Ted Lasso is officially back for its fourth season. While familiar characters made their grand return in the premiere episode on Wednesday, the show wove in some surprising nods to Black culture that caught the attention of viewers.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Ted Lasso centers on an American soccer coach navigating life in London. The show’s cast skews predominantly white, with limited representation of Black actors and people of color. Black audiences make up roughly eight percent of the show’s viewership, according to streaming data company PeerLogix. That said, the series has tackled race and ethnicity before, most notably in season three’s “The String That Binds Us” episode, where Nigerian player Sam Obinsanya speaks out against government policies barring refugees and faces racist backlash when vandals target his restaurant.
Season four’s premiere takes a different approach, threading in cultural references that feel less heavy-handed and more celebratory.
The first moment arrives early when Ted (Jason Sudeikis) is called to his son Henry’s school to discuss a “disturbing” poem found in his notebook. What the principal flagged as concerning turns out to be Public Enemy’s 1988 track “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.” Henry had simply written down the lyrics. When Ted and Henry’s mother arrive to hear the actual poem, they struggle to keep composed. The humor lands because it highlights how institutions often miss cultural context entirely.
“How do you get to be a principal without knowing the lyrics of Public Enemy?” Henry’s mother asks.
Ted responds, “I reckon most antiquated institutions ain’t too keen on encouraging folks to ‘fight the power’ these days.”
Later, after watching Henry play soccer, Ted approaches the coach about his son being benched despite being the team’s best player. The coach deflects, saying parents and coaches have conflicting priorities. Ted counters with a reference that feels perfectly out of left field: “I’m not sure Tina Knowles would agree with you, but I hear what you’re saying.” A subtle nod to Beyoncé’s mother and her well-documented involvement in her daughter’s career.
The episode’s most resonant scene unfolds when Leslie Higgins, one of Ted’s former London colleagues, visits Kansas City. While his friends tour the Jazz Museum, Higgins steps into the adjacent Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and encounters the history of baseball’s segregated era. He becomes absorbed learning about players like Satchel Paige, describing their talents as equivalent to “Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Louis Armstrong all rolled into one.” The moment carries genuine weight as Higgins, portrayed as uninformed about American racial history, stands moved and humbled.
The response online has been positive. Viewers appreciated the show’s willingness to center Black history and culture rather than treat it as secondary material.
“First ep of Ted Lasso S4 and there’s a scene in the Negro Leagues museum, and here I am, crying (happy) at 10pm,” one viewer wrote on Threads.
“The tribute to Satchel Paige and the Negro Leagues on Ted Lasso season 4 premiere is amazing,” said another.
A third added, “I love that Ted Lasso essentially turned Season 4, Ep. 1 into a love letter to his home, Kansas City. The segment with Higgins and the Negro League Museum is really something. Now I want to visit Kansas City.”
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