WEBVTT - David Brownfield Meets World 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.439 I am thinking of joining. 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:24.279 The AARP. 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:27.200 Later. You are you old enough? 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.880 You can join the ARP at eighteen. What it just 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:35.080 focuses on people over fifty, which I'm not there yet, 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:38.760 But if I can start getting the deals now. 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:41.920 Nancy, you become a grandpa. You just come. 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:44.479 Around some of the deals. What are some of the deals? 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:48.080 I don't know them all perfectly. They're very loud, and 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.000 I want to turn it down. It's every year. 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:54.960 It's no, no soon I did that. 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:56.960 I don't know all the ins and outs. 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:58.800 I just know that I want to get into movies 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:01.160 for like seventy percent. I want to start yelling at 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:03.520 kids on the street. And I think I can do 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:05.440 all of that, but I can do it. 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:08.400 For cheapers by joining the ARP off my lawn. 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:10.840 I want to see if you'll both join with me. 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:13.640 I need to know some better discounts I'm not going 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:13.840 to get. 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:15.959 I need to do the calculations because I feel like 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.479 they're going to have the annual fee is probably not going. 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:19.040 To till they get that. 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:19.760 So they get you. 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:21.640 So you're already there. 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:25.280 Oh yeah, do you realize that the actual tagline of 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:26.640 AARP is ARP. 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:29.280 That's how they get you. So it's perfect for it. 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:29.960 Builds into it. 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:33.319 Yeah, no, that makes sense. I joined Triple A like 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:36.840 a year ago, and Triple A member you go the discounts. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:38.280 I was like, this is this is good to have, 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.000 but mostly credit cards. I get scared. 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:47.080 I'm like, it's just fifteen dollars a year A standard. 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:49.680 Yeah no, a standard that's a cheroche membership costs twenty 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:51.760 dollars a year. However, you can get a discount rate 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:54.240 of fifteen dollars for the first year if you sign 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:56.920 up right now for five years for seventy five dollars. 0:01:57.000 --> 0:01:58.760 You can sign up and you really can do years 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:00.160 when you're any. 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:02.640 And then anyway, what are some of the benefits. 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:06.440 What do you get, like benefits of joining AARP. Let's 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:08.519 find out, isn't the point. 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.720 That you're supposed to be old dating rewards because you're 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:12.560 old Like it's well. 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:14.760 No, it's like focuses on that. But check out benefits. 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.840 You get ARP rewards. You get discounts at Walmart, you 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.280 get discounts at the Oh, you can book everything through 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.320 the AARP Travel Center. 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:25.960 Oh do you get like what's the percentage off you 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:27.880 get on rental cars, hotels, cruises? 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:28.440 Oh my god. 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.079 Well I don't have that right at my fingertips right now. 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:33.000 But you get sixty five to two hundred dollars off 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:34.320 anything from British airways. 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:37.760 I mean said, there's an AARP bookstore writer. 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:41.160 Oh okay, up to thirty five percent off base rates, 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:42.240 from budget rent to. 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:44.480 Car, thirty five percent off. 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:48.080 Oh, fifteen percent off of Denny's, ten percent off of 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:49.440 Outback Steakhouse. 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.360 I mean, I mean, it really should become a sponsor 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:54.519 of our show, because we probably just increased their membership 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:56.240 by I. 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:58.080 Don't I still don't believe that you can join though 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:00.560 at at eighteen it says you can. 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.760 It says how old do you have to be? Age 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.560 and lability to join? While a while ARP is dedicated 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.480 to people over fifty, there is no minimum age to join. 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.079 People of all ages can get an air membership. 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.519 For as low as fifteen dollars for the first lumps 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:15.840 me out. 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:17.959 That's like you can join the Magic Castle. You don't 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.920 have to be a magician. Yeah, really, like I know. 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:24.480 Yeah, But at the same time, there's an ARP magazine 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:26.480 and if I'm not on the cover like this in 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:28.520 the next six months, going. 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:30.640 To be on the cover for sure, do you really? 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:34.160 Oh yeah, there's no way they'd feature in under fifty. 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:35.880 You never know, maybe they would. 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:37.360 And the cool thing is, you know you were fifty 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:39.119 because it's people not looking at the camera. They don't 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:40.600 know where to look now in the new cameras, so 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:41.920 it's like actually looking. 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:43.560 Off to the thing, looking right to the side. 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:44.680 But I'm joining. 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.480 You should join with me. I think it'll be great. 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.840 Well, we can join the AARP tomorrow on our flight. 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:51.760 Yes, oh my god. 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:53.120 If you can teach me how to work the Wi 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:55.920 Fi in the plane, we can totally make that work. 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:56.839 Yes. 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:00.760 Wel good to fund Meets World Danielle Fischel. 