At long last, “Ted Lasso” is back.

After some doubt over whether it ever would, the Apple TV sports dramedy series about an American football coach-turned-British soccer, er, football coach returns this week with its first episode in more than three years.

Sure, things have changed, as Ted is now the coach of a women’s, not men’s, team.

However, we still get “Saturday Night Live” and “Horrible Bosses” alum Jason Sudeikis as the titular figure with his mustache and folksy charm out the wazoo.

It remains an underdog story, with the fledgling Richmond Lady Greyhounds scrapping for wins in the largely tenuous world of professional women’s football.

And Ted continues to be surrounded by characters dropping a borderline-stunning number of F-bombs given the series’ otherwise near-clean tone.

Apple made the first five of the season’s 10 episodes available for review, and they reveal a returning series that struggles to find its footing in this week’s episode, “Home,” but then settles into a better if still uneven rhythm.

Directed by Declan Lowney and penned by Joe Kelly — who created “Ted Lasso” along with Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs,” “Shrinking”) and Brendan Hunt, also an onscreen mainstay as Ted’s best pal, Coach Beard — “Home” takes place not in England but in the States.

Having moved back to Kansas City to split custody of his son, Henry (Grant Feely), with friendly ex-wife Michelle (Andrea Anders), Ted is working as the assistant manager of a grocery store. In the episode’s first several minutes, Ted teaches a younger co-worker about the dangers of stealing and runs into one of the young men he coached in college, who credits Ted with being the “greatest role model of my life.”

If you’re new to Ted, you now know what he’s about.

When Ted arrives home, he has visitors: His old boss, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), and her top lieutenants, Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift) and Keeley Jones (Juno Temple). Ted is thrilled to see them and takes them for an authentic Kansas City barbecue experience, hooking Rebecca on the sauce-covered treat in the process.

Of course, they’re mainly there to offer him the new coaching gig.

“Last time, I hired you for all the wrong reasons,” Rebecca tells Ted, referring to her motivation to get back at her ex-husband by sabotaging his beloved team when the series launched almost exactly six years ago. “This time, I absolutely want to hire you for all the right ones.”

Although flattered, Ted declines the offer in the name of staying near Henry.

At roughly 45 minutes, as are the four installments that follow, “Home” is a bit of a chore, as we know Ted eventually will take the job. The inner journey to get him there is largely underwhelming, and the answer to how he will maintain the relationship with his soccer-playing son is simply way too easy.

That out of the way, it’s generally a joy to have Ted back across the pond, where grumpy, foul-mouthed former star player Roy Kent is now the head coach with the Richmond men and the welcoming Mae (Annette Badland) is still the landlady of the Coach & Horses pub and has rented living space above it to Ted.

Coach Beard has been by Roy’s side in recent years, but Ted’s old pal now feels very conflicted about where his place should be.

Meanwhile, Rebecca is a tad scared of the gruff coach who’s been working to help launch the Lady Greyhounds, Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds). When Rebecca passes her over in favor of Ted for the head gig, Alice resigns. Problem solved, Rebecca thinks, but Ted quickly comes to admire the coach’s detailed work and isn’t so keen on her leaving the operation.

Much of this early part of the season focuses on Keeley’s efforts as the Lady Greyhounds’ chief marketing officer to make things better for the squad, which hasn’t exactly been showered with resources. This has the potential to test the deep friendship she shares with Rebecca, who must worry about the bottom line — and what initially isn’t exactly great excitement around the new team among the Richmond fanbase and sponsors.

For Ted, the biggest adjustment is not being able to enter the locker room anytime he wants. (At one point, he’s alarmed by the horrifying sounds emanating from it and enters only after putting a bucket over his eyes so he doesn’t see anything inappropriate. “Ted Lasso” — as charming as ever.)

As the season kicks the ball around the pitch, we slowly start to get to know the new players, who include goalkeeper Katie (Jude Mack), who refuses to wear gloves because she wants to feel every bit of her experience; twin sisters Niamh (Aisling Sharkey) and Siobhan (Rex Hayes), who regularly want to kill each other; single mother Lizzie (Faye Marsay, who, like Waddingham, is a “Game of Thrones” alum); and gifted striker Gemma (Abbie Hern), who has a past with Alice and believes she can do no right in the coach’s eyes.

For this fresh serving of “Ted” to succeed, these new faces must become memorable characters, and the early results are promising.

Some plot elements fail to blossom into anything compelling early, such as Rebecca struggling to make time for her pilot boyfriend, Matthijs (Matteo van der Grijn), and Roy’s efforts to win back Keeley, but five remaining episodes could prove to be more than enough to improve upon those shortcomings.

At the end of the season premiere, Ted makes a cup of tea, trying the beverage he once called “hot brown water” and “pigeon sweat” for what we assume is the first time in years. His reaction? Predictable.

And your reaction to this new cup of “Ted Lasso” is likely to be similar to when you last sipped it. As usual, it’s nourishing and familiar if not exactly invigorating.

———

‘TED LASSO’

2.5 stars (out of 4)

Rating: TV-MA

How to watch: Apple TV

———

©2026 The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio). Visit The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio) at www.news-herald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.