Who isn't returning for Ted Lasso season 4? Phil Dunster and more absent from announced regular cast

There have also been a host of new stars added for the new season, including Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack and Faye Marsay.

However, fans were quick to notice some prominent absences from stars who became mainstays and fan favourites over the Apple TV+ comedy's first three season. So who isn't returning, and could they be added to the cast list at a later date?

Read on for everything we know about the Ted Lasso stars not currently set to return.

Who isn't returning for Ted Lasso season 4?

So far, the following main cast members have not been confirmed as returning for Ted Lasso season 4:

• Phil Dunster as Jamie Tartt
• Nick Mohammed as Nathan 'Nate' Shelley
• Sarah Niles as Dr Sharon M Fieldstone
• Anthony Head as Rupert Mannion
• Toheeb Jimoh as Samuel 'Sam' Obisanya
• Cristo Fernández as Dani Rojas
• Kola Bokinni as Isaac McAdoo
• Billy Harris as Colin Hughes
• James Lance as Trent Crimm
• Gus Turner as Henry

The only one of these that we know for certain won't be back as Gus Henry, because his role as Ted's son Henry has been recast. Henry will now be played by Grant Feely (Obi-Wan Kenobi), with it being reported that the recast was because Henry will now be a skilled football player, and the show needed an actor with those specific skills.

Any one of the other actors listed above could still return to the show, either in a main role or popping up for guest appearances.

One of the most likely to be back is Nick Mohammed, who plays Nate Shelley. Mohammed has frequently made references to a potential return to the show, and express his enthusiasm for doing so.

He previously revealed that he had to move some tour dates for filming, and heavily suggested that filming was for Ted Lasso season 4. Meanwhile, he recently told Collider that he 'genuinely doesn't know' how much we’ll see Nate in season 4, but that he’s "sure he’ll pop up."

Given how season 4 ended, with Nate back in the fold, it would certainly be a surprise if he wasn't involved at all.

Other cast members who have expressed an interest in returning include Trent Crimm star James Lance, when talking with TalkSport, and Sharon Fieldstone, when speaking with Hollywood Elite. As of yet, neither has been confirmed as returning, but both characters could fit neatly into the new season, as could Ruper Mannion star Anthony Head.

James Lance as Trent Crimm in Ted Lasso season 3.Then, we come to the players. Given that season 4 is shifting focus to the women's team, it's likely we'll see much less of the men's team – if we see them at all.

This could explain the fact Jamie Tartt star Phil Dunster isn't included in the cast list. It had previously been suggested his return might not happen because of scheduling conflicts, but he has recently told the Always Be Comedy podcast that that is not the case.

He said of season 4: "It’s been greenlit to write another series. It’s been announced that series 4 is going to be a thing. There’s been a commission to write the fourth series, whether that ends up being a show, I don't know. I don't know any of that stuff. I don't know if I'll be in it. There are certain members of the cast who have been re-upped, as it were.

"But yeah, I mean it's pretty good news I think in that it looks like it will happen. Season 4 is going be a thing. They start writing next year, I think. But yeah, other than that I don't really know anything."

He continued: "I'm doing a comedy with Bill Lawrence, who was one of the creators of Ted. So I'm doing that next. That's my next thing over on HBO. So I’m not one of those people who’s been re-upped.

"But also I say that with total love and acceptance that shows move on and things happen. I think that there was some belief at this time that it's because I had booked something else, that was [the reason] that I wasn't doing it. That wasn't the case.

"I would always pick up that phone and I would always say 'How high?' if Jason said 'jump'. But yeah, so I don't know. Who knows? I think that there is a world where something like that happens. I don't know which direction they're taking the show in, but there's lots of favourites of the characters who will still be in it. 'We move', as the kids say these days."

This shift in narrative focus could also explain why Sam Obisanya star Toheeb Jimoh, Dani Rojas star Cristo Fernández, Isaac McAdoo star Kola Bokinni and Colin Hughes star Billy Harris are all missing from the list.

However, should the team behind the show want them to appear, even if it's just in a guest slot, it seems a number of them would be up for coming back.

Fernández told ScreenRant back in January: "I hope there's more Ted Lasso. I hope there's more Dani Rojas."

Meanwhile, Bokinni told The Big Issue in September 2024 that "whatever happens, I’ll be there for them, because they were there for me," when referring to the team behind the show.

Deadline has reported that sources have told the publication that there have already been conversations regarding guest appearances from the likes of Dunster and Fernándex – but nothing has yet been confirmed.

Ted Lasso seasons 1-3 are streaming now on Apple TV+ — you can sign up to Apple TV+ here.

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