Ted Lasso's Core 'Believe' Message Is Officially Changing in Season 4, Say Stars

The following contains spoilers for Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 9, “Mae Rides the Bus,” now streaming on Apple TV.

It takes more than just believing for AFC Richmond’s women’s football team in Ted Lasso Season 4.

For three seasons of Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis’ hopeful character led the men’s team to victory with one word: Believe. Trying to do the same with his women’s team in Season 4, he learned very quickly that the same principle doesn’t apply as easily. In an exclusive interview with CBR‘s Katie Doll, actors Aisling Sharkey and Rex Hayes explain why the “believe” motto can’t fully support the women’s team both emotionally and financially.

Aisling Sharkey: “In Seasons 1–3, it was all about belief. It was all about the ‘Let’s focus on the internal game and the morale.’ Whereas I think [Season 4], Episode 7 has a really good point where Ted’s going, ‘You know, you just got to believe.’ And we’re like, ‘We wouldn’t be playing women’s football and trying to make a living off of it if we didn’t believe. Believe won’t pay my rent. Believe won’t mind my kids.’

…It focuses on the external struggles, which has actually been quite refreshing and eye-opening for me as well. It’s just another lens to look at sports through. It’s very male-centered. It’s time to bring it back. We believe enough to show up, and then someone needs to give us a boost up.”

Rex Hayes: “The world isn’t made to serve women in the same way as it is made to serve men, so belief may be enough, but for this team, they have to have a lot more than that, and a lot more support in all aspects of their life to even get to that locker room, to be able to look at that poster.”

The conversation was certainly a wake-up call for Ted, who never had to have these discussions with his men’s teams. Right off the bat in Season 1, the male football players like Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt were living the good life with nice cars, luxurious clothes, and sponsorships to pay for it all. Whereas the women’s team can’t afford their rent, a nanny to watch their kids, or to even play football full time without taking on a second job.

The new team took matters into their own hands. The “believe” mantra had to change to serve women’s experiences, because the world definitely won’t do it. Instead of just believing, each player adds a sticky note with an “and…” statement around the iconic sign. The first of which was “believe and win.” For women, winning is everything. They don’t have the luxury of losing and trying again later.

Sharkey said, “It’s such a beautiful moment in that show. When I read that for the first time, I was like, ‘This is incredible,’ because we are turning a lens on this character’s ethos, which is so beloved, and taking it and going, ‘How do we even make this bit better? How do we learn so much more from just belief?’ Ted learns something from us in the way that we learn from him. It’s a really beautiful moment.”

Ted Lasso Has a Cultural Shock in Season 4, Episode 9

The pressures and scrutiny that the women’s team is under isn’t the only reality check for Ted. He also comes to learn more about Irish culture in the latest episode, particularly about the spelling of Irish names. While it’s played off as a hilarious moment that Ted, a well-meaning American from Kansas, never knew how “Siobhan” and Niamh” were spelled, it actually shows a lot about Ted continuing to grasp cultural differences outside America.

As an Irish person who has had to explain how to pronounce her own name, Sharkey found that Ted’s oversight was true to real life. “It’s that whole thing of being curious, not judgmental,” she said. “I have an Irish name. I’m always being asked how to pronounce it. I will never penalize someone for doing so. Please ask me how to pronounce my name. Someone’s name is really important. Even that little bit of dialogue about the name can be translated into names of all different kinds of cultures in general. Someone’s name is important. You have to get it right.”

Hayes also added that it says a lot about Ted’s character that he was willing to learn in the moment and had fun with his own ignorance. “I think learning is important,” they stated. “That’s it. How are you supposed to learn if you don’t make mistakes? I think that is so true to life. That’s a gorgeous moment for Ted to wrap his head around something that he thought he knew, and then it turns out he didn’t, and then relearning something. Even though it’s a small moment in the show, I think it’s a genius beat because he checks himself.”

Ted Lasso Season 4 ends on October 7.