- 5 hours ago
After three years away, 'Ted Lasso' is finally back, and the cast is revealing why now was the right time to return. Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, Faye Marsay, Jude Mack, Tanya Reynolds, and Abbie Hern sit down to answer the biggest questions about Season 4, from why the story shifts to a women's team to what it was like welcoming a new generation of players to AFC Richmond.
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00:00Juju, if you could give fans one spoiler-free word
00:03to describe where Roy and Keeley stand in season four.
00:07I'm going to say pass, next question.
00:09Oh, yeah!
00:11Wow, there's your pull quote.
00:19Ted Lasso premiered during the pandemic
00:21when people desperately needed optimism.
00:23As you were making season four, was there a moment, guys?
00:26A scene, a conversation, even a joke,
00:28where you thought,
00:30this is exactly why we are bringing this show back now.
00:33I'm going to dive right in and say,
00:34I think the world every year seems to need more and more optimism.
00:38There you go.
00:38Things are getting bleaker and bleaker in some ways.
00:40Or at least more aware of the bleakness.
00:42Yeah, and also just doors being closed
00:44and the understanding of different people,
00:46different cultures, different ways of life
00:47is something that's so important.
00:49And so I think the way to do that
00:50is by being optimistic about being alive.
00:52And no one can top that.
00:55Season three really felt like a goodbye for your characters.
00:59Those of us, yeah.
01:00What was the first creative conversation
01:02that convinced you there was another story worth telling?
01:05Brendan and I and our buddy Joe Kelly
01:08hanging out in a pool,
01:11which is the same way we hung out back in 2013
01:13when we first had the ideas,
01:16or were kicking around ideas for the commercial.
01:18So it felt ceremonial.
01:20Right, exactly, yeah.
01:21He only does meetings in pools.
01:23So yeah, that was the first one that was kind of like,
01:26yeah, what if we did this?
01:27What if we did that?
01:28But that would have been it.
01:30Oi, welcome back.
01:33Good to see you.
01:34You too.
01:36Faye, Faye, Faye, Faye, Faye, Faye, Faye, Faye.
01:38Jeremy, my fellow teesider.
01:41Walk us through where we pick up in season four.
01:45Which character do you think secretly needs
01:47the most Higgins advice this season?
01:51Maybe Higgins.
01:53Oh my God.
01:54I think he needs to have a word with himself.
01:58Higgins is well into the admin story
02:01of getting a women's team together.
02:04And it is difficult, you know,
02:06to support local women's football.
02:10A lot of people give it lip service,
02:12but, you know, I tuned into a match
02:16about six months ago
02:17and it was really quite empty.
02:20The stadium was quite empty
02:21and I thought, where are their fans?
02:22So that's where Higgins is
02:26at the beginning of season four.
02:28Really, really getting a rocket behind
02:30getting the women's team
02:31into a substantial place.
02:34Tanya.
02:35What can we expect
02:37from Richmond's new assistant coat?
02:39Yes.
02:42Really good football skills.
02:45She's a style icon, is Alice.
02:49Yeah, Alice's wardrobe,
02:50we decide is,
02:53gives fishing.
02:55Like, I feel like,
02:56as in, she always looks like
02:58she's ready to go fishing.
03:00Yeah, yeah.
03:00For some reason,
03:01always waterproof trousers.
03:02Yes.
03:03I don't know why.
03:03Tucked into socks,
03:04is like, always ready to go fishing.
03:05Yeah, definitely a gilet girl.
03:06She's a riot laugh, isn't she?
03:08She's a riot laugh.
03:09She's a jolly,
03:09she's a jolly girl.
03:11She's lovely.
03:12She's just a real...
03:14Ray of sunshine, I would say.
03:16Yeah, really smiley, happy person.
03:18Okay.
03:19The original cast
03:20has such an effortless chemistry.
03:22Okay.
03:22Okay.
03:23How did you make space
03:24for the new additions to the cast?
03:25We haven't.
03:27They've been so weird.
03:28I would want to know if we did.
03:30Yeah, you did.
03:31Yeah.
03:31No, I remember we went for a meal,
03:33didn't we, in the summer?
03:34Yeah.
03:34Like, at the very beginning.
03:35Before we started.
03:35Before we started.
