Spoilers for the Season 4 premiere of Ted Lasso are ahead! You can stream the series with an Apple TV subscription, and you can catch new episodes every Wednesday.
Ted Lasso Season 3 ended with Ted going back home to Kansas, but we know Season 4 is all about him returning to Richmond to coach a women’s soccer team. While I’m thrilled he's getting back on the pitch, I was incredibly worried about the show undercutting itself for a very specific reason. Thankfully, it didn’t, and this great Apple TV series actually perfectly set itself up for a meaningful return to England.
How Can Ted Go Back To Richmond When The Whole Point Of Season 3’s End Was Him Returning To Kansas?
Literally, the whole point of Ted Lasso Season 3 was him realizing it was time to say goodbye and go home to his son. So, as I thought about Ted Lasso continuing, I got worried about how he could return to England without totally going against the end of his first chapter.
Season 3 really honed in on how much Ted missed his son Henry, and by the end, he realized he needed to be with his family. Knowing he’s returning to Richmond in Season 4 (it’s in the trailer), I was very anxious about the idea that he could go back without his son again, which would mean he didn't remember the lesson he spent the first three seasons learning.
Thankfully, however, Ted Lasso didn’t forget why Ted went home in the first place. And as he tried to decide if he’d go back across the pond, this worry was taken into consideration and handled beautifully in the first episode to air on the 2026 TV schedule.
Season 4 Perfectly Sets Up Ted’s Return To Richmond Without Compromising Why He Went Back To Kansas
Sincerely, I appreciated how hesitant Ted was to return to Richmond. While Rebecca, Keeley and Higgins traveling to Kansas to offer him this gig as the women's soccer coach made him very happy, he also wouldn’t accept the job right away. It took his son and ex-wife offering to move to England with him for him to say yes. I loved it.
I appreciated how they set up this move for the whole family. Henry was ready for a new school, his mom didn’t love her job, and Ted wasn’t doing that much of note in America. They were all ready for a big change, and that meant they could all return to Richmond.
I was so worried Season 4 of Ted Lasso would rehash the same issues Ted had in Seasons 1 through 3. I was concerned he’d be lonely, I was anxious about him missing his son, and I didn’t want him to regret his choice to go back. With Henry in England now, and with both parents there to help him, none of that will happen.
Instead, we’ll get to see Ted take on a whole new set of challenges as he adjusts to family life in Richmond and dives into coaching AFC Richmond’s women’s team.