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.480 I'm right or strong, and I'm Wilfredell, the newest member 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:04.400 of the ARP. 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:10.600 Hey everyone, Pod Meets World is coming to Salt Lake City, Utah. 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:14.360 We will be there August twenty second at the laws 0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:19.000 In Capital Theater. Tickets are available at Pod meetsworldshow dot com. 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:21.200 Somebody told me the other day when I said we 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:23.320 were going to Salt Lake City, they told me we 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:25.840 had to check out a place called Swig. Have you 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:26.640 guys heard of Swings? 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:27.680 I have not. 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.400 Yeah, apparently it's they've got a bunch of different like 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:34.520 drink options. So anyway we've got we've got a fun 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:39.400 activity for us, not alcohol. I was gonna say yes, yeah, 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.960 Tara just said dirty soda. It's like flavored different types 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:46.599 of soda, but probably non caffeinated because you know, yeah, 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:47.400 you can't do that either. 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:49.040 But I can tell you if I have a good 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:50.680 night in Utah, I'm going to be given somebody a 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:51.359 dirty soda. 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:57.560 Oh my god, will I'm sure this wonderful. We'll be 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:00.719 in Salt Lake City. Everyone Pod Meets This World August 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.200 twenty second, come here will make more disgusting jokes. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:05.640 Now we don't say that. 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:07.719 By the way, We have been to Salt Lake before 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.839 for many a comic con and the people there are incredible, 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:12.240 So I know the Treoud's gonna be amazing. 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:22.800 Com check out the show Whoo. 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.880 Now six and a half seasons into our rewatch, well 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.640 into its home stretch, it would be difficult to find 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.960 a boy Meets World perspective. We haven't tackled yet stage managers, 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:41.480 co stars, producers, writers, background actors, the guy who sang 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:44.560 the theme song. We have covered a lot of ground. 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:49.080 What's left an inmate from the audience Angel and Vicki Craig, 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:53.200 the Craft serviceman who played that Stevie Nick song. Sure, 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:56.440 I guess we still have a ways to go. But 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.479 one point of view we were always dying to include 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.039 was that of an network executive, and this week we 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.919 are able to kill two birds with one stone. He 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.719 started his career writing and producing on our show Most 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:11.000 Visible during season six and seven, when he wrote four episodes, 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:15.040 including the recently recapped Hogs and Kisses. But how he 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:18.120 began on Boy Meets World and the ABC Network is 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:20.280 a little bit of a mystery that we will hopefully 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:23.400 get cleared up today. And after our little show, he'd 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.680 complete a very rare evolution, going on to become one 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.440 of the most important TV executives of the two thousands, 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:33.560 helping craft the unstoppable CBS lineup as senior vice President, 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.880 helping create shows that have dominated the ratings ever since. 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:40.040 And if that wasn't enough, he'd then take his talents 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:46.599 to a completely different Hall of Fame TV franchise. Yeah, 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:49.719 that's right, he'd work hand in hand with Dick Wolf 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:53.800 at his production company, helping kill off unsuspecting victims then 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:58.800 investigate their deaths. I mean not literally just on TV. Yeah, 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:01.159 and so now, well, not only do we get to 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:03.920 hear about that writer's room during season six and seven, 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:07.159 we also get some details about what being a network 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.480 executive is actually like. They hold the future of your 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.360 favorite show in their hands, Yet we know very little 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.880 about the process that decides these fates. Today we hope 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.080 to learn a little bit more about it. So welcome 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:23.640 to the podcast a real twofer, writer, producer, and studio executive, 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:24.920 David Brownfield. 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:32.840 Yeah. Wow, I haven't even opened my mouth, that's quite 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:34.800 I'm welcome, all. 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:41.880 Right, thank you very much, thank you for being here. 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.160 When your name appeared on our show, it brought back 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:49.680 a wave of memories, albeit very many foggy ones. But 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:52.080 we are so excited that you agreed to come on 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.360 the podcast. So thank you. Our know, our our producers 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.360 had to do a little deep diving to find you. 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.840 Yeah, I mean, I'm not I'm not impossible to find, 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:06.760 but I'm not I don't make myself readily available either. 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:09.640 You know, we had to do a little bit of 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:15.400 digging away. So let's start with asking you what got 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:18.040 you into what got you to Hollywood and into the 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:22.880 TV business? You are? Were? You were a network executive right. 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:27.240 I'm born and raised in La Okay. I've been here 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:32.680 all my life. I started out basically as a sports writer. 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:35.920 I produced the pregame show for the Lakers for five years, 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.320 so I really was not on the radar screen of 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:42.040 doing anything in network television. I basically started out with 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:44.400 the goal of someone paying me to watch sports, which 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.080 my mom said, you're out of your mind. That's not happening. 