03:36And you were really kind to me
03:38and made me feel really,
03:39really welcome.
03:40I had to scoop you up, man.
03:42Yeah, you did.
03:42You all seemed so excited to have us.
03:44I'm excited to see
03:45how you think your lives
03:47are going to be your own after this.
03:50Again, that was the same place
03:52we all met.
03:53Everybody's season one.
03:54Yeah.
03:54Yeah, same pub.
03:55And we played par five.
03:57Played that horrible, stupid game
03:59and it doesn't make any sense.
04:01I hate that game.
04:02It doesn't make any sense.
04:04It doesn't make any sense.
04:04It doesn't make any sense.
04:06I felt like you were all gaslighting me
04:08and that it wasn't actually a real game
04:10and there were no rules.
04:11Did y'all feel like,
04:14because I know this is a conscious thing,
04:16but we wouldn't have wanted
04:17to do too much shepherding
04:21or, for lack of a better term,
04:22spoon feeding of you guys.
04:23We would have wanted to be like,
04:25here's your space.
04:27At what point did you guys
04:28feel comfortable enough
04:29that you were coming towards us
04:31as much as we were coming toward you?
04:33Does that make sense?
04:33I think from that first conversation
04:35that we had about the character,
04:36it was like,
04:37oh, this is a back and forth.
04:38This is kind of like,
04:39here's the spoon fed version.
04:41It was like,
04:41this is an ongoing live conversation.
04:44I knew you guys were relaxed
04:46when the volume started matching
04:47our male team's volume.
04:50I was like,
04:50they are bedded in.
04:53I think just because
04:54we've been doing it for a while
04:55doesn't mean that we don't still
04:56feel nervous or feel excited
04:58or feel all the things.
04:59So I think it's really important
05:01to just share all of that
05:02because you're only as great
05:03as your scene partner,
05:04you know?
05:05And so actually feeling that
05:06with each other
05:07and feeling excited
05:08about what you're bringing
05:09is something that I just think
05:10little tiny nuances
05:11that people bring into a space
05:13that you didn't expect
05:14is the absolute pulse of the show.
05:17And we did.
05:18We felt just as much
05:19imposter syndrome
05:20coming back into season four,
05:23maintaining what we'd done
05:24as you guys joining.
05:25I know that Juju and I
05:26very much had to let you guys
05:28know that,
05:28that don't feel that
05:29we think we've got it all sorted
05:30because we didn't.
05:31The hang's off campus too.
05:34Like when we,
05:34that night when we went
05:35to the Arsenal match
05:37and then it was like,
05:38then it was like,
05:39are we doing a second location?
05:40And it was like,
05:41and we got, you know,
05:42chip on it
05:43and we did karaoke.
05:44And you get to see,
05:45and you get to see
05:46things just start folding
05:47in on each other
05:48that aren't character based
05:50but are just human based.
05:51So many fun storylines occur
05:53from those first three seasons
05:55of just conversations
05:55that we'd had.
05:56Like, you know,
05:57Higgins being a, you know,
05:58jazz fan was from
05:59our conversation
06:00of like,
06:01what happened to your goatee,
06:02you know,
06:02like that you had
06:03in the rehearsal
06:05or audition
06:05and then lost.
06:06And it was like,
06:07well, he's got to get
06:07his jazz goatee back,
06:09you know,
06:09and like,
06:09why play bass?
06:10I go,
06:10and so does Higgins.
06:24For the new players,
06:26which part of getting cast
06:27was scarier?
06:28Acting in front of
06:29a bunch of Emmy winners
06:31or having to learn
06:32how to become football players?
06:33Football.
06:35Hello.
06:36Like, no offense,
06:38but football.
06:38I'm not going to lie.
06:39It's the Emmy winners.
06:42I'm great at football.
06:43Our boot camp started
06:44with just the actors
06:45and we were like,
06:46we're really good at this.
06:48And then they brought in
06:48the, uh,
06:49the proper guys.
06:51Yeah, and they're like,
06:52Sammy pros.
06:52And we were like,
06:53oh, okay.
06:54I'm out of breath.
06:56It's a humiliation ritual.
06:58And that was good.
06:58You know,
06:59very intimidating
07:00for just Emmy winning actors.
07:02A humiliation
07:02and a rite of passage,
07:04I dare say.
