Consequence's review of Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso" Season 4 adds detail on the season's sluggish pacing, noting that episodes remain as long as those in Season 3, running 45 to 47 minutes each, and that the opener spends its entire runtime in Kansas City persuading Ted to return to London rather than getting straight to the football. The review argues the revival repeats the shortcomings of earlier seasons rather than learning from them, despite a promising premise built around Ted (Jason Sudeikis) coaching AFC Richmond's newly formed women's team, the Lady Greyhounds, who face underinvestment and scepticism typical of women's football today.

The Kansas City detour does let the show flip the culture-shock dynamic, with Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) developing a love-hate relationship with local barbecue, though the reviewer calls the episode a drawn-out way of confirming what viewers already know: that Ted will go back to London. Once there, he immerses himself in learning the nuances of women's soccer, while familiar faces such as Juno Temple's Keeley, Brett Goldstein's Roy Kent and Brendan Hunt's Coach Beard return, with the men's team staying largely off-screen in the first five episodes.