From Ted Lasso to SBS? Nick Mohammed on life after Nate

We’re just two months out from the resurrection of Ted Lasso, and there’s no word yet on whether Nick Mohammed has got the call-up. His character, Nathan “Nate” Shelley, has been the most divisive of the series, with the 2023 finale of the third season – widely thought to be the show’s last – seeing him controversially reunited with Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and his former team after a villainous and depressive season-long arc.

He’s speaking to me after being drafted for a new ad campaign for SBS (yes really, more on that soon), but I have to ask the question that’s on every Ted Lasso fan’s mind: will we see more of Nate in season four?

“Dunno!” Mohammed says with a grin. “It’s such a bad media-trained response, but I’m not allowed to say. So we’ll have to see … ”

If Nate were hypothetically to come back, however, “just speaking generally, not specifically about season four”, the actor is careful to add, “I’d like to think he’s happier than he was.”

The same could be said of Mohammed, whose career has skyrocketed after his run on the much-loved, Emmy award-winning show. Though he’s been a successful (if somewhat niche) working comedian in the UK for the better part of two decades, Ted Lasso was undoubtedly his big break. It’s given him a profile internationally, allowed him to book bigger rooms for his live comedy, and led to even more exciting opportunities on-screen – from playing the Mayor of London caught up in a terrorism plot on Slow Horses to his pivotal role in last year’s record-breaking season of Celebrity Traitors UK.

“It feels like I’ve been given license by the industry to tackle slightly more dramatic roles,” he says, referencing the former. “[But Traitors] was the closest that I’ve felt to being a sportsperson! Everyone was watching the episodes live to avoid spoilers … It brought everyone together. It was as though people were watching their team play … When I betrayed [former rugby player] Joe Marler it was like the worst possible thing – it was like I had missed a penalty.”

Mohammed has sport on the brain because he’s also taking a role connected to the upcoming FIFA World Cup. The Ted Lasso star is posing as the “honorary executive chair of the World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association” in a new promotion campaign for SBS. With matches taking place in North America from June 12 AEST, and most scheduled within our workday, the Australian broadcaster – through Mohammed – is “standing up for your right to sit down and watch the beautiful game wherever you work”.

Well, “not all workers”, he points out: “If you’re a brain surgeon or an air traffic controller, you do have to still work. You can’t have one AirPod in, watching.”

The promise of the ads – which also feature local comedians, including Matt Okine and Mel Buttle, and former Matildas’ goalkeeper Lydia Williams – is hardly legally binding. Think of it like a modern version of Bob Hawke saying your boss is a “bum” if they don’t let you second-screen the Socceroos. But they are a good indication of the influence Mohammed still wields with football fans.

Not bad for a boy who grew up “rebelling” against the sport, instead loving magic and ice dancing.

“My dad was a massive football fan, and I was brought up in Leeds – in the north of England – so I got dragged to Elland Road to watch stuff,” he says. “But I was an artsy kid. I was far removed from the world of macho sport, like football.

“It was literally being involved in shows like Ted Lasso that really renewed my appreciation of it. We got to film in locations like Wembley and London Stadium, surrounded by proper sports nuts. Some of the guys were like semi-pro footballers. In fact, Cristo Fernandez, who plays Danny Rojas in the show, he’s now become a pro footballer. You can’t help but be infected by that passion.”

The series – a comfort-watch for many during COVID-19 – then created a passion all its own, with Mohammed still receiving messages from fans who feel a profound connection to the show.

“It’s quite overwhelming,” he says. “It’s always very moving when someone gets in touch and says, ‘This show really meant a lot to me because I struggle with my mental health’ or ‘This came to me at a particularly difficult time.’

“Season one premiered at a time when I think the whole world was receptive to something that was inherently hopeful and optimistic. I’m not for a second suggesting that’s the only reason that the show was successful, but I think it certainly helped.

“People at my live shows always want to talk about Ted Lasso and tell me about the impact it had on them … what a privilege to be involved in a show that does that.”

It is a shock, however, for a lot of those fans when they see Mohammed perform live. His long-time on-stage persona Mr Swallow is a camp and chaotic mentalist and magician who is a hit in comedy circles but deeply confusing in other settings. In 2024, Mr Swallow moved around the BAFTAs stage on roller skates in front of an awkwardly quiet crowd of royals and celebrities. He’s made light of the cringeworthy set in the show he’s currently touring.

“When I come on as Mr Swallow, it’s a world away from me, and certainly a world away from Nate,” he says. “In some regards, it’s like starting again. It’s like when I used to do weird characters at the Edinburgh Festival and people were like, ‘Oh god, is it like this for an hour?’”

It was Mr Swallow who also got him in trouble last year. The comedian posted a video on social media, in character, about needing to move some show dates due to filming commitments. While not directly divulging details, he held up a “BELIEVE” sign making reference to Ted Lasso, and leading many fans to presume Mohammed was returning for the not-yet-announced new season.

“It was a joke! I did it very tongue-in-cheek,” he says, reflecting on the post which made US entertainment news. “I moved those dates because of Traitors, not Ted Lasso. I thought it would be very daft, and then it got a bit of traction and backfired. News outlets in America didn’t reference I was in character at all. And I was like, ‘Do you genuinely think that’s what I’m like?’”

Either way, fans won’t have to wait too long to see if Nate does have a part to play at Richmond FC (and why it’s all so hush-hush).

“Seasons one, two and three were a particular story following that football team, and now this [which focuses on a new women’s team] is the start of a new journey.

“But it’s still the Ted Lasso universe tonally,” he adds. “It’s still optimistic, and it’s hopeful, and it’s warm.”

Then, a slight pause. “I can’t wait to see it!”

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is on SBS, SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand from June 12 – July 20. Ted Lasso (season four) premieres on Apple TV August 5.

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