07:04It's kind of intimidating.
07:05I mean,
07:06I'm terrified every time
07:06I step on the set.
07:07It is intimidating.
07:08Mate.
07:09You are not the one
07:10to talk about that.
07:11I remember hearing
07:11that you've been cast
07:12and I was like,
07:13Faye as in Game of Thrones?
07:14Faye.
07:15Honestly,
07:15the day I realized
07:16they'd cast you,
07:17I was like,
07:17this is going to be
07:18an immense season.
07:19See,
07:19I don't know what to do now
07:20because that's a lovely compliment.
07:21Zoom in.
07:22Zoom in.
07:23No,
07:23that's very sweet.
07:24The Chucky Football Quiz.
07:26How would you describe
07:27the team's chemistry
07:28this time around?
07:30Extraordinary.
07:30I was told by
07:31the team of people
07:33that were training you guys
07:33with the football
07:34that it was so interesting
07:35because there was like
07:35other big differences
07:36between working with the guys
07:37and with the girls
07:38and there was an immediate
07:40need to help each other
07:42with the football
07:42that I thought was really special
07:43whereas there was a bit
07:44of a peacocking situation
07:45with the boys initially.
07:46You guys weren't about
07:47who's going to be best.
07:48It was about like,
07:48oh, don't worry,
07:49I'll help you back up.
07:50And I thought that was something
07:51that I genuinely,
07:53I'm like,
07:54yeah,
07:54that's why we need to be making
07:55a show about a women's team.
07:58Literally throughout,
07:59we would tell each other off
08:00for apologizing.
08:01We weren't allowed
08:01to apologize
08:02because we were just like
08:04saved badly.
08:05We'd be like,
08:06sorry,
08:06and yeah.
08:08You're not actually
08:09a footballer.
08:09Don't worry.
08:11The day that I knew
08:12not only that you were
08:14officially your own gang,
08:16but also that you were a gang
08:18that was different
08:18than our previous gang
08:20through an episode
08:21where we're filming on a boat.
08:22Spoiler!
08:23Uh-oh.
08:23And we discovered
08:25that for our
08:26however long
08:27you all had been playing
08:28traitors amongst yourselves
08:29and you were like far along.
08:31So noisily as well.
08:32We came and watched,
08:34I mean,
08:34like the final rounds
08:35and then to try to
08:36figure it out on our own,
08:37like who's lying.
08:38It was crazy.
08:39I remember Brett
08:40coming up to me on the boat
08:41and being like,
08:42it's f***ing fake.
08:43It's fake.
08:44And I was.
08:45And I bet my life
08:47on all the time.
08:47I was like,
08:49I know it's not you.
08:50We murdered Abby
08:51on the first night
08:52and it ruined our relationship.
08:54That's like getting rid
08:54of Sean Bean.
08:55Do you know what I mean?
08:56What the hell?
08:57But then me and June
08:58would text each other
08:58going,
08:59should we just kill up?
08:59We just kill up.
09:00And then you had
09:01a massive meltdown.
09:02A little bit in this room.
09:04Yeah, there's a film
09:04of me melting down this stage.
09:06I did have the rare experience
09:07of my 50th birthday
09:09being during the filming
09:10of this season.
09:11And it was a surprise party.
09:12So we all say goodbye.
09:13Everybody's like,
09:13oh, it's your birthday.
09:14Oh, have fun.
09:15Hope you have fun.
09:15You know,
09:16every single one of you
09:17in this room,
09:17everybody else.
09:18And then I come walking in
09:20and who do I see?
09:21It's like all you guys.
09:22And I was like,
09:23oh, this is,
09:24this is a good group.
09:26No clue.
09:27No clue.
09:38If season one,
09:39Rebecca could meet
09:40the woman we see
09:41in season four,
09:43what's the first thing
09:44that you think she would say?
09:46And I'm going to ask
09:46that to Hannah.
09:47Can I just say
09:48that I really find it,
09:49as soon as you say,
09:50what does Rebecca think about,
09:51whatever,
09:52this is your fault.
09:53I immediately get emotional.
09:54You will have sex
09:55in the future.
09:56You will have sex.
10:00I'll come back to that one.
10:02When?
10:03It's on the tip of my tongue.
