Ted Lasso season 4: what we know about the cast, the episode schedule, and why Sudeikis came back

For a while it looked like the story was finished. Ted had gone home to Kansas City, the season 3 finale tied its bows, and the show most people assumed was over stayed over. Then Apple announced a fourth season — and this week Jason Sudeikis sat for a Hollywood Reporter cover interview, published July 23, 2026, that sent "Ted Lasso" back to the top of the trends the next morning.

The interview is the hook. But the reason you probably searched this is simpler: you want to know when it airs, who's in it, and what it's about — and to keep that straight across a 10-week rollout. So this is built to stay useful. Below is the durable version: the release calendar, a searchable cast table, the premise, and the honest state of everything the interview stirred up — including what is confirmed and what is not.

The short version — what we actually know

• Premiere: Wednesday, August 5, 2026, on Apple TV.
• Length: 10 episodes, released weekly on Wednesdays, with the finale on October 7, 2026.
• Premise: Ted returns to Richmond to coach a second-division women's team, the "Lady Greyhounds" — a storyline set up in the season 3 finale by Keeley and Rebecca. Apple's synopsis frames it as the club learning to "leap before they look."

Those four facts come from Apple's April 2026 announcement and, for the women's-team framing, Goal.com's write-up. Everything else on this page is context around them.

The episode calendar: every date, Aug 5 to Oct 7

Ten episodes, one per week, all on Wednesdays. If you're pacing yourself with the rollout instead of waiting for the finale, here is the full schedule (dates from Apple's announced premiere and weekly cadence):

• Episode 1 — Wednesday, August 5, 2026 (premiere)
• Episode 2 — Wednesday, August 12, 2026
• Episode 3 — Wednesday, August 19, 2026
• Episode 4 — Wednesday, August 26, 2026
• Episode 5 — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
• Episode 6 — Wednesday, September 9, 2026
• Episode 7 — Wednesday, September 16, 2026
• Episode 8 — Wednesday, September 23, 2026
• Episode 9 — Wednesday, September 30, 2026
• Episode 10 — Wednesday, October 7, 2026 (finale)

Apple has not published individual episode titles or runtimes; those typically surface week by week as each drops.

The cast: who's back, who's new, who isn't

This is the part that changes the most between seasons, so it's the part worth a tool. Apple confirmed six returning principals — Jason Sudeikis (Ted), Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca), Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent), Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard), Juno Temple (Keeley) and Jeremy Swift (Higgins) — and seven new cast members. A number of familiar faces from seasons 1–3 are not on Apple's returning list; those departures are attributed to entertainment reporting rather than an Apple statement, because studios confirm who's in, not who's out.

Search the table for any actor or character to see their status and the source for it. You can also download it.

Ted Lasso Season 4 Cast: Who's In, Who's New, Who's Out

Ted Lasso season 4 cast tracker: returning, new, and not returning

A searchable table of the Ted Lasso season 4 cast — the returning principals and seven new additions confirmed by Apple TV, plus the departures reported by entertainment outlets. Each row tagged Returning, New, or Not returning.

