Ted Lasso season 4 appears to be more of season 3

A show that started as a wholesome and simple sports comedy has now fully evolved into a series heavily focused on social justice, diversity and political messaging. While some might argue that this was a logical evolution for a show about personal growth, others would say it’s more preaching than growth. 

Spoilers ahead for the premiere episode:

The first episode of the new season picks up where season 3 left off with Ted back in Kansas City co-parenting his son with his ex wife and working as an assistant manager at a grocery store. In typical Ted fashion, when he catches an employee stealing he teaches him an unforgettable lesson by out-stealing the employee and suggesting that perhaps the young man is stealing because of his “White Male Privilege". 

Ted’s “be curious, not judgemental” mantra and unorthodox teaching is one of the main reasons the show Ted Lasso was a cultural phenomenon during its first 2 seasons. Showrunner and Writer Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) wanted the audience to be active participants in season 3 which shifted to storylines that included accepting homosexuality, female empowerment, illegal immigration and racism. When some fans complained that they felt they weren’t being asked to participate, but instead were being preached to, Sudeikis responded that “Some People want to judge… they don’t want to be curious” also saying that those people “don’t have imaginations and they’re not open to the experience of what it’s like to have one.

And it appears as if Sudeikis and co-creator Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard) will continue with the growth of its characters (and audience). In the opening episode of the season, Lasso is asked to return to England to coach Rebecca’s new Female Soccer team. We will learn that said soccer team is already in trouble before it begins as one of the new teams fold under the pressure that no one wants to watch women’s football (soccer) and that it is only draining the men’s team resources. Yes, it does seem like Sudeikis and team is trying to cram the U.S. WNBA story line into their new season. And while Ted is navigating his decision to take up the coaching mantel once again, assumedly to show audiences why women’s sports are actually loved and watched by many, Leslie Higgins, who plays Rebecca’s assistant takes us on an uncomfortable race shaming side quest through the halls of the negro baseball league museum located in Kansas City. How is this related to Ted Lasso? We learn that women weren’t even allowed to play soccer in England until 1971.

The mostly unrelated scene is an opportunity for HIggins to grow and learn via his fear of overstepping racial boundaries. In fact, the whole first episode is filled with characters making assumptions and then being corrected in a socially awkward way. Whether that be Lasso with his son’s overbearing coach, Rebecca and Keely buying clothes from a female owned store or Higgins in every situation.

Part of what made you fall in love with Ted Lasso during the initial run of the show is still intact, but that will not include the male footballers as the push to a woman’s team will change the actors in the show. So if you loved Jamie and Sam among others, don’t expect anything more than perhaps a cameo this season. Brett Goldstein who plays Roy Kent will be back as he is also a writer and executive producer for the show.

Time will tell whether season 4 can recapture the magic of the first 2 seasons, but for those fans who were put off by season 3, the lessons do not appear to be halting for season 4. New Ted Lasso episodes drop weekly on Wednesdays on Apple Plus.