10:04At some point.
10:05Brendan.
10:06Oh!
10:07Is there one beard line
10:09that still makes you laugh
10:11or one that unexpectedly
10:12stuck with you
10:13long after you said it?
10:15God, that was natural.
10:16Very natural.
10:18I will not give context,
10:19but there is one
10:20not important line
10:21that I had this year
10:22that comes into my head.
10:24So leave it as an Easter egg
10:25for people to try to search
10:26for across the season.
10:27But it's a very short line
10:28as to which I do do.
10:30Oh my God.
10:31Ah, yes.
10:31He's so funny.
10:34When Beard is having
10:35this come to Jesus moment
10:36and he says,
10:38uh, are you there, God?
10:39It's me, Margaret's little boy.
10:41Because I like knowing
10:42that his mom is named Margaret.
10:44Yeah.
10:45Shout out Judy Blume.
10:46What a book.
10:47What a book.
10:48Rebecca and Keely
10:49have become one of televisions
10:50or TV
10:52favorite female friendships
10:53with a whole women's team
10:55entering the story.
10:57How does that dynamic evolve?
10:59Well, through this season,
11:00I think Keely gets
11:01a little overexcited
11:02about the women's team
11:03and Rebecca's support for it.
11:04She has to slightly
11:05give you a bop on the nose,
11:06doesn't she?
11:07But just remind me
11:07it takes time
11:08to earn great things.
11:09Yes.
11:10Because I think
11:10the women's team
11:11deserve it now.
11:12It should have happened yesterday.
11:13But they are going back
11:15to the previous question
11:16about, uh, Rebecca.
11:18You see?
11:19Um, I think she,
11:21she is learning
11:22how you need to pace yourself,
11:24how you need to make sure
11:25that all your ducks are lined up.
11:27She doesn't do it
11:27in a patronizing way.
11:28Rebecca doesn't do it
11:29in a patronizing way.
11:29She lets Keely kind of,
11:31she lets Keely find
11:32make her mistakes.
11:32Again, no spoilers,
11:33maybe stumble over some things
11:34and learn as well,
11:36but also by,
11:37ultimately it's about
11:38them communicating together.
11:40And the thing that we love
11:41first off,
11:42which was the power
11:43of calling each other out
11:44in friendships
11:45just as much
11:46as raising each other up,
11:47for sure.
11:48Any unwritten rules
11:49or initiations
11:50for the new cast?
11:51Ooh.
11:52Very okay.
11:53It was really the initiation.
11:54I mean, I didn't come to that,
11:56so I guess I'm not
11:57in the gang.
11:58It's so weird you're here.
12:00What would,
12:00in the locker room though,
12:01what did we do?
12:02I mean, remember when Ash
12:02sprayed someone in the face
12:03with DP and everyone
12:04started panicking and chalking?
12:05Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:06That felt a bit like
12:07an initiation.
12:07What happened?
12:08She just sprayed DP
12:10in all the SA's faces.
12:11What is DP?
12:12It's like DP.
12:13It's like a muscle,
12:14Oh, deep heat.
12:16Like bio-freeze?
12:17Oh, Lord.
12:18Yeah, they're like rolling
12:19and everyone's like,
12:20there you go,
12:21the camaraderie.
12:22Football is life.
12:23No, life is so much
12:25more than football.
12:28Not as catchy,
12:29but true.
12:31Jason Sudeikis.
12:32Yes.
12:33How do you hope
12:34season four of Ted Lasso
12:35will inspire young
12:37female athletes?
12:38And how have women's sports
12:40been an inspiration
12:41for the show?
12:42I don't know
12:43how to answer
12:44the inspire part.
12:45We were literally
12:45just trying to make
12:46something that we were
12:46proud of
12:47and that we thought
12:48was funny
12:48and I hope it does.
12:50You know,
12:51I just went,
12:51my daughter and I
12:52and sister went
12:53to the WNBA
12:54All-Star game
12:55and I'm sitting
12:55next to Dwayne Wade
12:56and he's a big supporter
12:57of women's sports
12:58and he leans over
13:00and he goes,
13:00isn't this amazing
13:01that all these young girls
13:04will get to see this?
13:05And I was like,
13:05100%.
13:06And this is something
13:07we say on the show
13:08that I believe in.
