Ted Lasso Season 4 Premiere Review

The roles are reversed for our favorite team in the reference-filled Ted Lasso Season 4 Premiere, which sets the stage for the rest of the series.

In the season premiere, titled “Home”, Ted (Jason Sudeikis) is back in Kansas City. When he’s not at work or helping his mom Dottie (Becky Ann Baker, of Ella McCay) move out of the childhood home they currently share, he’s spending time with his son Henry (Grant Feely), who’s now 12 years old and really into footb–err, soccer, on this side of the Atlantic.

Despite the different setting and the obvious lack of Greyhounds, it looks like not much has really changed in Ted’s life. Though he can now be more involved in Henry’s life, he also seems to be the same old Ted: he still can’t help solving problems ‘the Lasso way’ – and making any environment he’s in a better place because of it – and he’s also still a bit of a mess underneath it all, though the premiere only hints at what’s sure to be explored later on in the series.

While doing some ‘Ted Lasso’ing at the grocery store, at the start of the episode, Ted runs into Joe Conrad (James Earl), a player he used to coach and who’s now been married for five years, with a kid of his own. Soon, his wife Tabitha (Hannah Ingle) joins them, and Joe introduces him as “the greatest role model of [his] life”. “And you work… here?”, Tabitha asks, voicing the question on everyone’s mind. But things are about to change for Ted, and it all starts with a visit from the past.

The visit comes in the form of AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift), and Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), who’s getting involved with the second division women’s football team. Which is exactly what Rebecca, Leslie, and Keeley have come to talk to Ted about, but not before doing some exploring of their own. As Rebecca discovers the local food scene, Keeley channels her inner Dorothy, and Leslie takes a wonderfully Higgins-like detour, a reunion is in order; soon, the three Londoners make Ted an offer he can’t refuse.

Most of the Ted Lasso Season 4 premiere sets up what’s to come in the rest of the series, as the entire episode is dedicated to showing us what Ted and the AFC Richmond team have been up to, and giving Ted a reason to go back to London: being offered to coach the women’s team. It’s an enjoyable episode overall, but it also feels, at times, like it’s trying too hard to replicate the Season 1 magic.

A lot of the episode mirrors the Season 1 premiere – only, with a reversal of roles: this time, it’s the Brits who struggle to understand American phrases, customs, and oddities, and eventually get acquainted with the Midwestern hospitality. Sadly, not all the jokes land, and a lot of the humor feels forced especially when compared to the show’s previous seasons – a parallel Season 4 seems to invite with all these callbacks, yet the choice doesn’t always pay off.

Not only that, but Ted’s current routine feels a little underdeveloped, as even though we are given a glimpse into Ted’s relationship with Henry and his ex-wife Michelle (Andrea Anders, of Spirited), it feels like the series is barely scratching the surface of their family dynamics in the aftermath of a painful divorce, a transoceanic move, and new living arrangements to get used to. Because of that, the episode’s resolution (which won’t be spoiled here) feels unrealistic and rushed, which is a shame given how much time the show’s previous seasons dedicated to setting up these complex relationships.

Ted’s son Henry is now played by Grant Feely, taking over from Gus Turner in this season (possibly because they needed an actor who could play football), and it’s going to take a while to get used to, as this father-son relationship was so beautifully developed in past seasons that it’s hard to see the same history without a familiar face to match it to. Still, Feely plays the character well, so it might just take a little time to become familiar with him in the role.

Matthijs (Matteo van der Grijn), the Dutch ‘mystery man’ from Season 3 Episode 6, returns as Rebecca’s boyfriend, and that relationship worries me more. Though Rebecca and Matthijs would seem to be made for one another on paper, and Waddingham and van der Grijn are both great in their respective roles, something just doesn’t click. Their exchanges feel unnatural, but knowing Ted Lasso, only time will tell if this lack of chemistry was unplanned or is a deliberate move to anticipate better things to come for Rebecca’s love life.

That said, there are also some fantastic moments in the Season 4 premiere. Several characters really shine here, starting with Leslie, who remains fiercely true to himself in a scene that beautifully highlights everything we love about the character – and establishes an interesting thematic parallel too. Rebecca has some wonderfully ‘boss-a*s b*tch’ moments involving items of clothing, though some of her actions in the rest of the episode feel slightly at odds with the AFC Richmond owner we’re familiar with. Keeley demands our attention by simply being herself, and the ever-excellent Juno Temple imbues the character with warmth and authenticity.

The unexpected hero of the Season 4 premiere is Ted’s mother, Dottie, who charms us with her larger-than-life personality and moves us deeply when we least expect her to, Ted Lasso-style. On the comedy front, the standout is Ted’s “Fowch’s Fine Food” coworker Vanessa (Holland Smith), whose very few lines in this episode (and possibly in the entire series) really manage to convey exactly who her character is, in a hysterically funny way.

If, based on this review, you think you might have an idea of what happens in the Ted Lasso Season 4 premiere, you’re probably right. While “Home” is an enjoyable episode that reunites us with Ted and the AFC Richmond gang, it’s also very light on plot, mainly serving to set up the rest of the series by getting Ted back to England. Still, knowing Ted Lasso, anything is possible now, and we might be in for some surprises soon. Bring on episode 2!

The Season 4 premiere of Ted Lasso is now available to stream on on Apple TV.