Slipping back into Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” for a fourth season is akin to slipping back into your favorite pair of athletic shoes after finding them in the back of the closet months after months.
Arguably Apple TV’s first breakout hit, “Lasso” charmed audiences and critics alike garnering the ratings and recognition, winning 13 Primetime Emmys during its three-season run.
You get it? It was beloved. I refused to watch the final season when it streamed three seasons ago because I did not want to see it go away. Which is why it’s not surprising that anyone would want to approach a fourth season after such a long layoff with a sense of trepidation.
It wasn’t necessary. Surprisingly.
“Ted Lasso” returns Wednesday (Aug. 5) and from the sample provided by Apple TV, it hasn’t lost much during its hiatus as Ted (Jason Sudeikis), Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) and Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) return with a huge narrative twist.
Ted, who left at the end of the third season to return home to be with his son, Henry, is recruited by Rebecca, the owner of AFC Richmond, to return to England and coach the club’s women’s team.
She, Leslie (Jeremy Swift), the team’s business operations guy and Keeley (Juno Temple), shlep all the way to Kansas City to convince Ted to return in the opening episode, which cleverly reverses the fish-out-of-water theme that’s run through the series since its inception.
But that reversal happens with Lasso’s eventual return to the other side of the pond after Lasso’s eventual return to coach the women’s team. The humor comes from an obvious place in that regard, but the series has never been that clear in other ways. Its charms always lay in the subtle observations about the ways of the world, people and flaws associated with both.
“Ted Lasso” always winds up in a place of heartfelt joy and it’s no exception in this very welcome return to Apple TV.
Streaming: Apple TV beginning Aug. 5 with weekly episodes dropping Wednesdays.
Grade: B+
‘Batman: The Caped Crusader’ returns for its second season
Bruce Timm along with co-executive producers J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, crafted a truly retro, noir version of Batman when “Batman: The Caped Crusader” debuted in 2024.
“Batman: Caped Crusader” shares much of the DNA of Bruce Timm’s original take on Bruce Wayne and Batman, but it also establishes its own identity. As the first season showed, Batman is still in the early stages of his crime-fighting career, allowing the series to focus on lesser-known villains instead of relying on the familiar members of the Dark Knight’s rogues’ gallery. Timm and his team of writers conjure different villains for Batman to battle.
That’s not to say familiar names do not pop up. They do and they are wholly recognizable, albeit with different backstories.
But oddly enough, its real strength comes from stories that have a highly humanistic bent. They manage to find the heart of many characters – villains included.
Streaming: All episodes currently on Prime Video
Grade: B+
Kevin Hart continues is Netflix run with ’72 Hours’
I’m trying to figure out when Kevin Hart ceased to be consistently funny because he certainly isn’t in the contrived Netflix film “72 Hours,” a film in which he portrays an ad exec in danger of losing his gig unless he can develop a vodka campaign that appeals to Gen Z. To do so he crashes a bachelor party in Miami.
But wait, there’s more, as his character, Joe, somehow manages to get mixed up with Miami drug dealers. You know that had to be coming, right?
The funniest scene comes with a fight with a member of his comedy fraternity. Beyond that, the laughs prove to be sparse.
Skip it.
‘Love Island USA’ tops this week’s streaming charts
America loves them some reality TV and this week, that’s especially true as “Love Island USA” dominates the overall and original streaming charts. Here’s rundown of the top five in the major streaming categories.
Overall
Original
Movies
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘Ted Lasso’ makes its return to Apple TV, ‘Batman’ back on Prime Video
Reporting by George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