13:08It's like,
13:09I think it's also
13:10really, really powerful
13:11that little boys
13:12will grow up
13:13not knowing
13:13any different.
13:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:15Young female athletes
13:16have plenty of more
13:18interesting people
13:18than me to inspire them.
13:19As far as how
13:20women's sports
13:21have been an inspiration
13:21from the show,
13:22huge.
13:22I mean,
13:22it is not an accident
13:24at all that during
13:25making season three,
13:26well, there's that.
13:28Yeah, but I mean,
13:28even the impetus
13:29was getting to watch
13:30the Lionesses win,
13:31you know,
13:31the Euros in 2022.
13:34But nobody talks
13:34about enough
13:35to be quite honest.
13:36Yeah, yeah.
13:37I mean...
13:37It's been home.
13:38Yeah, exactly.
13:40It's true.
13:41But to not only
13:42watch that
13:43in our own home,
13:45you know,
13:45in the rented home,
13:46I should say,
13:46eating Nando's
13:47and then to get
13:48to meet some
13:49of those incredible women
13:50and become friends
13:51with them
13:51and some of them
13:52helped us out
13:52in making this season,
13:53it's been a huge
13:54inspiration.
13:54Then to come back home
13:55and be,
13:56you know,
13:57going to WNBA games
13:58and, you know,
14:00Casey Curran,
14:00you know,
14:01everything they're doing
14:01there in Angel City.
14:03It's like,
14:03it's just been
14:04one thing after another
14:05and there are
14:05many external factors
14:07in that realm
14:08that led to the season four,
14:09like wanting to do it
14:11and thinking we should do it
14:12and thinking we could do it.
14:13What's one lesson
14:14from Ted
14:14that you've actually
14:16caught yourself using
14:17in your own life
14:18since the show
14:20First Prelude?
14:20Oh, I've always
14:22the same one
14:23and it's so simple
14:24but it's beautiful.
14:26Onward, forward.
14:27On.
14:28Forward.
14:28I was more knee-jerk,
14:32grumpy before the show
14:34and I think that something
14:35about the show,
14:37like even angry,
14:39you know,
14:40the angry guy,
14:41wanky,
14:42you know,
14:43you sort of think
14:43he's got issues,
14:45hasn't he?
14:45And that's why we accept,
14:46you know,
14:47and everybody
14:47in the show
14:48you sort of think
14:49his dog's probably
14:50got testicular cancer
14:51or something like that.
14:52That's why he's cross.
14:54I sort of think
14:55there's something else
14:56going on,
14:57don't be angry straight away.
14:58Not making jokes
14:59at other people's expenses.
15:01You can make people laugh
15:03without somebody
15:04having to be the part
15:05of a joke.
15:06And I think that's
15:06something that's really classy
15:07and I think quietly
15:08that's something
15:09that has definitely
15:10been a part of,
15:12yeah,
15:12something that I like
15:13to pay for.
15:14We've talked about that
15:15a lot,
15:15about that it became
15:16such a fashion
15:17to the comedy roast,
15:19which I've never
15:20been a fan of.
15:20I think it walks
15:21a dangerous line
15:23and this show
15:24has always been
15:25so positive
15:25and the amount
15:26of women
15:27that come into this show
15:28and they're never
15:28pitted against each other,
15:30that is almost
15:31entirely unique.
15:32Don't fight back,
15:33fight forward.
15:34Don't fight back,
15:37fight forward.
15:38I think that's,
15:38I think that,
15:39like my buddy Ezra
15:41had when he,
15:41after he watched
15:42that episode,
15:42he like,
15:43he's like,
15:43wait a minute.
15:44And then he Googled it
15:44and he was,
15:45as surprised
15:46as I was
15:46that it didn't exist.
15:47But I think
15:48we're too often
15:48too quick
15:49to fight back
15:50these days
15:51and I think
15:51versus just,
15:52you know,
15:53dirt off your shoulder
15:54and like,
15:54just keep trucking
15:55and like,
15:55you know,
15:56yeah,
15:56but that one,
15:57that one always,
15:57yeah,
15:58those guys are lovely together.
15:59Last question.
16:00Oh shit,
16:01here we go.
16:02Who wants to?
16:03Go, Tanya,
16:04go, go, go, go, go.