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:49.120 And I was able to do it. So I did 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.360 that for five years and I really liked it. It 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.840 was an amazing job, but I kind of got tired 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:59.920 of athletes are like actors. Professional athletes are like actors 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.240 with one huge exception. They don't have the years of 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:07.439 rejection behind them that actors do, so they're incredibly coddled people. 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.040 I mean, things have dramatically changed, but even so, at 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:14.640 its core, an NBA player today is kind of similar 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:16.440 to the way an NBA player was when I was 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:19.560 with them. So I got tired of chasing moround. It 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.559 was great, and then I just happened to be dating 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:24.880 a woman at the time whose father was friends with 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:28.840 the head of Paramounts Network TV division, and he said 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.680 they are looking to bring someone on in current series, 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:34.400 and I said, I don't know what that is, but 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:39.040 no one's offering me anything better. So I basically started 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:44.280 there and then that got me to ABC in nineteen 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:44.840 ninety three. 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:48.079 Wow, okay, so you started in a at ABC in 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.400 ninety three, the same year Boy Meets World started. 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:54.120 Yeah, I started ABC in ninety three and I wasn't 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.040 even it's weird. I wasn't even supposed to be covering 0:09:57.040 --> 0:09:59.120 Boy Meets World. But the woman who was on the 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:05.520 pilot left and so they basically said, oh, we have 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:07.360 the show, and then it was handed over to me. 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.840 Because you know, basically, when you're a current executive, when 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.520 you're one of say five or six current executives your responsible, 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:16.520 you're the point person for four to five shows. 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:16.840 That I was just going to ask, So you have 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:18.719 four to five different shows at a time on. 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.160 Your You have four to five different shows at a time, 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.199 and there can be companies and dramas. Mostly most times 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.360 it's a combination. Can't have someone doing too many comedies 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:29.840 back in the day when there were all these sitcoms, 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:33.040 because obviously the shooting schedules are conflicting with and that 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.040 sort of thing. So at that point, I think Boy 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:38.600 Meet's World was probably my only comedy But yeah, so 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:40.720 I wasn't around for the pilot of the show, but 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:44.400 I was around from I covered the show for the 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:48.960 first three seasons wow, and then in the fourth season 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:50.880 I was still at ABC. This is my last year 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:52.920 at ABC. I was there for four years ninety three 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:56.520 to ninety seven. I started to do more development, so 0:10:56.600 --> 0:11:00.760 I wasn't on the show in year four and then 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.160 in year five, and then at the end of year 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:05.720 four Boy Meets Twelve. I left ABC to go be 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:10.120 a sitcom writer. So I was a sitcom writer for 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:14.280 uh so that would have been year five of Boy 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.480 Meets Twelve. Then actually, Michael Lot this a long winded again, 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:22.040 this is great helps just movings a look. Anyway, Michael 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:24.600 offered me a job writing on Boy Meets World for 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:29.840 season five when I left, and I was which was 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:33.560 incredibly generous. I was also offered a job working on 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:37.200 a show called Over the Top, which you never heard of, 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:40.600 and Over the Top ran for twelve episodes. 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.080 And this was not based on the Stevens the Sylvester. 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:52.840 Completely different. This was Tim Curry, Annie Pots and an 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:58.720 unknown actor named Steve Carrell my cast, because I don't 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:01.480 know if you remember, but it's wor watching this documentary. 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:03.840 The last year I was at ABC, Dana Carvey did 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:06.760 a sketch show. It's called The Dana Carvey Show. And 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:09.480 there's a Hulu documentary on a call Too Funny to Fail, 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.120 and if you haven't seen it, it's really good. And 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:17.000 in that company was Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert among 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.679 other people, and Robert Smigel, who you know went on 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:23.040 to created Triumph the Insult Doll comic, was head writer 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.559 on the show. So they signed holding deals with Correll, 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.280 and I'm not sure if CBA someone signed a deal 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:32.200 with Colbert, and so Correll was on over the Top, 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:37.880 playing this insane role, and like most new shows, you know, 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:41.079 it burned hot and bright and then burned out. And 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.760 so after about we shot twelve, they are at five. 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.959 And then I went back out as an unemployed writer, 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:53.400 and Michael offered me a job again prior to year 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.240 six of Boy Meets World, and I was like, well, 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.120 I'm insane if I don't take it now. 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:57.839 A second time. 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:00.400 That's how I wound up on Boy Meets World writing 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:01.839 on the staff for your six and. 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:04.880 Soe wow, yeah, okay that uh wait, The Dana Carvey Show. 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.640 There's that famous clip that is so funny where the 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:12.440 night it premiered, to advertise it, they cut from a 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:16.559 home improvement clip of the possibility of Jonathan Taylor Thomas 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:20.280 finding out he has cancer and it's like, you hear that, 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.360 you know, I can't die, Dad, I can't die. 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:25.079 And he's like, You're not gonna die. We're going to 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:25.880 get you through this. 