Ted Lasso’s fourth season splits critics with soft reboot approach
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Ted Lasso's fourth season landed on Apple TV+ after a three-year gap, adopting a soft-reboot approach that opens with Ted working a modest grocery store job in Kansas City before circumstances draw him back to football and London. New showrunner Jack Burditt sought to tighten the show's pacing and trim its previous excesses, but critical reaction was ultimately split, with reviews consistently pointing to a tension between the series' attempt at genuine renewal and its reliance on familiar nostalgia beats from earlier seasons.
Episodes still run 45 to 47 minutes, suggesting the pacing problems that dogged earlier seasons were not fully resolved despite the reboot's ambitions. Some critics praised the season for real creative renewal, particularly crediting the introduction of AFC Richmond's women's team with opening up fresh narrative territory beyond the show's established formula. Others argued the season undercut its own reboot ambitions by leaning too heavily on callbacks and established character dynamics rather than fully committing to new storytelling, leaving the revival's reception mixed overall rather than a clear critical success or failure.
- Ted Lasso season 4 returned after three years with a soft-reboot format.
- New showrunner tightened pacing, but episodes remain long at 45-47 minutes.
- Critics split: some praise renewal via women's team plot, others cite nostalgia overreliance.
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The origins of Ted Lasso lie in a comedy series that debuted on Apple TV+ in 2020, starring Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach hired to manage a struggling English football club despite having no experience in the sport. The show became a cultural phenomenon for its optimism and humour, winning multiple awards, before what was billed as its final season aired in 2023.
Season four marks a surprise return after a three-year gap, arriving under new showrunner Jack Burditt rather than the team that steered the earlier seasons. It resets much of the story, moving Ted away from football before drawing him back, and also expands the focus to include a women's football team connected to the original club, AFC Richmond.
The comeback matters because it tests whether a much-loved series can be revived without losing what made it popular in the first place, a challenge familiar from other "soft reboots" across television. It is also a significant moment for Apple TV+, which relies on high-profile shows like this one to attract and keep subscribers in a crowded streaming market.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates for the reboot argue that Ted Lasso deserves credit for taking real creative risks rather than simply repeating a winning formula, particularly by expanding into AFC Richmond's women's team, which opens genuinely new storytelling territory and reflects the broader game rather than just the men's side. They contend that resetting Ted in Kansas City before drawing him back to London shows a willingness to interrogate the character's arc rather than freeze him in place, and that a new showrunner trimming some of the prior excess is a sign of self-awareness and growth, even if imperfectly executed.
The case against
Sceptics argue that the season's persistence of 45-to-47-minute episodes shows the pacing problems that dogged earlier seasons were never truly addressed, undermining claims of meaningful renewal. They contend that leaning on nostalgic subplots and familiar character beats, even alongside new elements like the women's team, suggests the show is reluctant to fully commit to reinvention and is instead hedging between comfort and change, leaving the season feeling caught between two identities rather than confidently inhabiting either.
Coverage
- Consequence — Ted Lasso season four repeats old pacing problems, review finds
- Collider — Ted Lasso returns for season 4, focused on women’s football
- The Verge — Ted Lasso returns at an important time for Apple TV
- Variety — ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Is Both a Promising Reboot and a Tedious Sequel: TV Review
- The Hollywood Reporter — ‘Ted Lasso’ Review: Season 4 of Apple’s Hit Soccer Dramedy Struggles to Find Anywhere Interesting Left to Go
- Deadline — Jason Sudeikis Sets Up ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4: “It’s Getting Back To Doing What He Loves”
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