Brendan Hunt On Why ‘Ted Lasso’ Returned For Season 4, What To Expect

Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard on season four of “Ted Lasso.”

Apple TV

Here’s what we know for sure about Ted Lasso’s enigmatic Coach Beard: he’s AFC Richmond’s assistant coach, Ted’s fiercely loyal best friend, his rarely used first name is Willis and he reads a lot of books.

That air of mystery has long been part of Coach Beard’s appeal, and it’s something actor and executive producer Brendan Hunt is careful to preserve as he returns for a new Ted Lasso story three years after the Emmy-winning series seemingly concluded with season three.

“It’s always the balance with Beard,” Hunt says. “You just don’t want to learn too much.”

When Ted Lasso debuted on Apple TV in August 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became a cultural phenomenon. Audiences embraced the feel-good comedy about an American football coach who takes over British football club AFC Richmond despite having no experience coaching soccer. By Ted’s side was Coach Beard, his quiet, observant counterpart whose deadpan demeanor perfectly balanced his unwavering optimism.

Season three ended with AFC Richmond finishing second in the Premier League and Ted returning to Kansas to be with his son, Henry. Beard, meanwhile, married his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Jane Payne (Phoebe Walsh), and remained on Richmond’s coaching staff alongside Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Nathan Shelley (Nick Mohammed).

Although Ted Lasso was originally conceived as a three-season story, Hunt says the creative team intentionally left room to return someday after taking a long break. They loved making the show and recognized the audience’s passion for it, so they planted a few “breadcrumbs” in the finale.

The biggest breadcrumb came when Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) showed AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) a portfolio pitch for a women’s team, a moment that ultimately became the foundation for season four.

Even as cast members publicly expressed interest in returning, they waited for Sudeikis to decide whether Ted’s story was worth continuing.

“I certainly wanted to do it, but I was not going to pressure him at all,” Hunt says. “This show puts far more demands on him mentally and physically and emotionally than it does on anybody else.”

In season four, Ted returns to Richmond to coach a second-division women’s football team. But speaking with Hunt ahead of the premiere is almost as secretive as interviewing someone about a Marvel movie.

Over Zoom, he dances around discussing specifics of the 10-episode season, which features returning stars Hunt, Sudeikis, Waddingham, Temple and Goldstein. He can’t say much about where we find his character at the start of season four, nor can he disclose anything about the status of Beard and Jane’s relationship.

Hunt does, however, freely discuss relating to Beard’s complicated dynamic with Jane, comparing it to relationships from his own younger years that outsiders would describe as toxic but felt impossible to leave from the inside.

“And maybe you’re not aware as much while it;s happening that part of what you’re responding to is the reenactment of the generational traumas,” he says. “And you see your captor in this person and you can’t get away from your captor, but it feels like love, so you just hang out in there for a while.”

“With Beard and Jane, they’re clearly, clearly not good for each other, but they can’t quit each other,” Hunt adds.

Mental health remains an important part of season four, though Hunt says it’s explored more subtly than in season two, when sports psychologist Dr. Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles) became a key figure. As in previous seasons, the characters continue confronting unresolved issues and looking inward to achieve personal growth.

Resisting the boxes people place others in is also a prominent theme this season.

“I don’t want to give much away here because it’s a slippery slope if I start on this theme, but ‘don’t put yourself in a box,’ in particular, is something that we get into quite a bit,” he says. “Only you know what you are, so don’t let other people tell you, but you also have to convince them by showing them.”

Hunt compares season four’s structure to the show’s first season, with the opening episodes laying the foundation before the story accelerates.

“Episode four of season one was the banquet episode of the charity banquet, and that’s where things stepped up a notch. And I suspect that is true this season as well,” Hunt teases.

Despite the new premise, Hunt promises the heart of the show remains unchanged.

“It’s still going to be people taking care of each other,” he says. “You can guarantee that at least once an episode, someone’s going to apologize. Just people being good to each other, but pulling in the same direction, trying to reach the same goal, which, in this instance, is trying to win games with this women’s team.”

Whether the new season opens the door for even more Ted Lasso remains to be seen. Hunt says that decision ultimately rests with Apple, but if a call comes, he already knows his answer.

“I’m hopeful,” Hunt says. “I would certainly sign up right away, without hesitation. But there’s nothing yet concrete to suggest that that’s happening.”

Season four, episode one of Ted Lasso is streaming on Apple TV. New episodes release weekly on Wednesdays through October 7.