It is the 19th overall episode of the series and was written by main cast member Brett Goldstein and executive producer Joe Kelly, and directed by Sam Jones.
After Richmond's loss against Manchester City F.C., Beard (Brendan Hunt) tells Ted (Jason Sudeikis) he will make his own way home instead of riding together with the team.
He is joined by avid Richmond supporters Baz (Adam Colborne), Jeremy (Bronson Webb) and Paul (Kevin Garry), who take an interest in his conversation.
When the pub closes, Beard refuses to go back to his apartment and the four miraculously enter (without the much needed membership card) the exclusive, private basement club Bones & Honey.
As Baz, Jeremy and Paul have fun in the club, Beard is tormented by imagining Thierry Henry and Gary Lineker mocking him on a pundit show.
Walking the streets, he is found by Baz, Jeremy and Paul, who rented a limo with money they earned playing pool at the club.
After they drive off, Beard's apartment key (which he had repeatedly dropped throughout the episode) breaks in the lock, just as it starts raining.
The next day, Beard arrives late at the Richmond office, bringing coffee for Ted, Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Nate (Nick Mohammed), and does not mention anything that happened during the night.
The episode was directed by Sam Jones and written by main cast member Brett Goldstein and executive producer Joe Kelly.
"[3] The writers used After Hours as a starter point for the episode, as it would involve Beard going on a crazy night out and going to work the following morning.
The writers didn't intend to reveal much from Beard, with actor Brendan Hunt explaining, "We just showed what we think is a not-atypical night out for him, which is why he just rolled with it.
I realize that the spiraling of the story is meant to be like he's trapped in a never-ending cliche of movie tropes, but the episode lacks the forward momentum to make that feel thrilling instead of a bit of a slog.
"[7] Keith Phipps of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The big question: Does Beard's story line advance?
"[8] Becca Newton of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Before Ted Lasso Season 2 aired, I had a wish list.
"[9] Linda Holmes of NPR wrote, "Like the Christmas episode, it doesn't advance any of the plots that were bubbling at the end of 'Man City'.
But the flip side is that it's a chance to play around with tone (if Christmas was sweeter than most Ted episodes, 'Beard After Hours' is more experimental, magical, dreamlike) and to see characters step out of their usual narrative functions.
An entire episode focused on him, with virtually no participation by the rest of the principal cast is, simply put, a different TV show.
But Ted Lasso's right-hand man took center stage this week — quite literally at one point, when Beard stumbled upon an underground rave — and Hunt maneuvered an extremely delicate dance with the utmost precision.