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TED LASSO Season 4 – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , ,
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Jason Sudeikis’ hit comedy series ​​<​em>Ted Lasso​​<​/​em> took a three-year hiatus – now it’s back for a fourth season. Last seen – the ever-optimistic American coach Ted left London to co-parent his young son in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri.

So he’s really surprised when team owner Rebecca Welton​ (Hannah Waddingham), marketing chief Keely Jones (Juno Temple) and operations head Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift) unexpectedly arrive stateside, ostensibly to see KC Current, the first stadium designed and built specifically for professional women’s sports.But the real reason for the visit is to present Ted with an offer he cannot refuse: to coach their brand-new women’s soccer team, the Lady Greyhounds

“Last time I hired you for all the wrong reasons, Rebecca admits. “This time I absolutely want to hire you for all the right ones.”

So Ted returns to AFC Richmond, this time bringing his ex-wife Michelle (Andrea Anders) and son Henry (Grant Feely).

Of course, he’s warmly greeted by Coach Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt). But not everyone is thrilled that Ted’s back.

Gruff, perpetually scowling assistant coach Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds) wanted that head coach job and felt she deserved it. And when Rebecca candidly admits that Alice’s name wasn’t even on the list, the narrative takes a deep dive into ‘girl boss’ feminism and its inevitable fallout.

(That’s a real-life dilemma: the absence of female coaches in women’s soccer. According to FIFA, only 22% of head coaches, encompassing 669 clubs in 86 women’s leagues around the world, are women. Only four of the USA’s National Soccer League’s 16 clubs entered the 2026 season with female head coaches.)

However, the primary problem is that the Lady Greyhounds are underdogs with second-tier treatment, including an over-crowded locker-room.

Predictably, unflappable Ted manages to change as much as he can – team-building and getting to know the players, like working-mom Lizzie (Faye Marsay), top athlete Gemma (Abbie Hern), and eccentric goalie Boots (Jude Mack), who refuses to wear gloves. Plus there’s comedian Tracey Ullman as Rebecca’s new mentor.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, ​<​em>​Ted Lasso​ Season 4​​<​/​em> scores a warm-hearted, sincere 7, streaming weekly on ​Apple TV through October 7.

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Susan Granger

Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at R.K.O., M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures; her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M. As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O'Brien and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic. Her newspaper reviews have been syndicated around the world, and she has appeared on American Movie Classics cable television. In addition, her celebrity interviews and articles have been published in REDBOOK, PLAYBOY, FAMILY CIRCLE, COSMOPOLITAN, WORKING WOMAN and THE NEW YORK TIMES, as well as in PARIS MATCH, ELLE, HELLO, CARIBBEAN WORLD, ISLAND LIFE, MACO DESTINATIONS, NEWS LIMITED NEWSPAPERS (Australia), UK DAILY MAIL, UK SUNDAY MIRROR, DS (France), LA REPUBBLICA (Italy), BUNTE (Germany), VIP TRAVELLER (Krisworld) and many other international publications through SSG Syndicate. Susan also lectures on the "Magic and Mythology of Hollywood" and "Don't Take It Personally: Conquering Criticism and other Survival Skills," originally published on tape by Dove Audio.