R) US actor/executive producer Brendan Hunt, English actress Tanya Reynolds, US actor/executive producer Jason Sudeikis, SVP of Apple John Ternus, CEO of Apple Tim Cook, English actress Hannah Waddingham, English actor Jeremy Swift and English actress Juno Temple attend the premiere of Apple TV's "Ted Lasso" season 4 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California | AFP

With World Cup excitement still reverberating, Apple TV’s football comedy hit Ted Lasso is returning after a three-year hiatus, and according to the cast, they needed no warm-up to get back on the pitch.

“It felt completely and utterly… effortless. Just ridiculously effortless,” Hannah Waddingham told AFP at a press event alongside co-stars Jeremy Swift and Juno Temple ahead of Season 4’s premiere on Wednesday.

“I think we’ve always felt like a family from day one on this,” added Waddingham, the award-winning British actress who plays Rebecca Welton, the formidable owner of the fictional English football club AFC Richmond.

Swift, who portrays club executive Leslie Higgins, chimed in that the cast “hit the ground running” when filming resumed.