When Ted Lasso concluded its third season, it felt less like a television finale than a heartfelt farewell. It was the kind of ending that seemed content to leave AFC Richmond exactly where audiences hoped it would: bruised, wiser and full of possibility. So the announcement of a fourth season inevitably raised the question every beloved series eventually faces – not can it come back, but should it?
As it turns out, the answer wasn’t found in revisiting the past, but in looking toward a future that had been waiting in plain sight. Shifting its focus to Richmond’s women’s team, Ted Lasso broadens its world without abandoning the optimism, empathy and emotional honesty that made it a global phenomenon. Rather than simply expanding the roster, the series explores fresh perspectives on ambition, teamwork and what it means to chase a dream at any stage of life.
Ahead of the new season, Peter Gray spoke with co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis alongside new cast members Jude Mack, Abbie Hern and Faye Marsay about knowing when there was genuinely more story to tell, bringing women’s football to the forefront of the Ted Lasso universe, and why the show’s most enduring lesson may be that success is something we’re meant to share.
Jason, obviously season three ended in a way that felt like a goodbye. What had to be true creatively before, “Yes, there’s more story,” felt like the right answer rather than just, “There’s more Ted Lasso?”
Jason Sudeikis: I mean it was filling my own cup worth of ideas. Probably a 32 ounce up, I don’t know if you guys do ounces down there. But then seeing the other people that I’m lucky enough to make this show with – Brendan (Hunt), our co-creator Joe (Kelly), our writing staff – speaking with them both individually, but then also at a writers retreat we did, before anything was decided, just to kick the tires on it and see if this enthusiasm I was feeling was rippling into other areas.
Even then, you still have to deal with a healthy amount of self-doubt or concern of going back to “Why?” and answering those questions for me internally. Once a “Yes” is said, it’s then about not upsetting anybody. So, off we went.
For Abbie, Faye and Jude, I feel like the women’s side here isn’t just expanding, it’s changing the perspective. What excited you the most about telling football stories through these characters?
Faye Marsay: I think we cover lots of different personalities, lots of different situations. I can speak for my character, she’s a mother and she’s trying to balance motherhood and children with wanting to be more selfish and follow her dream that perhaps she may have followed earlier if she hadn’t had the children. It’s that kind of conflict of, “When’s the right time? Can you do it? And can you be at the top of your game and a top athlete and still be the mother you want to be?”
Abbie Hern: Especially in the UK, but in the US too, the female footballers are just having a real moment. They’re really being allowed to be a celebrity and not just be a powerhouse in the sport, but in the world too. Yeah, (this) being the first kind of opportunity to portray that feels like a dream come true.
Faye Marsay: Also what’s important is that we’re normalising the normal. Women do exist in sports, and they exist at the highest level just as much as men. So we’re just normalising what’s always been a thing. It just needs a bit more exposure.
I feel like Ted Lasso often argues that success and failure aren’t opposites. They’re both teachers. Has working on this show changed how you personally think about your own success?
Jude Mack: I think it’s just confirmed what I thought, which is that success is not individual. That you don’t have to be in competition with your peers to have success. Often, success together is the key to actual success and to happiness.
Faye Marsay: Yeah, and everyone’s version of (success) is different. What’s successful for you is not necessarily the thing that somebody else is thinking about. I think it’s quite an individual question. I like that it’s seen as a lesson, so whether you’ve messed something up or you’ve achieved something, one is not more powerful than the other.
Abbie Hern: And they really practice what they preach. We have very good role models from the show who handle the success of the show so brilliantly. They’re there to protect us.
Ted Lasso Season 4 premieres on Apple TV on August 5th, 2026.
