Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” hit the halfway mark of its fourth season this week with an episode built almost entirely around romantic disappointment, a shift that pulls the once soccer-centered comedy further into relationship-drama territory. Episode five, titled “Riches of Embarrassment,” lands the show’s returning characters and its new additions in a string of failed or complicated love lives just as the Lady Greyhounds prepare for their biggest match of the season.
Keeley Jones attempts to rekindle things with Roy Kent, only to discover that his so-called “10-date experiment” wrapped with the same woman on all five of his most recent outings, undercutting any reconciliation before it can start. The setback lands amid a broader pattern this season, where nearly every character orbiting Richmond’s newly formed women’s team finds themselves navigating some form of romantic setback, breakup or unresolved tension.
Ted himself remains the exception. The episode opens with a photo of him eating a hot dog alone in public, circulated through the team’s group chat and setting off a wave of questions from players curious about who their coach really is beneath his mustache and folksy demeanor. When the team presses him directly about his personal life, Ted deflects with the kind of homespun optimism that has defined the character since the series began, telling struggling assistant Coach Chilton after a tough loss that sports always offer another chance.
That balance between comedy, sentiment and sports drama has divided critics this season. The Hollywood Reporter’s review praised the show’s enduring warmth while noting it “struggles to find anywhere interesting left to go.” Other outlets have been harsher, with one reviewer describing the season as caught between two competing versions of itself. Fan reaction has split along similar lines, with some viewers calling the premiere emotionally satisfying and others describing a slow start.
On the field, the Lady Greyhounds face a difficult test against Chelsea on their home turf, their toughest opponent yet in a season built around the team’s first year of existence. Season four marks Jason Sudeikis’ return to the role more than three years after the show’s original three-season run concluded, with Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple all reprising their parts.
