Ted Lasso Season 4: Who's Returning & Who's New to the Cast?
After a tearful yet triumphant Season 3 finale, Ted Lasso fans were left wondering whether that truly was the end—or just the beginning of a new chapter.
Well, it’s time to slap the “Believe” sign back on the wall again because Ted Lasso Season 4 is officially coming to Apple TV+ this August. While our favourite moustachioed coach will be back on the pitch, this time he’ll be training AFC Richmond’s newly formed women’s squad. Talk about a fresh challenge!
While Apple has been tight-lipped about the plot details, we know that many of the key cast members—including Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddington, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, and more—are confirmed to be returning next season. In addition, a slew of new cast members have been confirmed, although their exact roles remain up for speculation.
There’s no doubt we can expect Season 4 of Ted Lasso to be just as packed with heart, humour, and beautiful modelling of vulnerability in the face of adversity as previous seasons. So, call the Diamond Dogs for a pint down at The Crown & Anchor, and let’s see who’s returning for another match, and who’s joining the team at Richmond for the very first time.
Returning Cast Members
Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
Since his character’s name is literally the title of the series, it’s no surprise that Jason Sudeikis will be returning as the eternally good-natured football coach Ted Lasso. Although Sudeikis was already well known for his years-long run on Saturday Night Live and comedies like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses, Ted Lasso elevated him to new heights and saw him rake in the awards for his killer performance.
At the end of Season 3, Ted made the tough decision to leave AFC Richmond and return to the States so he could be closer to his son, Henry. Although plot details about Season 4 are scarce, we know Ted will be returning to Richmond upon Thames to coach their women’s team—and it seems likely he’ll be bringing Henry (at least partially) along for the ride.
Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca Welton)
The brilliant, award-winning television, film, and stage actress Hannah Waddingham will also be returning to her role as the owner of AFC Richmond’s football teams, Rebecca Welton. Rebecca’s story arc in Ted Lasso was one of the greatest U-turns of the entire series: She started driven by revenge, hiring Ted in an effort to ruin the team her ex-husband dearly loved, but soon became one of the most loyal subscribers to Ted’s heart-centred life philosophy.
As she remains the owner of AFC Richmond, it is likely that Rebecca will play an equally important role in Season 4 as a fierce champion for Ted and their new women’s team. In the meantime, make sure you check out Hannah crushing it in her roles in Sex Education, The Fall Guy, The Woman in Cabin 10, and Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning.
Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent)
He’s here, he’s there, he’s even in Season 4, Roy Kent, Roy Kent! That’s right, the great Brett Goldstein will also be returning both as a series writer and to his iconic role as the ageing football legend turned lead coach Roy Kent. Although Roy is a man of disapproving grunts over big words, his gruffness hides a softness that was progressively revealed over the past three seasons—and healed all our hearts in the process.
Season 3 closed out with Roy taking over Ted’s lead coaching duties alongside Beard at AFC Richmond, and I can imagine he’ll still be in that role in Season 4. In addition, though Keeley and Roy’s relationship had been officially benched at the end of Season 3, I have hope they’ll rekindle it since Roy finally started addressing his problems in therapy with Dr Sharon. If you cannot get enough Brett Goldstein, make sure to check him out in Shrinking, where he is both a writer and a star (as of Season 2), and in his charming podcast Films to Be Buried With.
Juno Temple (Keeley Jones)
It’s hard to choose favourites from the cast of Ted Lasso—since they’re all so darn lovable!— but Keeley is no doubt one of the standouts. Award-winning actress Juno Temple will be back in Season 4 as the model turned PR businesswoman Keeley Jones, and I am excited to see what’s next for her, both personally and professionally.
At the end of Season 3, we saw Keeley propose the idea of a women’s team to Rebecca, and Season 4 is set to put that plan fully into action—go, Keeley! In addition, Roy and Keeley had sadly decided to put their relationship on ice, mostly due to Roy’s insecurities. But with Roy in therapy and both spending a lot of time at the Richmond HQ, my bets are on them reuniting. Before Ted Lasso returns, make sure you check out Temple in other projects like Gore Verbinski’s upcoming bonkers Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die and Season 5 of Fargo.
Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard)
Brendan Hunt’s Coach Beard was one of the most solid, consistent players throughout the seasons of Ted Lasso. Deeply knowledgeable and unfalteringly weird, Beard proved himself time and again to be a vital part of the coaching team with his strategic, fact-based approach, grounding Ted’s bouncy enthusiasm— so, it’s fantastic news we’ll be seeing Coach Beard back again in Season 4.
At the end of Season 3, we left Beard newly married to Jane and deciding to stay permanently in the UK. While he also stayed on as assistant coach to Roy’s head for Richmond, with the return of Ted in Season 4, we may see Beard head over to the women’s team, too. And—don’t hate me—but I actually enjoyed the controversial “Beard After Hours” episode and wouldn’t be mad if they decided to do a little repeat.
Jeremy Swift (Leslie Higgins)
Everyone’s favourite Director of Football Operations will be back for Ted Lasso’s fourth season. Jeremy Swift’s Leslie Higgins was one of the most wholesome characters on the show—he literally gags whenever he does something against his values!—and now that Rebecca has decided to be firmly on the side of good, Leslie’s endearing presence can shine even more brightly.
Last we saw Leslie, he was enjoying life with his wife and five(!) children, and continuing his passion for playing Duke Ellington on his upright bass. As Rebecca’s right-hand man, we’ll likely see Higgins assisting her, being an all-star Diamond Dog, and providing everyone around him with gentle guidance and care in this next chapter of the series.
Annette Badland (Mae Green)
What would Richmond be without the Crown & Anchor pub and its dear owner, Mae Green? Luckily, we won’t have to find out as Annette Badland is set to return as Mae in Season 4. The fiercely loyal and kind-hearted pub owner was a regular throughout the first seasons of Ted Lasso, and was never afraid to give Ted her opinion on what he should be doing differently. Although it’s unclear if Mae will have a bigger role in Season 4, I can imagine we’ll see her just about as much as we ever did.
New Cast Members
Since Season 4 of Ted Lasso sees Ted take over as coach of Richmond’s newly created women’s team, we’ll be seeing a host of new faces joining the series as the new players. While their roles are still unnamed, the following actors are confirmed to be joining Season 4:
Tanya Reynolds, playing an assistant coach (judging by the first-look photos). (Sex Education)
Abbie Hern (My Lady Jane)
Aisling Sharkey (Jurassic World: Dominion)
Faye Marsay (Andor)
Jude Mack (Prime Target)
Rex Hayes (The Pact)
In addition, Ted’s son Henry will now be played by Grant Feely (Five Nights at Freddy's), who is taking over from Gus Turner. Henry’s recasting likely signals a bigger part for him in Season 4.
Still Unconfirmed Cast Members
While many of the beloved cast members from the first three seasons of Ted Lasso will be returning, there are still several who remain unconfirmed to return. While it was reported that Phil Dunster’s Jamie Tartt would not be in the upcoming season due to scheduling conflicts, some new set photos suggest otherwise!
Nick Mohammed’s series villain, Nate, is also not yet confirmed to be returning. Although Nate underwent an intense character arc that played a significant part in the past three seasons, we saw him and Ted have a heartfelt reconciliation of sorts in the finale. I’d wager that we might see Nate return at some point, but in a smaller and more neutral capacity.
Other cast members who have not yet been confirmed to return include Cristo Fernandez as Dani Rojas, Toheeb Jimoh as Sam Obisanya, and Kola Bokinni as Isaac McAdoo. Since the men’s team won’t be the focus of next season, we might see some of them around, but likely not in prominent roles.
In addition, we still don’t know if we’ll be seeing James Lance as reporter (now book author) Trent Crimm, Sarah Niles as therapist Dr Sharon, or Ellie Taylor as Rebecca’s best friend and Ted’s love-interest Sassy.
