Season 4, Episode 1

I’m shocked to be reporting it, but Ted Lasso has returned. I don’t think anyone expected this peculiar idea for a series to be such a major hit for Apple TV, but 2020 really needed a Ted Lasso-level of optimism and the series delivered. The positive word of mouth eventually forced me to check it out, and I’m so happy I did. I rarely get the chance to keep up on TV, but I always made time for Ted Lasso, and though I was sad to see the show come to an end after three seasons, I was happy to see an actual conclusion, and when it was announced that the show was coming back for a fourth season, I was surprised and extremely nervous. We’ve seen time and time again plenty of shows that did not need a continuation get one and fall flat on their faces.

Thankfully, after seeing the premiere, that is NOT the case with Ted Lasso, and while the opening episode has to do a lot of heavy lifting, I was grinning the whole time, so thankful to see these wonderful characters again.

The show picks up some years later after Ted’s return home to Missouri to be with his family, and he has a job, a solid co-parenting situation, and everything seems right for him…but there’s something missing. Ted’s returned to a world where he doesn’t fully fit. It’s moved on without him, and he’s just trying to find a happy medium between the fulfillment he’s missing and the obligations he carries, and when a new opportunity arrives in the form of Rebecca Welton, Leslie Higgins, and Keeley Jones stopping by for a visit, Ted’s not sure how to take their new offer.

For the most part, this episode is putting a lot of chess pieces into play, and it’s something of a re-pilot, launching a new story. It almost feels like a sequel to the original show due to this, and a lot of energy is spent on catching us up on these three characters, but there are a handful of great moments that inspire that same sense of hopeful wonder, including a conversation between Ted and his mother about finding happiness and purpose in a job and an excellent subplot where Leslie makes a visit to the American Jazz Museum and finds a different type of inspiration.

Ted’s characterization is excellent here, and Sudeikis’s performance is the calm around the chaos that makes this lead character so compelling. It isn’t that he’s overly optimistic as much as it’s the only thing he really knows, much like coaching. It’s not uncommon for me to throw a Speed Racer reference around, but that character races because it’s the only thing he knows how to do and he’s got to do something. I feel that energy in Ted, but can he make it all work? The episode leaves us in an interesting place with a conversation that I didn’t feel was authentic, but it’s also a cliffhanger meant to propel us into the next episode, so I’m curious to see how that conversation makes its way into the next week.

As I said, there’s the nugget of a new story forming in this season opener around Rebecca and Keeley’s attempt to start a women’s futbol club, and how the women’s teams are struggling everywhere and the uphill battle they’ve undertaken and really, that collision with a trip to Kansas City set our story in motion. There’s a kernel of story moving here, and the promise of more to come, and I’m not sure how it’s all going to play out, but I’m excited and locked in to see more.

Ted Lasso’s fourth season opens with a good premiere, and I have faith that the team has put together a story worth telling, but for now, it’s just nice to see these people once again and live my life alongside them.

3½/5
-Kyle A. Goethe