Award-winning football comedy Ted Lasso would return on Wednesday with a fresh storyline that moves the action from England to the United States and places women’s football at the centre of the series.
Cast members Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift and Juno Temple said reuniting for the fourth season felt natural despite the long break.
“It felt completely and utterly… effortless. Just ridiculously effortless,” Waddingham said at a press event ahead of the premiere. The actress reprises her role as Rebecca Welton, owner of the fictional English football club AFC Richmond. Swift, who plays club executive Leslie Higgins, said the cast “hit the ground running” when production resumed.
The new season sees Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, return to his home state of Kansas to coach a second-division women’s football team, marking a significant shift from the AFC Richmond storyline that made the series a global success.
Juno Temple, who returns as Keeley Jones, said the new setting helped the cast reconnect with Sudeikis’ original vision for the show.
“It felt like a really, really special way to come back again, to be slightly out of our comfort zone,” Temple said, describing filming in Kansas as “such a fun experience for all three of us.”
The change also enables the series to retain familiar characters including Coach Beard, played by Brendan Hunt, and Roy Kent, portrayed by Brett Goldstein—while introducing new faces and storylines centred on a developing women’s team.
Since debuting in 2020, Ted Lasso has become Apple TV+’s flagship original series, winning multiple Emmy Awards and earning praise for its optimistic storytelling, humour and focus on leadership, teamwork and mental wellbeing. Apple TV+ will release new episodes weekly, with the season finale scheduled for October 7.
