Jason Sudeikis was "saved" by Ted Lasso.

The 50-year-old actor portrays the titular soccer coach in Apple TV+'s comedy series and he admitted it has been good for him to spend so much time playing someone with such a positive outlook on life.

Discussing how he'd respond to fans who told him how much the series meant to them by saying it had "saved [him] too", he told The Hollywood Reporter: "It is infectious to play a character who sees the best in people and isn't mad at the world for all its foibles and bullies and shadows.

"It's not like I'm Daniel Day-Lewis, but it was good to live in that -- to have that coursing through your brain and your body all day. It still is."

Ted Lasso was originally planned as a three-season story, but it is set to return next month for a fourth series, this time with the focus on the Richmond ladies side.

But Jason - who co-created and writes the show - was initially unsure he wanted to come back, even though he was earning $1 million per episode, because he felt it had ended in the right way.

He said: "That wasn't a negotiation tactic. The story was told.

"Ted went home to be with his son. I wasn't going to have Ted uproot their life to justify the money truck. It made no sense to me."

But ultimately, the award-winning star is thankful he found a way back.

He said: "I know I needed this. I needed it as much as other people do."

Although show regulars including Brendan Hunt, Brett Goldstein, Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple are part of the fourth season, many of the actors who played the footballers in the first three series won't be back, and Jason personally made the "very difficult" phone calls to break the news.

He explained: "Because I didn't want them to hear it on the internet, and because I love those guys and we all went through something together."

Co-writer and star Brendan - who plays Coach Beard - sees a lot of his friend in Ted.

He said: "Ted Lasso is very much a representative of a part of Jason. [He's] a well-intentioned Midwestern yokel who really gives a s*** about other people and who has a knack for seeing stuff that other people don't quite see."