It raises the possibility of a future story addressing Head’s death only if the series is renewed, without reporting a confirmed plan for such a storyline.

For now, the immediate next instalment is the season-four finale, which The Independent reported was scheduled for 7 October on Apple TV+. Episode nine establishes the tribute and Rupert’s absence from the screen. It leaves the team acquisition plot unresolved, and the reviewed reporting establishes no decision about a fifth season or Rupert’s future.