Search the tableDownload CSV

Actor	Character	Status	Note
Jason Sudeikis	Ted Lasso	Returning	Co-creator and star; the season follows Ted coaching a women's team in Richmond. Confirmed by Apple TV.
Hannah Waddingham	Rebecca Welton	Returning	Club owner; her season 3 finale scene with Keeley sets up the women's-team storyline. Confirmed by Apple TV.
Brett Goldstein	Roy Kent	Returning	Also a series co-writer. Confirmed by Apple TV.
Brendan Hunt	Coach Beard	Returning	Series co-creator alongside Sudeikis. Confirmed by Apple TV.
Juno Temple	Keeley Jones	Returning	Her season 3 finale pitch helped set up the Lady Greyhounds. Confirmed by Apple TV.
Jeremy Swift	Leslie Higgins	Returning	Director of football operations at AFC Richmond. Confirmed by Apple TV.
Tanya Reynolds	Not announced	New	One of seven new cast members announced by Apple TV; role not detailed. Apple TV; IMDb.
Jude Mack	Not announced	New	New season 4 cast member announced by Apple TV; role not detailed. Apple TV; IMDb.
Faye Marsay	Not announced	New	New season 4 cast member announced by Apple TV; role not detailed. Apple TV; IMDb.
Rex Hayes	Not announced	New	New season 4 cast member announced by Apple TV; role not detailed. Apple TV; IMDb.
Aisling Sharkey	Not announced	New	New season 4 cast member announced by Apple TV; role not detailed. Apple TV; IMDb.
Abbie Hern	Not announced	New	New season 4 cast member announced by Apple TV; role not detailed. Apple TV; IMDb.
Grant Feely	Not announced	New	New season 4 cast member announced by Apple TV; role not detailed. Apple TV; IMDb.
Phil Dunster	Jamie Tartt	Not returning	Reported to be sitting out as a regular over a scheduling conflict, with a guest spot floated; not in Apple's returning cast. As reported (HollywoodLife).
Nick Mohammed	Nate Shelley	Not returning	Not included in Apple's announced returning cast for season 4. As reported (HollywoodLife).
Cristo Fernández	Dani Rojas	Not returning	Not among Apple's announced returning cast for season 4. As reported (HollywoodLife).
Toheeb Jimoh	Sam Obisanya	Not returning	Not among Apple's announced returning cast for season 4. As reported (HollywoodLife).
James Lance	Trent Crimm	Not returning	Not among Apple's announced returning cast for season 4. As reported (HollywoodLife).

How this is calculated

Rows come from two kinds of source. Returning principals and the seven new cast members are taken from Apple TV's official season 4 announcement (April 2026) and its cast listing, corroborated by IMDb. Departures are attributed to entertainment reporting (chiefly HollywoodLife) and labelled 'as reported,' because Apple confirms who is in its returning cast, not who is out. Character names for the new additions were not detailed by Apple at the time of writing and are shown as 'Not announced.' Nothing here is speculation about undisclosed roles.

Data as of July 23, 2026 · verified July 23, 2026 · v1

Assumptions, limitations & sources

Assumptions

• · Apple's announced returning and new cast lists hold through the season; streaming casts are occasionally added to as episodes air.
• · A 'Not returning' status reflects reporting and the actor's absence from Apple's returning-cast list, not necessarily an on-the-record statement from the actor or Apple.

Limitations

• · Apple confirms returning and new cast; it does not publish a 'not returning' list, so departures rest on entertainment reporting and can change (an unannounced guest appearance would not show up here).
• · Character names and roles for the seven new cast members were not detailed by Apple as of the verification date and are listed as 'Not announced.'
• · This lists principal and newly announced cast, not every guest or recurring player across seasons 1-3.
• · Reported scheduling conflicts (for example around Phil Dunster) can resolve into a limited guest appearance without a formal announcement.

Sources

• Apple TV Press — 'Ted Lasso' returns for season four on Wednesday, August 5 (returning stars, seven new cast members, premise) — Apple, checked July 23, 2026
• HollywoodLife — Which 'Ted Lasso' cast members are not in season 4 — HollywoodLife, checked July 23, 2026
• Goal.com — Ted Lasso season 4 and the second-division 'Lady Greyhounds' women's team — Goal.com, checked July 23, 2026
• The Hollywood Reporter — Ted Lasso returns: Jason Sudeikis on season four (cover interview, July 23, 2026) — The Hollywood Reporter, checked July 23, 2026

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A note on the departures: they are marked "as reported." The clearest example is Phil Dunster (Jamie Tartt), reported by HollywoodLife to be sitting out as a regular over a scheduling conflict, with a possible guest appearance floated. A reported scheduling conflict can quietly resolve into a cameo without a press release, so treat any "not returning" row as the current reported state, not a sealed verdict.

Why Sudeikis almost didn't come back

The most interesting thread in the Hollywood Reporter piece is that season 4 nearly didn't happen — and Sudeikis is candid about why. The quotes below are from The Hollywood Reporter's July 23, 2026 cover interview, reproduced across secondary outlets (the original cover story), and are attributed as such rather than independently verified here.

