Ted Lasso is back, and if you thought the show was done after its third season wrapped up in 2023, you were wrong. Jason Sudeikis has returned as everyone’s favourite folksy American football coach, and season four picks up with the kind of warm, feel-good energy the show has always been known for.
When we last saw Ted, he had done the unthinkable and walked away from AFC Richmond after guiding the club from relegation fodder to Premier League contenders. He headed back to Kansas to be closer to his son, and the farewell felt pretty final at the time. The show had won 11 Emmy Awards and was the most-watched streaming original of 2023, so quitting while ahead seemed like the smart play.
But here we are. Sudeikis confirmed last year that he was coming back, and season four is now here to prove that AFC Richmond still needs its most enthusiastic and relentlessly positive gaffer.
The new season opens not in south-west London but back in the States, giving viewers a glimpse of what Ted has been doing since he left English football behind. If you are expecting him to have taken over a Major League Soccer club or gone back into college coaching, think again. Ted has been working at his local supermarket, learning the names of every customer who comes through the door, offering life advice to younger staff members, and generally being the most wholesome person in any given room. It is completely ridiculous and completely on brand.
The show has never pretended to be a gritty, realistic look at professional football. It has always been more interested in kindness, community, and the idea that treating people well matters more than winning. Season four leans into that even harder, and whether that works for you will depend entirely on your tolerance for sincerity.
For fans who have been with the show since the beginning, the return to Richmond feels like catching up with old friends. The supporting cast that made the first three seasons so beloved is back, and the dynamics between players, coaches, and staff pick up with the kind of warmth that made the show a hit in the first place.
Critics have pointed out that the new season does not stray far from the formula that made Ted Lasso famous, which is both its greatest strength and its most obvious limitation. The show knows what it is. It is not trying to reinvent itself or take any dark turns. It is a comedy about a good man who believes in people, set against the backdrop of English football, and it is perfectly happy to stay in that lane.
The Premier League setting continues to give the show a distinctly English flavour, even when its central character is about as American as it gets. There is something genuinely funny about watching Ted navigate the culture of English football with his relentless optimism and his seemingly endless supply of folksy American expressions. The contrast never gets old.
Whether season four can match the heights of the earlier run remains to be seen as more episodes drop, but the opening chapters suggest the show has lost none of its charm. Sudeikis slides back into the role as if he never left, and the writing keeps the tone light without ever feeling lazy.
Ted Lasso season four is streaming now on Apple TV Plus.