greg daniels-related stories
Stupid internet ruins TV shows!
Why do we, as viewers, like to be spoiled? It was never like this in the 60s or the 70s or the 80s or even most of the 90s. We never found out who shot JR before Dallas aired or what was going to happen on the next Seinfeld. THR.com sat down with the showrunners of several popular shows, including Matthew Weiner (Mad Men), Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy), Greg Daniels (The Office), Katie Jacobs (House), Alan Ball (True Blood), and Jenji Kohan (Weeds), and they talked about this and many other things. (Full interviews here.)
Amy Ryan has no idea if she's coming back to The Office next season
This morning, I had a really fun interview with Amy Ryan, who's taking a little time off after a busy couple of years. During the conversation, which mostly revolved around her fantastic guest turn on The Office as Michael Scott's soulmate Holly Flax, I had to ask her the question most Office fans have been wondering about since the season finale: Is she coming back?Your guess is as good as hers. "They keep that (the plans for Holly) under wraps, if they are indeed thinking of it. There's no plan there." When I asked her if she was under contract for any episodes next season, she said she wasn't.
What is she hoping Greg Daniels and company do with Holly in the coming years? "The viewer in me, the fan of the show, hopes that they (Michael and Holly) get together. The actor in me would love to see that there's still conflict along the way. That's where it's fun."
I'll have the complete interview with Ryan next week.
Parks and Recreation: Make My Pit a Park (series premiere)
(S01E01) While at its heart, and based on its creators (Michael Schur and Greg Daniels of The Office), you can't help but compare Parks & Recreation to The Office. They both film in that mockumentary style, they both feature clueless leads, and they have some of the same comic sensibilities. But how many multi-camera family sitcoms were on the air back in the '80s? Seinfeld and Friends clones in the '90s? Crime procedurals in the '00s?
It doesn't matter if a show shares similar traits with another if it has a voice all its own. And as I indicated in my "Early Look" of Parks & Recreation, they even use the documentary-style camera work differently. But the real difference for me is in the work of Amy Poehler.
Continue reading Parks and Recreation: Make My Pit a Park (series premiere)
Amy Ryan bringing Holly back to Michael on The Office
There's good news for fans of Michael and Holly on The Office, and potentially even better news. When Amy Ryan first stepped in to fill Toby's shoes as the HR rep for the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin, I wasn't sure how well she'd fit with the regular cast. The last time we got a massive infusion of new blood on the show via the branch merger, we wound up losing every one of the new cast members except for Andy (Ed Helms).
But then her wacky synergy with Michael really clicked, and suddenly I was happy for the both of them. And it was genuinely painful when she had to leave. I'm pleased to see that Greg Daniels, who steers The Office ship, really does get it. In the release announcing the return of Amy Ryan to The Office this season, he stated "I don't think she can blow in and out every so often. It would be too hard for [Michael] as a human being." He barely survived her leaving the first time, so it's good to see that Daniels has too much respect for the characters to just bring her in when convenient for ratings, or whatever.
Continue reading Amy Ryan bringing Holly back to Michael on The Office
Details of Poehler's Office "spin-off" finally revealed
For a variety of reasons, I decided to not go to the Winter edition of the TCA press tour. So far, my choice to stay in frigid Jersey has been justified; not much in the way of big news has come out of the tour, and it seems like the networks are very happy about that.However, if I was there, I would have apparently received the pilot script to the new Amy Poehler-led sitcom that's being written and produced by the folks from The Office, as Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did yesterday. He revealed some details about what the show's going to be about, and they're... interesting.
The show will be shot documentary-style like The Office. In it, Poehler plays Leslie Knope, who is, according to Owen, a "mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana." She works with a local nurse (Rashida Jones) to turn a construction site into a park, and has to battle the usual local-government nemeses at every turn, including those "traffic and noise" complainers and a town official (Aziz Ansari). All the while, she's followed by an intern (Aubrey Plaza) that she hopes to inspire.
Continue reading Details of Poehler's Office "spin-off" finally revealed
The Office: Will we learn more about Creed's background?
You know, I've always wondered about Creed's background. We know he was with the 1960's band The Grass Roots, he runs a fake I.D. business with a laminating machine stolen from the police department, he faked his own death so he could get benefits, he keeps bean sprouts in his desk, and he's been homeless. Now maybe we'll get to learn even more about his background. In a major time-slot coup, it looks like a one-hour episode of The Office will air directly following the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, 2009. Exec producer Paul Lieberstein said these longer eps offer a great opportunity to delve into the characters:
Continue reading The Office: Will we learn more about Creed's background?
Poehler will not be in an Office spin-off, but Rashida Jones may reprise Karen - TCA Report
One of the more interesting things to come out of the Silverman-Graboff executive session (which I promise will be up later today ... probably this evening) is that, though Amy Poehler has been signed to be in a show produced by The Office's Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, that show will not be an Office spin-off. It'll have the same comic sensibility and style as The Office, but the characters won't be part of the Office universe. However, a real Office spin-off is still in play, and there's potential for Rashida Jones to be a part of it.Got that? Neither did the critics, who repeatedly asked mostly Silverman to clarify the situation during both the panel and the scrum that followed.
Aziz Ansari cast on Office spin-off; is he still on Scrubs?
