In Season One of "Ted Lasso," an American football coach goes from the town's "wanker" to winning over the hearts of the players of AFC Richmond, its owner Rebecca Welton and the rest of the community.
The key to achieving that on-screen chemistry is simple, Jason Sudeikis tells TODAY.com: They just enjoy hanging out together.
"As a cast, we hang out quite a bit," he says. "We went to a lot of football matches."
"Soccer," co-creator Brendan Hunt chimes in before summarizing, "Yeah, a lot of football matches at pubs."
For Sudeikis and Hunt, who star in the show as Ted Lasso and Coach Beard, their ability to riff off of each other's jokes is palpable — even off the screen. Their interactions can feel like they were straight from a script.
"Oh, there's all those times, we went to Liz Truss' house," Hunt jokes, referring to the British prime minister who resigned from the position after just six weeks.
Sudeikis jumps into the bit without hesitation.
"What a sweetie, always willing to have us over," he adds.
"And then, just stopped inviting us all of a sudden? That was really weird," Hunt continues.
And then, the punchline: "I think it was because I didn't take off my shoes that one time," Sudeikis says.
The exchange could have been a scene from the show, and they seem to slip into their character's humor with ease.
"Right before the scene starts, I read the script for the very first time, because he was only recently finished," Hunt says, on how he gets into character as Coach Beard. "And then, just hang on for dear life."
"Yep, that's it," Sudeikis agrees.
Some members of the cast say returning to their roles for Season Three was strange. For one, they saw a lot less of Nick Mohammed, who, while beloved by the cast, plays the traitorous Nate Shelley, the new manager at AFC Richmond rival's West Ham United.
But while it was great to see everyone again, it was "weird," due to a new sense of pressure, Kola Bokkini, who plays captain Isaac McAdoo, tells TODAY.com.
Jamie Tartt's Phil Dunster agrees.
"I guess when you're making something, it kind of is between you guys, and then as soon as it's out there, it's no longer your thing," Dunster says. "While that was still the case for Season Three, we knew there was expectation, that there was an appetite. And so you want to make sure you get it right. But at the same time you're just trying to do the job."
"I mean there's a little bit of pressure, there's a little bit of rust," Bokkini adds. "Acting is, I believe, kind of like a muscle. You need to keep working at it otherwise you could, you know, get a bit dull."
"Pull an acting hammy," Dunster jokes.
Between Dunster, Bokkini and Cristo Fernández, who plays the lovable striker Dani Rojas, each has a different approach to getting into character.
Dunster puts on a playlist with "grime" and hip-hop, music that he says "is not necessarily natural to me."
Bokkini, however, says he couldn't be too loud getting ready to film.
"My dressing room was next to Billy (Harris), who plays Colin, and I can't play music because he's a grump in the morning," he says. "If I played music he would bang on the wall. So I sit in silence."
Fernández said he eats a notable amount of protein: "25 eggs for Cristo," Dunster says.
"Yeah, I eat a lot," Fernández confirms.
"Does that help with Dani Rojas?" Dunster asks.
"Yes, he needs to eat a lot, too," he responds.
