It's Ted vs. Nate in intense Ted Lasso season 3 first look

The Ted vs. Nate showdown has only just begun on Ted Lasso.

Apple TV+ shared the first look at the third (and final?) season of the Emmy-winning comedy on Wednesday, and the intense photo reveals Nick Mohammed's underdog-turned-enemy Nate really has turned to the dark side — literally — after his blow-up with Ted (Jason Sudeikis) in the season 2 finale.

Tension built all throughout last season as Nate felt increasingly ignored by Ted, and he ultimately turned his back on his former friend by leaking information about Ted's mid-game panic attack to the press and becoming the new manager for Rupert (Anthony Head) and West Ham. Now working for the enemy of Richmond AFC, the first look photo shows Nate embracing his new position in a confrontation with Ted as Rupert watches. Check out the photo below:

While Apple TV+ hasn't officially announced whether the series will end after season 3, Ted Lasso star and writer Brett Goldstein previously said that was the plan. "We are writing it like that," he said. "It was planned as three." He then joked, "Spoiler alert — everyone dies."

Star/executive producer Sudeikis has been firm for years on the fact that the series was always meant to be three seasons. "The story that's being told — that three-season arc — is one that I see, know, and understood," he previously said. "I'm glad that [Apple TV+ is] willing to pay for those three seasons. As far as what happens after that, who knows? I don't know."

"I think we've always meant it to be three seasons," added costar Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard on the show and helped develop the series. "I think it would be pretty cool if, in the face of how much everyone likes this show, that we stick to our guns and really just do three seasons. But even as committed to that idea as Jason may have been, none of us were prepared to the degree to which people love this show. Usually shows don't have that kind of effect if they say the word 'f---' so many times. We're kind of in no man's land here, still being discombobulated by the response and I think that could make hard-hearted old Sudeikis soften up a little bit. I will say that, whatever he decides, I will happily abide."

Ted Lasso executive producer Bill Lawrence was more optimistic that the series could continue after three seasons, however. "The initial story Jason had in his head is a three-season arc, [but] I'm hopeful there's more Ted Lasso stories to tell after three seasons," he said. "Hey, in my head, I'm like, Ted Lasso moves home and he should coach the professional team that's a block away from Jason's home in real life."

Ted Lasso season 3 is set to premiere this spring.

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• Is Ted Lasso ending after season 3?
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• Not even Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed can defend Nate: 'He crossed the line'