Ted Lasso is back. Season 4 of the Apple TV Plus sports comedy premieres today, August 5, more than three years after what was originally described as the show's final season wrapped up in 2023. For viewers who need a refresher, season 3 left a lot of threads dangling.
The most significant change heading into the new season is that Ted himself is no longer in London. After a visit from his mother Dottie, Ted confronted the emotional reality that his son Henry missed him and that his own attachment issues, rooted in his father's suicide, had kept him at a distance from his child.
"It's like I'm scared sometimes to get close to that little boy," Ted says in the season 3 finale. "Because I know he's going to leave."
That realization drove Ted's decision to return to Kansas. Before leaving, the Greyhounds closed out their campaign with a win over West Ham United, owned by Rupert Mannion, the ex-husband of club owner Rebecca Welton, finishing second in the Premier League. The final scene showed Ted coaching Henry's youth soccer team back home, giving his son the same advice he had given the Greyhounds in the first season: to be a goldfish and forget his mistakes.
Ted's departure left the club in new hands. Rebecca promoted Roy Kent to head coach, with Beard staying on as assistant. Nate, who had left the club under hostile circumstances at the end of season 2, also remained on staff. His path back to Richmond came through Beard, who revealed he had once been given a second chance by Ted under similar circumstances. Beard and Ted had met playing college football, and Ted let Beard sleep on his couch after his release from prison for stealing meth. Beard later stole Ted's car and was caught by police, but Ted told officers he had loaned the car to Beard, an act of generosity that turned Beard's life around.
That backstory helped Beard extend the same grace to Nate that Ted had once extended to him.
The finale also set up the central plot of season 4. During the final montage, set to Cat Stevens' Father and Son, Keeley approached Rebecca with a binder laying out a proposal for Richmond's next step: a women's team. The moment was structured like a setup for something larger, and season 4 follows Keeley and Rebecca working to make that team a reality, with the possibility of bringing Ted back into the picture.
Ted's ex-wife Michelle also appeared to have ended her relationship with the man who had been their marriage counselor, leaving that storyline open as the new season begins.
Season 4 of Ted Lasso is now available on Apple TV Plus.