Aziz Ansari seems to be the hottest name around Hollywood casting circles. According to Variety, the stand-up comedian, who's also one-third of the MTV's acclaimed sketch team Human Giant, has been cast in the upcoming Office spin-off. He's also signed a one-year talent hold deal with Universal Media Studios.What's interesting about this news is that Ansari was also tapped to play one of the new interns on the eighth season of Scrubs, which is produced by and will now air on ABC. What I'm guessing is that, since Scrubs will finish shooting in August, this deal will start after his deal with the veteran medical comedy ends. If there happens to be a ninth season of the show, as Bill Lawrence told me might happen, I'd imagine he'd come back after his Universal deal ends or they'll just replace him with someone else.
Continue reading Aziz Ansari cast on Office spin-off; is he still on Scrubs?
Free footballs and scoops from NBC's Thursday night sitcoms - TCA report
NBC's press tour day continued with a panel on Sunday Night Football.
When it concluded, panelists including Tiki Barber, John Madden and Al Michaels tossed out signed footballs to 10 or so lucky members of the press. Score! I caught the ball thrown to me by 2006 Super Bowl champion Jerome Bettis, formerly of The Pittsburgh Steelers, now an NBC sports analyst.
In my dreams. It actually sailed over my head to a journalist behind me. "Fumble," he said as he scooped it up.
Sometimes press tour swag can be elusive.
Continue reading Free footballs and scoops from NBC's Thursday night sitcoms - TCA report
Exploring the new world of online deleted scenes
Sunday's edition of the Newark Star-Ledger had a good article about the relatively new phenomenon of online-viewable deleted scenes, and how show-runners have been utilizing them. Alan Sepinwall, the paper's TV critic, spoke to Greg Daniels of The Office, Jason Katims of Friday Night Lights, and Ronald D. Moore of Battlestar Galactica, about how they've been able to throw in little plot or character details in the deleted scenes, knowing that the fanatical viewers of each show will see them on the web.Continue reading Exploring the new world of online deleted scenes
King of the Hill gets a decent time slot
Fox is giving King of the Hill a great lead-in: The Simpsons. The network announced that Hank and the gang are sliding back to the 8:30 pm timeslot on Sunday nights starting with the season premiere on January 28. The season premiere sounds pretty goofy. It's called "The Peggy Horror Picture Show" where Peggy befriends a woman with whom she can talk about her girl issues, such as not feeling feminine enough. Little does she know, her new friend has some issues of her own.I often watch King of the Hill reruns on FX in the evenings as I'm making dinner, but I forgot that it's actually still on. When it resumes next month, it will be season 11 for the animated series.
The move from 7:30 to 8:30 bumps War at Home to Thursdays with unfunny 'Til Death. American Dad slides into possible oblivion at 9:30 pm.
When writers act, or actors write, at The Office
I'm just catching up after the closest thing that I have ever seen to a hurricane blew through volcano country and knocked out the power for 30 hours, and my internet has just gone all Dunder Miflin on me. Anyway, there is a good article over at the L.A. Times about writers as actors and what that means for comedy on television. The focus is on The Office as many of the members of the cast are also the writers of the show. Executive producer Greg Daniels (The Simpsons) goes through his reasons for choosing to move people from the writers room in front of the camera. And it's not just because he's lazy. There is a method to his madness. Given the mockumentary style of the show, he feels that unpolished actors that may seem awkward at times add to the realism of the show.
They also touch on the character of Toby. Played by Paul Lieberstein, Toby was originally intended as a bit part. But when NBC President Kevin Reilly saw the character he responded, "He's funny. More of him." And Paul's acting career was born. The story for Mindy Kaling's character, Kelly, is much the same. Both of them say that they prefer writing to acting. Joel talked with Kelly about this back in March as well. It's a good behind the scenes piece, and worth a look.
Radio and Television Society takes on censorship and reality TV
This may come as a shock to you, readers, but the writers of scripted television programs hate reality TV. And, do you know what they hate even more than reality TV? Network censors. If you've been watching Studio 60, you already know this. Those standards and practices people are such prudish little worrywarts - cowering in their offices, praying the FCC won't smack the network's hand for using the word "butt" in primetime. This past Wednesday, television's top showrunners got together for a Hollywood Radio and Television Society luncheon where they got to grouse collectively about the twin evils of Mark Burnett and broadcast standards. Chiming in were Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane, The Office's Greg Daniels, Lost's Damon Lindelof, Gilmore Girls' Amy Sherman-Palladino and Battlestar Galactica's Ron Moore (pictured) among others. The discussion was facilitated by Jimmy Kimmel. How much would you have loved to be in that room? How much would I love to be working for any single person in that room - really, any of them?
Continue reading Radio and Television Society takes on censorship and reality TV
Seinfeld: The Parking Space
(S03E21) I'm the only person I know who actually drives in New York. The funny thing is, the only reason why I drive is because I live 30 miles away from the city, and I tend to find that sometimes driving is much faster than taking the train. But if I were actually living there, I'd ditch my car in a nanosecond. Most people who live in New York don't own a car, because it's too tough to find parking and the subway can get them to just about anywhere they need to go.
So why are so many episodes of Seinfeld so auto-centric? Jerry has a car. Kramer has a car. George doesn't have a car here but eventually gets a car. Thank goodness for Elaine; she never got a car (and we find out later in the series that she's an illness-inducing driver). But, really, that ratio should at least be reversed, if not doubled (8 non-drivers for every driver, if you don't feel like doing the math). Oh, well. At least most of the driving-related episodes, including this one, are pretty good.
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
The Prisoner -- An early look
