The fourth season of Ted Lasso, the beloved comedy about a folksy American football coach, has arrived on Apple TV+. The show, which concluded its third season in 2023 with the titular coach returning to the US to spend time with his son, was expected to end there. However, star and co-creator Jason Sudeikis has reprised his role, and the new season picks up with Ted working in a local supermarket, offering moral guidance to colleagues and greeting customers by name.
A puzzling premise
The central question of the season is what lures Ted back to London. Richmond's owner Rebecca, deputy Higgins, and marketing manager Keeley fly to Kansas to offer him the job of managing the women's team, which is languishing in the second division. After initially declining, Ted's mother encourages him to go, and he agrees, with his son and estranged wife joining him.
The setup is described as "twee nonsensicality," but for fans, the show's anodyne atmosphere of positivity and togetherness remains its core appeal. Critics may find it fake and phoney, but the show has never aimed for gritty realism.
Focus on women's football
This season shifts focus to women's football, introducing new assistant coach Alice Chilton, a dour taskmaster frustrated at being passed over for the top job. Ted's efforts to improve morale are hampered by a lack of investment in women's sport, as well as issues like injury, pregnancy, and motherhood.
Despite the new setting, the tension never properly builds in the first four episodes, and the show relies on familiar dynamics, such as the will-they-won't-they between Roy Kent and Keeley.
Comforting and unoriginal
The appeal of Ted Lasso remains its signposted comic beats, predictable kindness, and bright visuals. It's been compared to Taylor Swift for being efficient, dorky, and basic. While some viewers may be put off by the focus on women's sport, fans will find the show as saccharine as ever.
