diff --git a/core/tests.py b/core/tests.py
index f954857..3faf590 100644
--- a/core/tests.py
+++ b/core/tests.py
@@ -783,13 +783,14 @@ class InlineFiltersPairsContextTests(TestCase):
             log.workers.add(self.w)
 
     def test_pairs_context_key_populated(self):
-        import json as _json
+        # The context value is a raw Python list of dicts; Django's
+        # |json_script filter handles the single JSON serialisation at
+        # template render time (no double-encoding).
         self.client.login(username='admin-if', password='pass')
         url = reverse('generate_report')
         resp = self.client.get(url + '?from_month=2026-03&to_month=2026-04')
         self.assertEqual(resp.status_code, 200)
-        pairs_json = resp.context['project_team_pairs_json']
-        pairs = _json.loads(pairs_json)
+        pairs = resp.context['project_team_pairs_json']
         # Each entry has both project_id and team_id
         for p in pairs:
             self.assertIn('project_id', p)
@@ -801,7 +802,6 @@ class InlineFiltersPairsContextTests(TestCase):
 
     def test_pairs_excludes_null_project_or_team(self):
         """Logs with null project or null team should not appear in pairs."""
-        import json as _json
         # Add a log with team=None
         log = WorkLog.objects.create(
             date=datetime.date(2026, 3, 2),
@@ -811,6 +811,39 @@ class InlineFiltersPairsContextTests(TestCase):
 
         self.client.login(username='admin-if', password='pass')
         resp = self.client.get(reverse('generate_report') + '?from_month=2026-03&to_month=2026-04')
-        pairs = _json.loads(resp.context['project_team_pairs_json'])
+        pairs = resp.context['project_team_pairs_json']
         # No pair should have team_id=None
         self.assertTrue(all(p['team_id'] is not None for p in pairs))
+
+    def test_pairs_renders_as_valid_json_in_template(self):
+        """End-to-end: the rendered HTML must contain a single, valid JSON
+        array inside the <script id="projectTeamPairs"> tag — NOT a
+        JSON-encoded string (which was the bug that broke all pill
+        interactions before the context key was changed from
+        `json.dumps(pairs)` to raw `pairs`)."""
+        import json as _json
+        import re
+
+        self.client.login(username='admin-if', password='pass')
+        resp = self.client.get(reverse('generate_report') + '?from_month=2026-03&to_month=2026-04')
+        html = resp.content.decode('utf-8')
+
+        # Extract the JSON payload inside <script id="projectTeamPairs">...</script>
+        match = re.search(
+            r'<script id="projectTeamPairs"[^>]*>(.*?)</script>',
+            html, re.DOTALL
+        )
+        self.assertIsNotNone(match, 'projectTeamPairs <script> tag missing')
+        payload = match.group(1).strip()
+
+        # Must parse to a LIST, not a string.
+        parsed = _json.loads(payload)
+        self.assertIsInstance(parsed, list,
+            "Double-encoded JSON regression: browser's JSON.parse "
+            "would return a string here, killing pairs.forEach() in the "
+            "pill-popover JS. See 2026-04-23 bugfix.")
+        # And the list members must be dicts with project_id + team_id
+        for entry in parsed:
+            self.assertIsInstance(entry, dict)
+            self.assertIn('project_id', entry)
+            self.assertIn('team_id', entry)
diff --git a/core/views.py b/core/views.py
index ce6691d..7a944f0 100644
--- a/core/views.py
+++ b/core/views.py
@@ -2404,7 +2404,14 @@ def generate_report(request):
         .values('project_id', 'team_id')
         .distinct()
     )
-    context['project_team_pairs_json'] = json.dumps(pairs)
+    # Pass the raw Python list — Django's |json_script filter does the single,
+    # XSS-safe JSON serialization at template render time. Calling json.dumps()
+    # here would double-encode: json_script would re-serialize the already-JSON
+    # string, producing `"[{\"project_id\": 1, ...}]"` — a quoted string literal
+    # that JSON.parse() returns as a string, breaking `pairs.forEach(...)` in
+    # the pill-popover JS. Matches the pattern used for team_workers_map_json
+    # and other *_json context keys on the payroll dashboard.
+    context['project_team_pairs_json'] = pairs
     # Pass projects and teams so the "New Report" modal's dropdowns can
     # populate (same lists the Dashboard modal uses)
     context['projects'] = Project.objects.all().order_by('name')