Reaction to ‘Ted Lasso’ shows left-wing critics are never satisfied, so why does Hollywood keep trying?
Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” returned after a three-year hiatus with a season built around AFC Richmond’s new women’s soccer team, drawing a strong initial audience but prompting debate over the show’s handling of gender, representation and women’s sports.
Apple said Nielsen data provided to the company showed the Season 4 premiere generated 296.6 million viewing minutes in the United States on Aug. 4 and Aug. 5. More than 200 million of those minutes came on Aug. 5, making “Ted Lasso” the most-streamed program in the country that day. Apple described the premiere as the biggest launch in the history of its streaming service.
During the week of Aug. 3 through Aug. 9, the show accumulated 866 million viewing minutes across 35 available episodes, including the first three seasons. The new premiere accounted for 36% of that total and helped the series rank second among streaming originals for the week.
The figures measure viewing time rather than unique viewers or completion rates. Apple did not respond to requests for episode-by-episode viewing totals for the later Season 4 episodes or for data showing how many viewers who started the premiere continued with the season.
The new season places Ted, played by Jason Sudeikis, at the center of a story about women’s soccer in England. In the opening scenes, Ted works at a Kansas City grocery store and takes food from his employer. When a coworker asks whether he worries about being caught, Ted says he does not, “probably due to my deeply ingrained white male privilege.”
The first four episodes released to critics also follow Rebecca, the club’s owner, as she questions whether she has been an adequate supporter of women after choosing Ted to manage Richmond’s new team. Alice Chilton, who helped create the team, tells Rebecca she is resigning after being passed over for the head-coaching position. When Alice asks whether Rebecca considered any woman for the job, Rebecca says no.
Rebecca’s concern leads her to read feminist literature and deliver an awkward press-conference speech in which she says women are “just as capable and compelling as men” and declares that “the future is female.” She then introduces Richmond’s women’s team manager, who happens to be a man.
Other early storylines address lower salaries, unequal facilities, limited media coverage and insufficient financial support for the women’s team. One player leaves after becoming pregnant, while another brings her child to open tryouts because she could not arrange childcare. Sponsors threaten to withdraw support, and male shareholders question the value of the team.
Zelda Southport, a wealthy investor, also challenges the club’s leadership. She accuses executives of using women’s soccer for “reputation-laundering” and describes their support as “fake allyship,” while invoking the “patriarchy.”
The women’s team idea emerged after Season 3, according to co-creator Brendan Hunt. In an Aug. 5 appearance on Sarah Spain’s podcast, Hunt said Sudeikis had continued thinking about making a series centered on a women’s team. That discussion led to a writers’ retreat to determine whether the concept could support another season.
The show’s return was also promoted at an Aug. 6 Paley Center event featuring Sudeikis, Hunt, Juno Temple and members of the new cast. Megan Rapinoe moderated the event.
Critical responses have been mixed. Judy Berman, writing for Time, argued in a review headlined “Ted Lasso Doesn’t Know What to Do With Women’s Soccer” that Ted’s role could appear “paternalistic” and that the character sometimes resembled a “cringey, try-hard male feminist.” Berman also said Rebecca and Keeley still felt filtered through the “male gaze” and noted that other female coaches might have been better suited to the job.
“ A different coach is going to have to inspire those locker rooms, because Ted Lasso just doesn’t belong,” Berman wrote.
Alison Herman, writing for Variety, said “feminist commentary was never the series’ strong suit” and argued that longtime male characters such as Ted, Beard and Roy remained “load-bearing” and “space-occupying” protagonists. Carol Midgley, writing for The Times of London, criticized the decision to sideline Alice and said some storylines played into gender stereotypes, concluding that “occasionally you could argue the show itself is sexist.”
At the same time, “Ted Lasso” held an 88% critics score and a 69% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes as of Sept. 17, indicating a more favorable response from critics than from viewers.
The franchise previously won 13 Emmy Awards and became one of Apple TV’s signature series. Season 4 has so far released seven episodes, with the show’s new focus on women’s soccer serving as both the centerpiece of its return and the subject of intense discussion.