Ted Lasso returns to the field with a twist in season 4

Believe it, AFC Richmond fans, because Ted Lasso is back. The teaser trailer for the highly anticipated fourth season dropped on Wednesday, confirming kick-off in about three months’ time.

The new season, which lands on Apple TV on August 5, sees Ted (Jason Sudeikis) return to the Richmond field. However, this time he’s coaching an entirely new team: a second division women’s football team.

Not everyone is happy about this shift though, as the trailer shows – one local welcomes Ted back, only to immediately say, “too bad you’re coaching a bunch of girls”. It’s probably safe to assume this will be a new burden for Ted to bear.

Elsewhere in the trailer, we see Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) smooching Dutch local Matthijs whom she literally fell for in Amsterdam in the third season, as well as ex-lovers Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley (Juno Temple) spending a fair bit of time together – including breaking out of a car’s sunroof with a high-heel (how they ended up there, only time will tell). And, of course, Ted appears to be his usual happy-go-lucky self, saying ridiculous things like: “FYI, the ETA is ASAP – PP. As soon as possible, pretty please.”

“Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would,” the season’s synopsis reads.

For those who don’t recall, season three saw Ted decide to return to Kansas to be with his son. Meanwhile, Roy became the new manager of AFC Richmond, Nate managed to redeem himself and returned to the team as assistant to the kit man, and Rebecca sold 49 per cent of the club while retaining ownership.

The season had an air of finality to it, especially given the title of its final episode, “So Long, Farewell”. Many fans wondered whether the show would return. This speculation only intensified following suggestive interviews with cast members.

In March 2023, Sudeikis – who helped develop the series – told Deadline they had reached the “end of the story [they] wanted to tell”. However, he did not rule out possible spin-offs or other projects related to the Ted Lasso universe. Other cast members also dampened hopes of another season, including Goldstein, who said in 2022 that the show was written with a three-season arc in mind.

However, all speculation dissipated in March last year when the new season was officially announced.

Season four welcomes back familiar faces, including Sudeikis – who both stars in and executive produces the show – Waddingham, Temple, Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift. A few new faces will then round out the team: Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education), Faye Marsay (Andor), Abbie Hern (My Lady Jane), Jude Mack, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey and Grant Feely.

After its debut in 2020, Ted Lasso became the most Emmy-nominated comedy series in its first season. It has since earned 61 Emmy nominations and 13 trophies.

Ted Lasso season four will debut on Apple TV on August 5, 2026 with one episode, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through to October 7.

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