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The end of season 3, which happened in 2023, promised a lot of change and what seemed like a happy ending for much of the main cast. Among many other things, Ted (Jason Sudeikis) was heading back to the US to spend time with his son, Roy (Brett Goldstein) had just been promoted to head coach of AFC Richmond, Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) got married at Stonehenge, and Richmond\u2019s leadership group of Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), Keeley (Juno Temple), and Higgins (Jeremy Swift) were flirting with the idea of launching a women\u2019s team. It had the energy of a sitcom ending, and the episode was even called \u201cSo Long, Farewell.\u201d But it\u2019s that fledgling women\u2019s team that spurs the show\u2019s return.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The season 4 premiere almost feels like a different show at first, and that largely comes down to location. At the outset, Ted is working part-time at a grocery store in order to have more time to parent, and Rebecca, Keeley, and Higgins have come to Kansas City in an attempt to convince him to be the inaugural coach of the new team. It\u2019s like a reunion episode of sorts, with old friends catching up for the first time in years, which helps viewers understand what has happened in that time. It also drags out Ted\u2019s inevitable decision to say \u201cyes\u201d across a full episode.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The premiere serves as a transitory moment for this new era of Ted Lasso<\/em>, and from there the show shifts back to England and takes on a much more familiar feel \u2014 but with some significant changes. Part of what makes season 4 feel like a reboot is the players. Ted and most of the rest of the coaching staff and club leadership are back, but the actual team itself is all new. That means that favorites like Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh), and Dani Rojas (Cristo Fern\u00e1ndez) aren\u2019t in the show at all aside from some brief mentions (or at least they weren\u2019t featured in any of the five episodes Apple provided press ahead of time). In their place is a scrappy squad of up-and-coming players, and an assistant coach named Alice (Tanya Reynolds) who provides a more stern counterpoint to Ted\u2019s relentless optimism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s a risky bet eschewing beloved characters for a bunch of newcomers, but, at least early on, season 4 of Ted Lasso<\/em> manages to recapture much of what made the show such a success, but in a new context. The players on Richmond\u2019s women\u2019s side aren\u2019t coddled millionaires, but rather athletes trying to find their way in a still underfunded and undersupported field. One thing I appreciate is that it doesn\u2019t gloss over the very real challenges of women\u2019s football, from lackluster media support and facilities to the rash of devastating injuries that plague its players. This provides plenty of opportunities for Ted to learn and impart his folksy wisdom, and for the eclectic new cast to reflect this challenging landscape. There\u2019s an intense goalkeeper who was ignored by bigger clubs because she refuses to wear gloves (Jude Mack), a mom who made the team after spontaneously deciding to attend an open tryout (Faye Marsay), and a star striker who is balancing her athletic career with getting a law degree (Abbie Hern).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Recapturing the exact magic that made Ted Lasso<\/em>\u2019s early seasons such a phenomenon is probably impossible, and the new season is premiering at a very different time for Apple TV. Much has happened since its 2020 debut \u2014 service-defining shows like Severance<\/em> and Pluribus<\/em> didn\u2019t even exist then \u2014 but many of those changes also bode well for Ted Lasso<\/em>. Not only is Apple TV seemingly on an upward trajectory, but a controversial yet very successful men\u2019s World Cup has reignited interest in the sport (particularly in the US), while the next women\u2019s World Cup looms on the horizon. Those seem like prime circumstances for an impactful return for Ted and friends. The show may have changed, but its importance for Apple hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n