“When you truly care about one another, anything is possible.”
When last we saw television’s favorite soccer coach, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), the titular American decided to leave AFC Richmond and return to Kansas to be with his son, Henry. Realizing that being present as a father matters more than continuing to coach in England, Ted left his coaching staff behind to take the reins and continue the legacy that was once laughed at before becoming AFC’s hometown treasure. Peace and tranquility arrived in Ted’s life again, as Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) became head coach in his place.
Three years later, what felt like a definitive ending to a three-season storyline has been resuscitated with a Season 4 return for “Ted Lasso.” The multi-Emmy Award-winning series returns to Apple TV with a new sense of hope, a radically different squad at the center of the athletic action, and a new sense of fulfillment in Ted’s life as he starts anew in a familiar place.
This new season opens in Kansas City, Ted’s happy place … or so it may seem on the surface. Gone are the days of soccer (er, football) glory, as Ted is now an assistant manager at a local grocery store while his son Henry deals with trouble in school. As he continues to work peacefully on a relationship with his ex-wife, Ted is confronted by the ghosts of his past when AFC’s owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), loyal Communications Director Higgins (Jeremy Swift), and Chief Marketing Officer Keeley (Juno Temple) invade the land of BBQ with an enticing offer.
Ted is being recruited to lead AFC Richmond’s latest venture: the women’s soccer team, the Lady Greyhounds.
Before the BBQ stains have a chance to dry on Rebecca’s expensive wardrobe (a running gag that gets funnier with every passing meal), Ted whisks his family back to England for reinvention and a bunch of nostalgia. Gone are the days when Ted was unwelcome in the AFC program, but that doesn’t mean the uphill climb is over for the folksy walking book of aphorisms. In this instance, women’s football is not taken seriously and seen as a failing endeavor by other clubs, though Rebecca is hell-bent on ensuring Ted’s past successes in Richmond translate into a winning strategy for women’s sports.
“Ted Lasso” delivers never-ending gut punches of humor and heart that hardly ever lose a step in its return. The quick-witted banter that made the series so lovable picks up right where it left off with familiar characters backsliding into relationships formed from the series’ initial run. Keeley and Roy, though currently broken up, seem poised to return to normalcy with white-hot electric chemistry that never fades. At the same time, a fresh, female-forward ensemble gives Ted and company enough to contend with, involving cliques, coaching-style differences, and infighting that breathe life into a series that welcomes the change of perspective.
The lack of familiar faces in Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) and “Football is Life!” enthusiast Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez) is felt almost immediately upon Ted’s return to AFC Richmond. Regulars like Trent Crimm (James Lance) and Dr. Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles) are relegated to the depths of one-off cameos in the first four episodes of the new season, with hints that others from previous seasons might show up in similar fashion. However, the addition of actress Tanya Reynolds as Ted’s new assistant coach gives the series levity and a grounded approach that the third season sorely lacked.
The show’s triumphant return brings a sense of belonging and warmth that television dearly misses since the series left three years ago. Not only is it a sigh of relief to welcome Ted back to England, but it’s also a reboot of sorts that, in this modern era of reboots aplenty, does something spectacular: it actually delivers as intended. Some new characters mix well with familiar faces to bring a light-hearted, scrappy sense of self to a series that has always prided itself on introspection, while giving fan service to an audience eager for more of Ted’s corny yet insightful philosophies.
“Ted Lasso” Season 4 airs new episodes Wednesdays on Apple TV.