“Ted Lasso” has always been a story of sunny positivity in the face of near-constant failure and sneering sarcasm. The first three seasons brought our underdogs from the lowest of low to qualifying for the Champions League. We left everyone in the original cast on a high note, but as we enter back into Ted’s world after three years, some things have changed.
Mild spoilers ahead.
Though, I’ve only seen 4 episodes (of ten) so far, I have a really strong feeling this is going to be a solid season, mostly because of the new cast members. The Lady Greyhounds inject this well-known world with much-needed diversity of feminine energy, and new inside jokes, all while tackling the casual sexism that infects some of the show’s known characters.
Where the Originals Landed
I’ll fully admit, the first episode is very slow and a tad bit boring as the writers quickly build out the blocks for what’s to come for the rest of the season. Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is back in Kansas doing his dadly duties, while working at a grocery store. Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) is still going strong with Matthijs and continuing to spend money on her friends’ whims. Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) is excited about the new Richmond women’s team initiative, despite all signs pointing to failure. Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift) is doing his usual thing, not much has changed there. In fact, aside from stoking the nostalgia further, I’m not entire sure why Higgins was there at all in the first episode.
Through a series of heartfelt but rushed sequences, Ted lands back in Richmond to coach the women’s team, living over Mae’s bar and trying to find his footing again; this time, with his family by his side. Not much has been shown with this yet, but I am curious about the new dynamics of Ted’s son and ex-wife living in the city, uprooting their lives to go across the pond for him. The show has always been about how a divorced dad navigates new, unfamiliar, single territory, so bringing his family overseas has the potential to shake that formula up.
The first couple of episodes saved the best for last with the reintroductions of Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt). We last heard Beard got happily married to Jane Payne (Phoebe Walsh), but now he looks like a homeless rat sneaking around corners, watching Ted. Hunt is hilarious in this part of the plot, because it feels like he’s yearning but menacingly so, which is both impressive and unnerving. Meanwhile, Roy is coaching Richmond’s men’s team, still hung up on Keeley post-breakup and forever annoying his adorable niece. Keeley and Roy shippers might be equal parts annoyed and excited about the journey these two go on to see if they eventually make it back to each other. Speaking of broken couples, Beard and Ted’s reunion is every bit as silly and slightly queer-baiting as you’d expect from two grown men with a mild codependency problem.
Seeing most of the old cast made me feel like I was almost back home, but not quite since we’re missing some favorites, at least in the first four episodes. In the beginning, it seemed like Ted, Rebecca, Beard, and the rest were going to fall back into a recognizable, easy rhythm, if not for the Lady Greyhounds and my favorite new character, Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds).
Introducing Our New Players
I’m always hesitant when a show soft reboots itself without a good chunk of the cast that made the original version great. However, the introductions to key members of the Lady Greyhounds make that uneasiness go away. Coach Chilton is one of the strangest, driest, most endearing weirdos we’ve gotten on this show yet, which is impressive because the show is filled with them.
The Lady Greyhounds that the show emphasizes in the beginning are played by Abbie Hern (Gemma, the striker savant), Jude Mack (Boots, who refuses to wear gloves) and Faye Marsay (Lizzie, the natural-born leader), along with a pair of twins (played by Aisling Sharkey and Rex Hayes) that fight like cats and dogs. This new crop of players shakes up some of the stagnant patterns that the show fell into in its last season. Because we’ve known the previous cast for so long, some of them started to feel like caricatures of themselves vs. the characters we’d come to love. Adding in new cast members mitigates this a little bit, with them directly addressing hard subjects head on, sometimes with a beer bottle to the face.
Chilton’s dynamic with both Ted and Beard make for a very memorable and intriguing bit of plot. Over the course of Ted’s first week back, she slowly warms up to him in a way that feels really natural and unforced. Her strained relationship with Rebecca leads to some incredibly funny one-liners and facial expressions from them both. And speaking on that, Reynolds does marvelous work with just her reactions to the insanity around her. As the audience, we get used to our wacky and zany favorites being goofy, but when new people with fresh eyes are added to the mix, the absurdity is amplified.
The Main Man Himself
Ted is always going to be unapologetically himself and that doesn’t change in these first few episodes. In fact, he’s so himself, the people around him have fallen into his rhythm and started translating his sometimes-cliché, metaphor-filled language. He should be an annoying character to watch, but his quiet acceptance of things he doesn’t understand (and can’t change), his disconcerting ability to read people, and his dad-like sense of humor are what keep us locked in every episode. His wide-eyed optimism is contagious, which is why we (the audience, Rebecca, etc.) keep coming back to him.
There’s something about him that breaks down defenses and makes you want to believe every silly, goofy, good thing he believes in, because he’s so convincing in his simplicity. It’s a powerful trait for a seemingly mundane, Midwestern dad to have and it gets me every time.
One of my favorite moments of the show so far, and one of the most telling about the direction of this new era, is when Ted had had enough of not being able to easily access the locker room. He made adjustments (put a trash can on his head covering his eyes), assessed the drama within the women’s team’s dynamics, made a haphazard plan which ended in jail time, bloodshed, and a large bill, but solved a very glaring issue. That sequence perfectly encapsulated why Rebecca wanted Ted back in Richmond. He can look at the bigger picture and problem solve very quickly, which is helpful considering how delightfully chaotic things are with the team.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this was great preview for how the rest of season 4 will go. The OGs click back into their proper places, while the new cast eases their way in, pulling focus, but not completely taking over. I will say I’m not the biggest fan of Keeley and Rebecca’s mostly male-centered plots this season. To be fair, their storylines have always been a bit like that, but it feels different now somehow. We now have an abundance of women characters with an array of stories bursting to come out; some moms who are trying to find their place on the squad, some working through previous workplace drama, and others who buck the norms and do their own thing. It’s refreshing to see authors writing so many women well, outside of any desire for men, and even featuring some actual queerness.
It makes Keeley’s and Rebecca’s stories feel outdated in comparison.
Other than that, the “Ted Lasso” writing team has functionally done the impossible: reinvigorate the show, while also holding onto the familiarity we all know and love. The first four episodes promise a strong and well-rounded story with clever appearances from some familiar faces and allowing us to fall in love with new folks.
“Ted Lasso” season 4 streams on Apple TV, premiering on August 5 with the first episode, “Home,” with new episodes weekly through October 7.
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