Ted Lasso: Jason Sudeikis & Co. Break Down Season 4 Premiere — Plus, Why [Spoiler] Drives Ted's Big Decision

Jason Sudeikis knew that if he was going to bring "Ted Lasso" back for Season 4, he first had to answer one important question: Why return to Richmond after such a definitive ending?

The answer, the co-creator and star tells TVLine in the video interview above, required first taking viewers home to Kansas City.

"I really had started with the idea of just seeing Higgins, Keeley, and Rebecca eating barbecue," Sudeikis tells TVLine in the video interview above. "That was the image I could not get out of my head, and I just didn't think that much barbecue could travel that well from Kansas City to London — even with the fictional direct flight that we have established as canon in this artistic endeavor."

But that comedic starting point ultimately evolved into a much deeper exploration of Ted's state of mind following his return home at the end of Season 3.

"I thought it was important to see that Ted is content, just dadding the hell out of life, you know? Really trying to overcorrect in a way that I think Ted does," Sudeikis explains. "He's hiding out, and he's almost in a numb space, and that is not beneficial. If his love cup isn't full, then no one — including, most importantly to Ted, his son — is getting the overflow, because there is no overflow. And so he's depriving himself of what he loves the most until he makes the decision [to relocate with Henry and Michelle to Richmond], and then it's just like this... [intimates sigh of relief] this release at the end of the episode."

That realization also informed one of the premiere's most emotional creative decisions: making Ted's late father the driving force behind his return to Richmond.

Sudeikis says the Season 2 revelation about Ted's father's suicide had come to overshadow Ted's memories of his late father. Season 4, however, offered an opportunity to remind viewers why Ted admired Jim in the first place.

"It's exactly what his mom says to him at the end of the first episode, where it's like, 'You loved being around your dad when he was doing something he loved, and he loved being a salesman,'" Sudeikis says. "Whatever he was selling, you've got to assume it was to make their lives better. He wasn't ripping people off or anything like that, and Ted loved seeing that. And so he's like, 'Oh, I'm depriving my own son. Here I am returning in the physical [sense], but am I there emotionally? Am I there on a soul level?' Because he's certainly there in proximity, which is important as a parent, 'but I'm not thriving from within. I'm depriving instead of thriving.'" (Read TVLine's Season 4 review here.)

Not every former series regular returns for "Ted Lasso" Season 4, but Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, and Juno Temple are front and center from the jump, as Rebecca, Higgins, and Keeley arrive on Ted's Kansas City doorstep hoping to convince him to coach AFC Richmond's newly formed women's team.

The trio relished kicking off Season 4 together in the city where the series' title character first took shape, with Temple even pitching a Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz"-inspired entrance for Keeley that made its way into the premiere. But beneath the excitement of filming in Kansas City lurked a lingering anxiety shared by the entire "Ted Lasso" troupe: How do you bring back one of television's most celebrated comedies of the last decade without letting its fans down?

"I know we've all talked about it a little bit, of feeling nervous coming back," Temple admits. "This has been a show that has done so much for us and has brought so much into our lives in such extraordinary ways that I think you just feel nervous to come back. You don't want to do it a disservice."

Waddingham shared Temple's apprehension, admitting she didn't "want to be any less than [she] was before." Fortunately, those nerves quickly evaporated once the cast reunited on set.

"There was no need to worry because, as long as our molecules are all in the same room, we're all fine," Waddingham says. "We got straight back on the horse... As soon as we then stand there, it's back to the utter truth of the show that people love."

That, Waddingham believes, is what has allowed "Ted Lasso" to avoid a trap that often befalls long-running sitcoms.

"I think a lot of times with shows that have later seasons, it all gets very, very big," she explains. "Those things that people love about characters, the actors have heard them, and then they've just gone crazy and not been reined in. I think with our show, we are all so in love with the characters we play, and the nuances. We're all just watching that detail all the time to keep it rooted in reality."

Ted and company return to Richmond in Episode 2, streaming Wednesday, August 12, on Apple TV+. In the meantime, watch our full cast interview above, grade the Season 4 premiere below, and then drop a comment with your full review.