He initially felt the story was over. Ted had gone home to Kansas City to be with his son; narratively, the arc had landed. As AOL summarized the interview, Sudeikis also found the money hard to square with the story: his season 3 rate of about $1 million an episode "made no sense" for a character who had, in the fiction, gone home. A big paycheck to drag Ted back across the Atlantic wasn't a reason to do it.

What changed his mind, per the interview, was a writers' gathering at the Ojai Valley Inn in February 2024. Kicking the idea around in a room, the group found a version of the story worth telling — Ted back at Richmond, but coaching a women's side — and Sudeikis has said he came away having mapped roughly a three-season arc for where it could go. That last detail matters for the "season 5" question below, so hold onto it.

The "very difficult" phone calls

One human detail from the interview traveled further than the rest. With a refreshed cast — six principals back, seven new faces in, and several seasons 1–3 regulars out — Sudeikis said he personally made "very difficult" phone calls to the departing actors, so they wouldn't "hear it on the internet." It's a small thing that says a lot about why the set is remembered fondly, and it's the line most people quoted from the piece. Again: THR's interview, via secondary reproduction.

Will there be a season 5?

Short answer: not confirmed. The "three-season arc" Sudeikis describes is an intention, not an Apple renewal. As of this writing, Apple has announced season 4 only; it has not announced a season 5. So if you see "Ted Lasso season 5 confirmed" headlines, read them carefully — the confirmed thing is a creative plan the star has talked about, not a greenlight. We'll update this if Apple says otherwise.

Questions people are asking

When does Ted Lasso season 4 come out? Episode 1 premieres Wednesday, August 5, 2026 on Apple TV. After that, one new episode drops every Wednesday — 10 in total — through the finale on October 7, 2026 (Apple TV).

What is season 4 about? Ted returns to Richmond to coach a second-division women's team, nicknamed the "Lady Greyhounds," a direction set up in the season 3 finale through Keeley and Rebecca (Apple TV; Goal.com). Beyond that one-paragraph premise, Apple hasn't released detailed plot.

Why did Sudeikis almost not return? He told The Hollywood Reporter he felt the story was over once Ted went home to Kansas City, and that his season 3 rate of about $1 million an episode "made no sense" for that ending. A February 2024 writers' gathering at the Ojai Valley Inn produced a story he believed in — Ted coaching a women's team — which brought him back (THR, via AOL).

What were the "difficult calls"? With the cast changing, Sudeikis said he made "very difficult" personal phone calls to departing cast members so they wouldn't "hear it on the internet" (THR, via secondary outlets).

Which cast is coming back — and who isn't? Returning: Sudeikis, Waddingham, Goldstein, Hunt, Temple and Swift, plus seven new cast members (Apple TV). Reported as not returning: Phil Dunster (Jamie Tartt, over a scheduling conflict), Nick Mohammed (Nate), Cristo Fernández (Dani Rojas), Toheeb Jimoh (Sam) and James Lance (Trent Crimm) — attributed to reporting (HollywoodLife). Use the table above to check any individual name.

How much was Sudeikis paid? By season 3 his rate was reported as about $1 million per episode, a figure he cited in the interview as part of why a return "made no sense" narratively (THR, via AOL). His season 4 compensation hasn't been disclosed.

Will there be a season 5? Not confirmed. Sudeikis has described mapping a three-season arc, which implies more to come, but Apple has announced season 4 only and has not confirmed a fifth season.

Where does Ted Lasso stream? Apple TV. It's an Apple original, so it streams exclusively on Apple's service (Apple TV).

The bottom line

The Hollywood Reporter interview is the spark, but the useful facts are the steady ones: August 5, weekly Wednesdays, 10 episodes, a women's team in Richmond, six principals back and seven new faces in. The interview color — the money that "made no sense," the Ojai room that changed his mind, the "very difficult" calls, the three-season plan — is worth reading as exactly that: the star's account, attributed to THR, not a set of confirmed logistics. When Apple confirms episode titles, a full trailer, or anything about a season 5, the calendar and cast table here are where it'll be updated. This is a developing story.