Reaction to Ted Lasso shows left-wing critics are never satisfied, so why does Hollywood keep trying?

Apples major hit show "Ted Lasso" centered its return on womens soccer and nearly every grievance progressive critics prioritize. They still said it failed women.

It should serve as a reminder to Hollywood that trying to please people who are never satisfied is a losing battle. And Hollywood really should stop ruining good shows trying to chase that approval.

Now, I loved the first two seasons of "Ted Lasso." The third season wasn't as good, but I watched the entire thing.

So, when Apple brought the show back after a three-year hiatus, I was willing to give Season 4 a chance.

I didn't make it through the premiere.

During the opening sequence, Ted is working at a Kansas City grocery store and casually stealing food from his employer. When a coworker asks whether he worries about getting caught, Ted says he doesn't, "probably due to my deeply ingrained white male privilege."

It was a throwaway joke that arrived almost immediately, before the show established its new story or gave viewers much of a reason to care. It felt deliberate, like the writers were telling the audience exactly what kind of season this would be.

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Then came the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum scene.

Leslie Higgins visits the museum after discovering that the American Jazz Museum is closed for a private event. A tour guide explains how Black baseball players, including Satchel Paige, were denied opportunities in Major League Baseball because of segregation.

Higgins responds by comparing their experience to women once being prohibited from playing soccer in England.

Using the color barrier in American baseball as a narrative bridge to the challenges facing a fictional English women's soccer team felt painfully forced and over-the-top.

My wife rolled her eyes. I looked at her and asked whether there was any reason to keep watching.

She agreed there wasn't.

So, we turned it off.

I couldn't stomach watching the remaining episodes, but I did review the transcripts of all seven that Apple has released as of Sept. 17. I paid particularly close attention to the first four episodes, which were among those provided to television critics before the season premiered.

Those transcripts confirmed exactly what the opening episode suggested: Gender politics aren't a minor component of the new season.

They are the season.

The second episode revolves heavily around whether Rebecca is sufficiently feminist after hiring Ted to coach AFC Richmond's new women's team.

Alice Chilton, who helped construct the team, tells Rebecca she is resigning after being passed over for the head-coaching position. Before leaving, Alice asks Rebecca whether she considered her for the job.

Rebecca says no.

Alice then asks whether Rebecca considered any woman.

Again, Rebecca says no.

This sends Rebecca into a panic over whether she is supportive enough of women. She begins reading feminist literature and delivers a painfully awkward press-conference speech declaring that women are "just as capable and compelling as men" and that "the future is female."

She then introduces the manager of Richmond's women's team, "who just happens to be a man."

The show plays Rebecca's desperation for laughs. But the underlying conflict is whether Ted, as a man, should have received the opportunity at all.

Remember what Ted accomplished with Richmond. He took the club through relegation, earned promotion back to the Premier League and then led it to second place after entering the final day of the season with a chance to win the championship.

Ted was overqualified to coach a brand-new second-division women's team. Ye