Ted Lasso Is Back But Is It Worth The Wait?

It’s pretty rare for a popular TV show to seemingly come to a neat end and ride off into the sunset, before suddenly coming back to our screens when you thought it was all over. But that’s exactly the case with Ted Lasso, the football comedy series that won hearts over during its first three seasons, and has now returned for an unexpected fourth.

Some things have stayed the same- Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein are all back- and some things have changed, as Ted now enters the world of women’s football. So with the premiere episode of the latest drop airing, we ask: is it worth the wait?

What is Ted Lasso Season 4 about- and how did Season 3 end?

Even if you’ve not seen Ted Lasso, you probably know what it’s about: American college football coach Ted ends up taking the post of manager for English football club A.F.C Richmond. Despite everyone doubting him, including the club’s owner Rebecca, he begins to turn things around and gains respect in the process.

Three seasons later, the series seemed to be coming to a close with Season 3’s finale in 2023, which (spoilers, of course) saw Ted take the step of leaving Richmond. He’d had an up-and-down season with struggles and successes, and ultimately decided it was time to prioritise his family. Despite plenty of pleading (mostly from Rebecca), Ted headed back to Kansas to reunite with his son, Henry, and co-parent him with his ex-wife, Michelle.

Except, it wasn’t the ending; despite the show’s creators saying it would be three seasons and done, it was confirmed Ted and co. would be back. And here we are, with ten episodes set to unfold until October. There was a big clue for how things might continue when, at the end of season 3, the idea of an AFC Richmond Women’s team was proposed, and sure enough, that’s much of the setup for this new outing. But does the show still have enough steam to make the comeback worth it? It’s hard to tell so far.

How does Ted wind up back in the UK?

Our main character is where we hoped he’d be when we meet him again, settled in Kansas City and with Henry. But there are some looming circumstances in his life that are making him feel unsettled: for one thing, Henry is graduating from elementary school, and Michelle is having trouble at work. It’s at this point that he gets a surprise visit from Rebecca alongside PR firm owner Keeley (June Temple) and Richmond Director of Communications Leslie (Jeremy Swift), who offer him the chance to coach the women’s team. It’s a big and tempting offer, and Ted and his family eventually accept, despite Ted seeming reticent.

This all may be where some fans will be less enthused by Ted Lasso’s return, and it’s a sentiment shared by a few other critics’ pieces so far: there’s a lot of focus in this episode on Ted and his family’s lives, and a lot less on actual football. Previously, the show was more about Lasso as a fish out of water and bonding with the entertaining characters of A.F.C Richmond, and while it seems silly to say given the show is called “Ted Lasso”, it feels a bit too Ted-centric.

Is it worth it & does the season have room to grow?

Despite a slightly slow start which left me wondering whether more Ted Lasso was worth it, I do think there’s potential for the show to get back up to full speed. For one thing, it feels like there’s been a good amount of time for our characters, and there’s a sense of a new beginning- even if perhaps we could’ve been thrown into the action more of Ted coaching the women’s team. How exactly he ends up taking a women’s team- which, as the show reminds us, is arguably more challenging than coaching a men’s team- and makes a success of it is definitely the element with the most potential. I think a two-episode season premiere may have helped more, with episode one being more familiar with all the returning faces and episode two being more of a shake-up as Ted arrives in London and meets the new team. But I enjoyed it enough, and these are still fun characters- and I’m hopeful things can be shaken up.

Despite a slightly slow start which left me wondering whether more Ted Lasso was worth it, I do think there’s potential for the show to get back up to full speed.