16:05Come on,
16:06I did just this one.
16:07Go.
16:08What?
16:09That's the one I just did.
16:11Jason and Brendan,
16:13how was reprising your roles
16:15at the first ever
16:16World Cup halftime show?
16:18Woo wee!
16:19Coach,
16:20I gotta say,
16:20the first half of halftime
16:21knocked my darn socks off.
16:23Spectacular, baby.
16:24How has attending real life
16:25matches fed into
16:26your creative ideas
16:27for the show?
16:27I mean,
16:28I think about that
16:28so often when
16:29any of these neat things
16:30we get to do,
16:31even as ourselves,
16:32it all was,
16:33in many, many ways,
16:3490% of it
16:35was a boondoggle
16:36to get Brendan
16:37to see
16:39a Premier League match,
16:40specifically Arsenal play,
16:42and the fact that
16:43it's manifested
16:44into this.
16:45Now we're in our
16:46f***ing halftime
16:47of the f***ing
16:49World Cup final.
16:50And getting to introduce
16:51a kid that I've always
16:53enjoyed,
16:53and I think that
16:54that's so fun
16:55and he was so up for it
16:56and excited for us
16:57to be the ones
16:58introducing him.
16:58The World Cup final,
16:59as mad as it was,
17:00I'd say it's just
17:01indicative of what's
17:02been a larger,
17:03lovely thing,
17:03which is the degree
17:04to which football
17:05has opened their arms
17:06to us.
17:07And like,
17:08you know,
17:09the football people
17:09we meet who
17:10dig the show,
17:11they're never like,
17:12here's what you got wrong.
17:13Now to bring more
17:14women's football
17:14into that vibe
17:15is going to be,
17:16I think,
17:16pretty great.
17:17Sorry.
17:18I was going to say,
17:18because also,
17:19the interesting,
17:20I met a footballer
17:20recently who was saying
17:21it's because we're not
17:22trying to teach people
17:23how to play football.
17:24It's about the teamwork
17:25behind the scenes,
17:26so that means that
17:26people who are so good
17:27at the sport already
17:28and they play it
17:29and they play on those
17:30pitches for that
17:30length of time,
17:31it's like the skill
17:32is unbelievable.
17:34Unprecedented.
17:35And the show
17:36isn't taking advantage
17:37of that.
17:38It's really not about
17:38trying to be like,
17:39this is football
17:40and these are the rules.
17:41It's very much about
17:42how you become a team
17:43to be able to go out
17:44and do the best
17:45that you can on the pitch.
17:46And I think that's
17:47a really smart thing
17:48that you guys
17:48were able to do.
17:49It's the backstage story,
17:49isn't it?
17:50Yeah.
17:50We had done
17:50the second commercial.
17:51We were doing a charity event
17:53with Steve Nash
17:53with his soccer tournament.
17:55And I forget
17:55who the British fellow was,
17:56but he came up to us.
17:57It was somebody
17:58in the football community.
18:00I've wondered about
18:01this guy often.
18:01Who was it?
18:02And he came up to us.
18:03Yeah, exactly.
18:04It was before he was knighted.
18:06So, you know.
18:08But he comes up
18:08because he was just
18:09talking about the commercials,
18:10but I always loved the line.
18:11He goes,
18:11you got everything wrong
18:13perfectly.
18:13And I'd like to think
18:14we've continued that.
18:16We need to put that in.
18:17Yeah, it really is good.
18:19As Nori Efron would say,
18:21everything is copy.
18:21So when we go
18:22to these matches,
18:23we're constantly
18:24watching things.
18:24You know,
18:25I follow all these
18:25football men
18:27and women
18:27on Instagram.
18:28We're constantly
18:29sending things
18:30back and forth.
18:30Oh, this would be
18:31a great moment for Boots.
18:32This would be
18:32a great idea for Higgins.
18:34We try to have
18:34just little touches
18:35of what happens
18:36for real.
18:37It has a tremendous history
18:38and a tremendous future.
18:39And it's nice
18:40to be riding that wave.
18:43Do we need to sign up
18:44and say bye
18:45and, you know,
18:46watch, watch
18:48and stuff?
18:49You better watch.
18:51Yeah?
18:52What she needs
18:53is thank you for watching.
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