It’s Official: ‘Ted Lasso’ Returns to the Pitch on August 5
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While we’ve known for a while that Ted Lasso was set to make a triumphant return — Tim Cook himself teased it last summer and series star Hannah Waddingham more recently tipped off an August release date, Apple has finally made it official: Ted and the gang are coming back on August 5.
The beauty of the formal announcement is that it finally clears up many things that have only been rumored until now. For one, we know precisely which characters are coming back and which new actors will be joining the cast. While most of these aren’t surprises, Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) will be joined by Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca Welton), Juno Temple (Keely Jones), Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent), Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard), and Jeremy Swift (Leslie Higgins).
Sadly, there’s no mention of Phil Dunster, who played Jamie Tartt in the first three seasons. While the consensus among industry insiders is that Dunster wouldn’t be returning as a regular due as he’s tied up on other projects, many hoped we’d at least see him pop in for a guest appearance or two. Of course, Apple might be saving that for a surprise.
There’s also no word on whether we’ll see any of other former AFC Richmond team members show up, and even Nick Mohammed (Nate Shelley) is nowhere to be seen. That’s an odd omission considering how active he was in teasing Season 4 early last year, but he also seems to have dropped off the map after that.
However, there are also plenty of new cast additions for Season 4, including Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern and Grant Feely, best known for his portrayal of the young Luke Skywalker in Obi-Wan Kenobi, who will be taking on the role of Ted’s son Henry, who is expected to show up a lot more in the new run.
It appears that Tanya Reynolds, a well-known English actress who has previously appeared in the Sky One series Delicious and Netflix’s Sex Education and The Decameron, could be slated for one of the new leading roles — possibly even the new “Nate” — as she’s shown coaching alongside Beard and Ted in Apple’s press photo and teaser. That tracks with the longstanding reports — confirmed today by Apple — that the new season will center on Ted returning to coach a women’s football team.
In season four, Ted returns to Richmond, taking on his biggest challenge yet: coaching a second division women’s football team. Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would.
Apple
While industry insiders reported last year that Apple and Warner Bros. have locked in another three-season arc, Apple’s release stops short of confirming that, saying only that it’s signed “a new overall deal” for the show. It’s also adding a new executive producer, Jack Burditt, best known for creating Last Man Standing and serving as a producer on Frasier, Just Shoot Me! and executive producer on 30 Rock, The Mindy Project, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Modern Family. Burditt will join returning EPs Sudeikis and Hunt, along with EP writers Bill Lawrence and Goldstein, among several others.
During its first three seasons, Ted Lasso rose to become one of Apple TV’s biggest hits, bringing in record viewers, a history-making 20 Emmy nominations, and a rare first-year Comedy Series win. Those seasons are still available for streaming on Apple TV for anyone who wants to catch up before Season 4 debuts.
