We still believe: Ted Lasso returns

Everyone’s favourite football coach is back for a new season this summer and we couldn’t be more excited! Earlier this week Apple TV released new promotional photos from the much-anticipated Season 4, expected to drop sometime in the summer.

Ted Lasso, the comedy about the goofy, loveable American football coach who travels to the UK to coach a Premier League team without really knowing the game, was exactly what the world needed back in 2020 when it premiered. It was the heartfelt, emotional, funny and the feel-good moment viewers needed when Covid hit. It was a massive success both commercially and critically, sweeping awards and viewership records. The series wrapped in three seasons but now, three years after the season finale, it returns with a whole new story.

Jason Sudeikis dons the whistle once again as Ted and returns to AFC Richmond, this time to coach a women’s team. The sparkling and amazing Hannah Waddingham is also set to co-star, while characters from previous seasons are expected to make cameo appearances.

To celebrate the news of its return, here is a look at some of the best scenes from the previous seasons.

The Dart Scene, S1E8 The Diamond Dogs

This is the scene I send when people ask is Ted Lasso worth watching. This is the first time the viewer understands that the whole “aw shucks” persona of Ted Lasso is deliberate, not incidental, and is backed by genuine skill. Team owner Rebecca is out with Ted for a pint when they run into her ruthless, womanising ex-husband. After he humiliates her in front of everyone, Ted steps in and challenges him to a darts match. A match the coach is expected to lose because, much like the coaching, everyone assumes he has no idea what he is doing.

It turns out Ted is an expert darts player. He demolishes his opponent while the entire pub explodes with cheers. This moment is the perfect distillation of Ted’s character: he disarms people with politeness and destroys their assumptions through competence.

Jamie Tartt Embrace Scene, S2E8 Man City

Ted Lasso is a great comedy but when it goes for emotion it does not miss. In the closing scene of this episode, the team travels to Man City for a match that ends in a crushing defeat. The loss hits Jamie particularly hard. He had been dropped from Man City after leaving Richmond for them, and now he returns as a better but deeply wounded version of himself. His life is still a mess, yet Richmond has become a safe haven where he is slowly transforming under Ted’s coaching.

Things collapse when Jamie’s father enters the locker room and berates him, mocking his life choices. Jamie snaps and punches him. After the father is thrown out, Jamie stands there, emotionally broken. Roy approaches and embraces him, allowing years of bottled pain to finally spill out. It is one of the most powerful character moments in the entire series.

Ted Breaks Down Scene, S2E10 No Weddings and a Funeral

Arguably the best episode of the series. Rebecca organises her father’s funeral and confronts her mother about how much she resented him. While Rebecca tells her story, Ted, who has been suffering from panic attacks, finally opens up about his own father’s suicide and the guilt he carries from not being able to stop it.

In that moment, Ted’s entire persona becomes clear. His optimism and kindness are not personality quirks. They are coping mechanisms forged in trauma. The scene reframes Ted not as a naïve, endlessly positive coach but as someone who channels his pain into relentless empathy so others never feel the despair his father felt.

Roy Kent Press Conference, S3E6 Sunflowers

In the closing sequence of the episode, the famously press-averse Roy Kent faces reporters after a match in which one of his players attacked a fan. Instead of hiding behind disciplinary jargon, Roy reframes the incident as a manifestation of emotional distress. He refuses to scapegoat the player and stresses that footballers are people who carry burdens, insecurities and bad days just like anyone else.

The moment showcases Roy’s evolution into a leader with genuine moral depth. He emerges as a coach who understands that accountability and compassion are not mutually exclusive.