When the Ted Lasso season 4 cast returns on Apple TV this week, it will be missing a number of fan favorites. The new season follows a women’s soccer team, which required replacing the players who had grown and changed and matured during three years of Ted’s tutelage.
The good thing is, that means new characters to enjoy. The bad thing is, that means a lot of beloved Ted Lasso cast members are not featured in these episodes (though a cameo or two may pop up).
5 Ted Lasso Cast Members Not Returning For Season 4
Here are five stars who will be dearly missed in the new Ted Lasso season.
1. Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster)
Jamie Tartt’s character arc was brilliant. The pretty-boy, me-first player in season one gently matured into a team leader who could share the spotlight and become a better player and person along the way. His volatile relationship with his father received a sensitive portrayal, acknowledging that things can get better but they never quite heal. Yet it was his friendship with Roy Kent (and not his romance with Keeley) that was the show’s greatest relationship. The episode where Jamie teaches Roy to ride a bike is pure Ted Lasso sunshine on a cloudy day.
Up next: Dunster starred alongside Steve Carell in Rooster, which has been renewed for season two on HBO.
2. Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh)
Sweet Sam, the Nigerian defender-turned-wing who found his voice both on and off the field through the series, is also not returning to the pitch. The character had a close relationship with his father that mirrored Ted’s mentorship, in a show about the complications of the father-son relationship. His unexpected but completely believable relationship with Rebecca, though ultimately doomed, helped the character mature.
Up next: Jimoh will head the cast of the BBC’s Open Water adaptation.
3. Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernández)
The infectiously positive striker introduced one of Ted Lasso’s most famous quotes: “Football is life.” Alas, as Dani learned during the ups and downs of three seasons, football can also mean death—there’s both joy and sorrow in anything you love. Dani once passed on Keeley’s offer of a free coffee maker because his mother said he was “born caffeinated.” There is a nod to Dani’s character in episode one, which was previewed in the Ted Lasso trailer.
Up next: Fernández is playing football for real—he recently signed and debuted with El Paso Locomotive, a USL Championship squad in Texas.
4. Isaac McAdoo (Kola Bokinni)
When Roy Kent finally surrenders the captain’s armband, a nod to father time catching up to him, the gruff midfielder hands it over to Isaac, his loyal No. 2. Isaac’s front-and-center moments in the series offered signs of real growth. Roy helped him rediscover his love for the game following a stretch of rough performances, and Bokinni showed impressive depth in a storyline where Isaac struggled when teammate Colin came out—flummoxed not by his friend’s sexuality but about why Colin couldn’t trust him.
Up next: Bokinni will play the lead in the new short film Guru from director Jamie Benyon (Two Minutes).
5. Trent Crimm (James Lance)
In season one, James Lance perfectly embodied the self-importance of traditional print sports journalists as Trent Crimm (“the Independent”). But as his story arc progressed over the next two seasons, Crimm became by turns vulnerable, relatable and fallible—just like every character on Ted Lasso. His support helped Colin through his coming out, and the book storyline in season three gave Trent a great reason to be in on more of the fun.
Up next: Lance has a guest-starring role in Netflix’s smash Wednesday.
