Ted Lasso Season 4 Reviews: What Are Critics Saying About The New Episodes?

The moment that Ted Lasso fans have been waiting more than three years for is finally here: the hit sports comedy returns to Apple TV+ with the first episode of season four on Wednesday morning.

And whether or not the new season has been worth the wait depends on which critic you ask.

Jason Sudeikis and his co-stars are mostly all present and correct in Ted Lasso’s fourth outing, which sees the titular coach returning to Richmond to oversee the club’s resident women’s team.

Overall, reviews for Ted Lasso’s new run of episodes have been decidedly mixed, with some criticising the fact that so much emphasis is placed on existing characters – some of whom feel shoehorned in – rather than the newer additions (although Tanya Reynolds’ work as assistant coach Alice has already received widespread praise).

Meanwhile, others were more impressed with the new episodes, claiming that they’ve been able to capture what made Ted Lasso such a success in its early years.

Plenty have also encouraged fans to persevere with the season, despite a somewhat underwhelming opening episode.

Here’s a quick guide to what critics are saying about Ted Lasso season four so far…

“Americans don’t truly understand football, sure, but they do understand narrative storytelling. Ted Lasso is an all-American sporting hero in the mould of Rocky Balboa or Air Bud. The show was about bringing some of that touchy-feely shmaltz and exposing it to the rough winds of Premier League football. Can you be an eternal optimist on a cold, rainy night in Stoke? Having answered that question, the show has nowhere to go but limp on like an ageing striker whose powers are fading before their eyes.”

“For all its irritatingly ersatz qualities, the appeal of Ted Lasso is as clear as ever: the signposted comic beats, the predictable gestures towards kindness and reconciliation, the bright colours, the clean lines. A sense of quality entertainment still hangs about the whole well-oiled endeavour. Think of it as the TV equivalent of Taylor Swift: ruthlessly efficient, reassuringly dorky, blatantly basic and as monocultural as any Apple TV offering is going to get […] Ted Lasso is still saccharine business as usual and, no doubt, still a lot of people’s cup of tea.”

“Tanya Reynolds of Sex Education is a welcome addition as Alice Chilton, a coach whose constant scowl and clipped severity make her a well-suited foil for Ted’s sunny optimism until she inevitably warms to it. But, at least in the five episodes provided to critics out of an eventual 10, she’s pretty much the only new character who feels fully established, because Ted Lasso refuses to make room in the ensemble by sidelining (or is it touchlining?) old ones.”

“It’s one thing to label a thing important. It’s another to make it interesting. Ted Lasso succeeds at the former, but falters at the latter. In keeping the players and fans at arm’s length, at least for now, the show misses a shot to make the stakes feel personal […] Mostly, the series’ focus remains on its core cast. But rather than use the in-universe three-year gap to flip to a new chapter in the characters’ lives, it simply returns them to a familiar status quo.”

“Season four takes co-creator Jason Sudeikis’ Ted, who became a nurturing father figure to the surrogate family that was AFC Richmond, back across the Atlantic to shepherd the club’s new women’s team. It doesn’t quite work […] Although there are plenty of women writing and directing in season four, Alice – the highlight of the series’ second act so far – is the only substantial character who doesn’t feel filtered through the male gaze.”

“Given the mediocrity of series four, it’s a wonder that Jason Sudeikis’s football coach made it to the World Cup half-time show […] Previously, Sudeikis confirmed that there would be no season four, the implication being that three servings of Lasso were enough both for him and the audience. He was probably right. But then with television, as with football, comes the whistle for extra time.”

“Season four stumbles out of the gate with a tepid season premiere. When it finds its footing, it’s the best “Ted Lasso” has been since season one […] Season four is Ted Lasso at its best, offering team-building, sincerity, an emphasis on everyone trying their best, all undercut with enough dry British humour to keep the whole thing from feeling too cloyingly sweet.”

“I loved the show, but its absence has not been a painful one. Anyway, it’s back, beginning Wednesday on Apple TV, and I am glad enough. […] By the end of [episode four], there will have been enough sweet, celebratory moments to have rewarded your investment. (I gauge this scientifically by how often I choke up.) Where the story is going in any substantial way, other than, you know, win games, maybe get Roy and Keeley back together, do something interesting with Henry and/or Michelle, it’s too soon to tell. I assume it’s going somewhere, but we’ll find that out together.”

“With a runtime of roughly 45 minutes, there are stretches where the premiere feels like unnecessary table-setting […] Episode 2 is considerably stronger, recapturing the feel-good vibes that defined Season 1 […] As it stands, “Ted Lasso” Season 4 is already a marked improvement over Season 3. And if it continues to recapture even some of the magic of the show’s first two seasons? Well, that’d just be barbecue sauce.”

“It’s nice to see Alice’s dynamic with Ted turn into one of Season 4’s strongest additions, the first four episodes suggest the series’ greatest achievement won’t come from recapturing the magic of what came before. Instead, Ted Lasso successfully builds something new — and manages to move forward without losing what made it special.”

“The first half of season four confirmed the show has plenty more wisdom, warmth, and laughs to share. But [like the Lady Greyhounds], Ted Lasso also has a lot to prove in those final five episodes. Only time will tell if Season 4 is victorious. Until then, you’d better BELIEVE I’ll be rooting for it.”

“As the show pulls focus away from Ted and onto the Lady Greyhounds, Alice is primed to be a great new co-lead. That shift is proof of Ted Lasso‘s welcome evolution in Season 4, which so far seems to be avoiding Season 3’s biggest pitfalls. As someone who was skeptical of the show’s return in the first place, its embrace of women’s sports, like Ted coaxing Rebecca with his divine shortbread, has won me over.”

The first episode of Ted Lasso season four is now streaming on Apple TV+, with new instalments coming every Wednesday.