More than three years after the series finale that gave nearly everyone a fitting ending, Ted Lasso is back. The Apple TV+ comedy-drama returned on August 5, 2026, with a fourth season that does not try to undo the past. Instead, it asks a fresh question: what happens when the story moves beyond the men who built Richmond’s legacy? Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) returns to England after Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) convinces him to coach AFC Richmond’s newly formed women’s team, the Lady Greyhounds. The shift gives the series a new direction, placing women’s sports at the centre of the story and allowing familiar characters to evolve in unexpected ways.
The Lady Greyhounds Take the Pitch
Season 4 follows AFC Richmond’s women’s team as it chases promotion from England’s second division. The idea was first planted in the Season 3 finale, when Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) pitched a Richmond women’s team to Rebecca. Three years later, that dream has become a reality.
The new team is called the Lady Greyhounds, and they face challenges familiar to women’s sports – from securing funding to proving they deserve the same attention and belief afforded to the men’s game. Ted, who had returned home to Kansas City to be with his son Henry, is brought back across the Atlantic by Rebecca, Keeley, and Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift).
In the season premiere, the trio flies to Kansas City to recruit Ted. The episode was filmed over several weeks in Kansas City, with a key scene shot at CPKC Stadium, the first stadium built specifically for an NWSL team. The real-life Kansas City Current of the NWSL served as inspiration for the plot. Rebecca’s doubts about the financial viability of a women’s team are changed by the sellout crowd and enthusiasm at the Current’s stadium – a moment that mirrors the real-world success of women’s sports in Kansas City.
Rebecca Welton’s Evolution
Rebecca Welton has come a long way since the first season. Back then, she was dealing with anger, heartbreak, and a desire for revenge against her unfaithful ex-husband. By Season 4, she has changed significantly.
Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca, admitted that questions about her character’s journey affect her emotionally. She explained that Rebecca is learning how to pace herself and is also allowing Keeley to figure things out in her own way. In the Season 4 opener, Rebecca flies to Kansas City to recruit Ted, with Keeley and Higgins by her side. Waddingham noted that the idea for the women’s team clearly came from Keeley, and Rebecca insisted they could not do it without Higgins.
One of the season’s most memorable moments arrives when a female coach asks Rebecca whether she ever considered appointing a woman to lead the women’s team. Rebecca’s slightly flustered attempt to explain herself is genuinely funny, but the scene also lands because it gently exposes how even well-intentioned leaders can overlook the very biases they are hoping to dismantle. Waddingham plays the moment beautifully, allowing Rebecca’s discomfort to become part of her growth rather than a punchline.
The Cast on Women’s Sports
The cast has spoken openly about the season’s focus on women’s sports. Jason Sudeikis was asked how the new season might inspire young female athletes. He explained that he never created the show with the goal of inspiring people in a direct or deliberate way. Instead, the team behind Ted Lasso focused on making a series they were proud of and genuinely found funny.
Sudeikis recalled attending the WNBA All-Star Game with his daughter and sister, where he sat next to former NBA star Dwyane Wade. Wade leaned over and said, “Isn’t this amazing that all these young girls will get to see this?” Sudeikis agreed and added that it is equally meaningful for young boys to grow up seeing women’s sports as a normal part of the sporting landscape.
“I think it’s also really powerful that little boys will grow up not knowing any different.”
Sudeikis also revealed that watching England’s Lionesses lift the UEFA Women’s Euro title in 2022 contributed to a creative spark for Season 4. Women’s sports have been a major source of inspiration for the show’s latest chapter.
New Faces and Familiar Favourites
Season 4 welcomes back most of the core cast. Jason Sudeikis returns as Ted Lasso, alongside Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton, Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent, Juno Temple as Keeley Jones, Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard, and Jeremy Swift as Leslie Higgins.
New additions include Tanya Reynolds as Alice Chilton, a coach on the women’s team. Reynolds, known for her role in Sex Education, described Alice as someone trying hard to present as tough and focused, having lost her sense of humour in the process. Other new cast members include Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern, and Grant Feely, who takes over the role of Henry Lasso.
Roy Kent, who assumed Ted’s position as coach of Richmond’s men’s team in the Season 3 finale, also returns. Brett Goldstein, who also serves as a writer on the series, told USA TODAY in 2025 that he felt the show might not truly be over.
A New Direction for the Series
For three seasons, Ted Lasso explored masculinity through football – competition, vulnerability, failure, and redemption. The women’s team does not simply offer new players; it changes the conversation. Ted is no longer just building a squad. He is navigating a sporting landscape where inequality is not an obstacle to overcome in a single match, but something woven into the system itself.
The series handles these ideas with humour rather than heavy-handedness. Keeley gets one of the season’s sharpest lines when she observes that women are rarely allowed to simply be “good”. They are expected to either win spectacularly or fail completely.
Watching Ted guide the Lady Greyhounds brings to mind films like Chak De! India – not because the stories are identical, but because both understand that coaching a women’s team means fighting battles far beyond the scoreboard. Respect, opportunity, and belief become just as important as tactics.
Jason Sudeikis slips back into Ted with ease, though there is a noticeable maturity this time. The optimism remains intact, but it is no longer naive. Ted has lived through disappointment, and that experience gives his encouragement a quieter confidence. He listens more than he lectures, making the character feel less like an inspirational speaker and more like a coach who has learned that every team requires a different approach.
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Release Schedule and Availability
Ted Lasso Season 4 premiered on August 5, 2026, on Apple TV+. The season consists of 10 episodes, with new episodes releasing weekly every Wednesday through October 7, 2026. The first three seasons of Ted Lasso are also available to stream on Apple TV+.
Also Read: Ted Lasso Season 4 Premiere: Ted Faces His Biggest Challenge Yet as Richmond Returns
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