When the news first broke that Ted Lasso, something I dub as a near-perfect series that buoyed so many of us during a global pandemic, would be reversing their season 3 series finale and returning for a long-requested season 4, I was nervous. After all, we know how things turn out when you stay too late at the TV party. (Stranger Things comes to mind; so does The Office.) But Ted Lasso, when it concluded its run in 2023, seemed to elegantly and incisively know exactly when to say goodbye. Sad as it was, the last thing any of us would want is for the show to do the beloved characters (Roy Kent, Keeley Jones, Rebecca Welton) dirty simply to keep the series alive.
I Watched the Season Premiere of ‘Ted Lasso’ and I’m Thrilled to Report: Season 4 Is Going to Be Good
For the love of Meghan Markle, I’m relieved
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Published Aug 5, 2026
Apple TV
This is why I was externally gleeful, but internally trepidatious when the return of the series was first announced. Was this simply an opportunity for another payday for Apple TV? A moment when the schedules of the lead characters once again aligned so they said, “Why not?” Or was there another story to tell?
Co-creator Jason Sudeikis, who also plays the titular character Ted Lasso and was offered huge sums of money should he choose to continue the series, told The Hollywood Reporter last week: “The story was told. Ted went home [to Kansas City] 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.”
Apple TV
But he also revealed that, as time went on, he realized that Ted Lasso wasn’t just another project for him. “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,” he said. A breadcrumb left at the end of season three that nodded to women’s soccer—not to mention his own interest in the rise of women’s sports—led him and the writers to decide: Wait, there’s actually more to say here.
This brings me to 2026 and the joy of being able to sit on my couch and once again stream Ted Lasso. Season 4 kicks off with the introduction of a potentially new revenue stream for AFC Richmond: a women’s soccer team. Rebecca, Keeley, even Higgins (played by Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple and Jeremy Swift, respectively) all travel to Kansas City to try and woo Ted to once again take on the coaching job. He’s hesitant—and mostly happy—with his new and rinse-and-repeat job as a supermarket clerk, which allows him to continue to impart his iconic Lasso-isms on wayward employees, but also be in close proximity to Henry, his son.
Apple TV
Still, as the first episode unfolds, a handful of incidents—including an interaction with Henry’s youth soccer coach who operates in a way that is totally opposite to how Ted would conduct himself on the field—start to plant a seed in his head that maybe, just maybe, he’d be OK with returning to Richmond. No spoilers, but it’s an episode that sets the stage for a whole new adventure, while delightfully featuring the characters that make the original season great. (A reunion lunch with Rebecca, Keeley, Higgins and Ted at a BBQ spot in Kansas City is particularly joyful for longtime fans of the series, featuring a bit of reverse culture shock for the Brits, not to mention the familiar—and hilarious—banter that we’ll naturally come to quote.)
A couple of caveats: It’s clear that the lead characters in season 4 will feature plenty of new faces. For example, Roy Kent (played by Brett Goldstein) and Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) are back, but so far, Nate—and most of the men’s team (Jamie Tart! Dani Rojas!)—are nowhere in sight. (I’m personally excited about Tanya Reynolds, who I adore from Sex Education.) Still, dangling plotlines from season 3 are alive and well. (Ahem, this includes our favorite “will they, won’t they” relationship arc as it relates to Keeley and Roy.)
But what matters most, based on the first episode, is the series is just as sharp and heartfelt and topical as it was when we last left off. The beauty of the show is that it so effortlessly mixes humor and kindness, but also doesn’t shy away from tackling the authentic personal struggles that the characters endure head on.
And will this totally new narrative breathe further life into the Ted Lasso universe? Fingers crossed, they’re will be more seasons to come.
