I had the chance to attend the Ted Lasso Season 4 press conference at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City and I have the scoop for what you can expect in the next season!
Watch the full press conference here!
Jason Sudeikis, Juno Temple, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift and new cast member Abbie Hern gathered inside the stadium to discuss the show’s highly anticipated return.
The setting could not have been more appropriate. Season 4 introduces a new chapter centered on a women’s football team.
Ted Lasso Comes Home to Kansas City
Kansas City has always been an important part of Ted Lasso, largely because Jason Sudeikis grew up in the area. However, Season 4 appears to take that connection even further.
Several scenes for the new season were filmed throughout Kansas City, with locations and local institutions including CPKC Stadium, the Country Club Plaza, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and some of the city’s famous barbecue restaurants.
“The scenes here were special in a bunch of different ways,” Sudeikis said while discussing what it meant to bring the production to his hometown.
Abbie Hern, who joins the series as Gemma, offered a funny and accurate explanation for why Kansas City plays such a major role.
“He’s obsessed with Kansas City,” Hern said of Sudeikis.
That affection for the city clearly extends beyond filming locations. Sudeikis spoke about the personality of the region and how its welcoming, conversational nature helped inspire Ted’s character.
Juno Temple also sees a strong connection between Sudeikis and the optimistic coach he portrays.
“There is a lot of Ted Lasso within him,” Temple said.
Season 4 Puts Women’s Football at the Center
The biggest change coming in Season 4 is the focus on AFC Richmond’s women’s football team.
The storyline builds on the idea Keeley Jones presented near the end of Season 3. Ted will return to Richmond and take on the challenge of coaching a second-division women’s team.
Temple described the timing as “a perfect moment to be talking about women’s football.”
Her enthusiasm felt especially meaningful inside CPKC Stadium. Temple spoke about how emotional it was to enter a venue created to celebrate and elevate women’s professional sports.
The new storyline will not simply introduce another team. It also gives the show an opportunity to explore the investment, leadership and support required to grow women’s football.
Jeremy Swift, who plays AFC Richmond’s director of football operations Leslie Higgins, hinted that his character will work to “support women’s football financially and with integrity.”
That comment suggests Higgins may have a particularly meaningful role as Richmond works to build the new team and give its players the resources they deserve.
The Cast Reflects on Soccer’s Growth in America
The press conference took place during Kansas City’s World Cup celebrations, making soccer’s growing popularity in the United States another major topic of conversation.
Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard and is also one of the show’s co-creators, said the idea that Americans are not interested in soccer is “a little bit overstated.”
Hunt explained that he has heard from viewers who did not previously follow the sport but became interested after watching Ted Lasso. At the same time, he emphasized that soccer had already been steadily gaining fans across the country before the series arrived.
When Sudeikis was asked whether the show had made soccer more popular, he joked, “I do within my own home.”
The answer earned laughs, but the influence of the show is difficult to ignore. Ted Lasso helped make football culture approachable for viewers who may never have watched a match before. It introduced them to the traditions, emotions and community surrounding the game without requiring them to understand every rule first.
CPKC Stadium Made an Impression on the Cast
The cast repeatedly returned to the significance of holding the event at CPKC Stadium.
Temple described the venue as nurturing and profound, while Hunt praised both its importance to women’s sports and its location along the Missouri River. He compared the stadium’s riverfront setting to “a diamond on a ring.”
Jeremy Swift also shared his longstanding appreciation for Kansas City’s cultural history. He spoke about his admiration for legendary jazz musician Charlie Parker and revealed that the city’s jazz history will have a connection to the new season.
The cast’s enthusiasm made it clear that Kansas City will be more than a quick backdrop. The city’s history, sports culture, food and personality will all help shape the beginning of the new chapter.
What to Expect From the Season 4 Premiere
The first episode of Season 4 begins with Ted in Kansas City before the story moves back toward Richmond.
Brendan Hunt explained that beginning the season where Ted currently lives—and where Sudeikis grew up—felt like the right way to restart the story. The premiere will also reportedly include familiar Kansas City imagery and references inspired by The Wizard of Oz.
That creates a fitting “there’s no place like home” theme for a season that appears to be about taking another leap, accepting a new challenge and deciding where home truly is.
Although the original story was designed around three seasons, the women’s team concept created a natural opportunity to continue the series without simply repeating what audiences had already seen.
When Does Ted Lasso Season 4 Premiere?
Ted Lasso Season 4 premieres globally on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, on Apple TV.
Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift are among the familiar cast members returning for the new season.
The Kansas City press conference offered just enough information to build excitement without revealing every surprise.
Between the focus on women’s football, the Kansas City filming locations and the return of so many beloved characters, Season 4 already feels like a meaningful new beginning for the series.
Attending the press conference made me even more excited to see how Kansas City appears onscreen and where the next chapter takes Ted, Keeley, Higgins, Coach Beard and the rest of AFC Richmond.
After all, believing has always been about taking a chance—even when you do not know exactly where the journey will lead.
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