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:29.840 And now the Dana Carvey Show, and it's the funniest 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:33.200 transmission and they're showing Steve Carell and all the actors 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.280 this transition and everybody is just losing it. 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:37.920 It's so yeah, you you should go check that out. 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:39.120 It's great. Yeah. 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:42.520 I want to ask you a little bit more detail 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:46.160 because we have never interviewed a network executive on the 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.520 show and and and it's kind of a total mystery 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.680 to us, So I'd love to know more. Before you became, 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.880 before you went into development, can you describe to me 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:59.160 what your job was when you oversee four or five 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:01.400 shows and one of those Boy Meets World. What's your 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:03.760 what's the main part of your job, what kind of 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.760 notes are you giving, what are you looking for describe 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:07.920 your job for us at ABC. 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:11.119 I mean, well, I would say being a current executive 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.840 on a show depends on where the show is in 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:17.640 its kind of like development process. I mean, you really, 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:19.920 if you're talking about a show in the first two 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:22.560 or three seasons, you're really talking about kind of slowly 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.880 but surely developing the show and dealing with the fact 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:29.200 that most shows, very few shows come in are handed 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.520 to you fully baked, right. I Mean, what I remember 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:33.840 about the beginning of Boy Meets World was the premise 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:37.400 of the show was what's it like to have your 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:40.200 teacher as your next door neighbor? That was kind of 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.440 like the central premise of the show. And I think 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:45.760 we all realized fairly early on the first season that 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.600 while that was nice, that could not you You're not 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:50.400 going to be able to build one hundred episodes on 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:54.160 that premise, right, And so a lot of it is 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:57.400 just you know, kind of as I used to say, 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:01.160 it's too bad that television shows aren't like sports franchises 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.200 where you get practice games, like get five or six 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:07.560 games that don't count, because what generally happens in these 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:11.320 shows is, you know, it's trial and error and a 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:14.320 lot of times you spend time writing to things that 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:17.440 you realize, oh, man, those two characters are really not 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.720 great in a scene together, and we really shouldn't put 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.000 them in scenes anymore. But by the time we've already 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:25.160 showed five or six episodes, you know, and there's only 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.280 so much reshooting that can be done. So you're really 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:31.880 kind of trying to lean into what's really working, especially 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:34.880 in the first I don't know, one and a half 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.960 seasons of a show, and trying to avoid what isn't 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:42.000 and also realizing we need to open up new avenues, 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:45.720 we find other areas that characters can explore, we may 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:49.280 need to bring in other characters. But it's also a 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:52.800 real it's difficult because you're producing episodes at the same 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:55.280 now you're producing episodes at the same time they're airing. 0:15:55.880 --> 0:16:00.000 It's really only a limited amount of time to make change, 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.000 to make fundamental changes. Because you make me make some 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:05.880 great fundamental change that's not going to be on the 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:11.480 air for another six weeks in this scenario. So that's 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:13.600 kind of what happened with Weeman's role, right, I mean, 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:15.480 because I went back and I looked at the I 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:17.240 looked at a few episodes of the first season. Then 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:18.360 I looked at the second season. 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.520 The second season is kind of a complete reboot, completely 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:26.280 watched a new show, completely out of necessity, because as 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:30.920 brilliant as Bill Daniels is and was, he can't carry that. 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:35.120 I mean, look at Home Improvement, the scene with uh 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:37.320 Tim and Wilson right the next door neighbor. That was 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:41.120 one scene in every show, that was the storyline of 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.960 every episode. So and so for a current executive, they're 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.720 going to have say four or five shows, comedies and dramas, 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:53.520 and they're basically they're reading everything from the initial one 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.320 pager of what the story is to the outline, which 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:58.760 is I used to say, is basically the script but 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:03.120 in print form building a house, it's your construction plans. 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:07.600 And then you're reading the script through various drafts, and 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.600 then you're looking at dailies. If you're working on a drama, 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.639 you're going to run throughs and tapings if you're working 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:17.600 on a comedy. And it's a pretty cool job. I mean, 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.120 what's really cool about it is is you really get 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:23.600 to kind of like look under the hood of shows. 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:27.800 You know, I was a current exec for how long 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:29.439 was I one well, I guess. At ABC, I was 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:31.120 one for three years, and then I was a CBS 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:33.560 for four years as a as a strictly currentit EGA 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.560 again doing kind of the same thing, mostly on dramas 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:39.520 then and then I was made head of the department. 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:43.480 So at that point the job changes. Now you're responsible 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.720 for your twenty to twenty five shows, and as I 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:49.000 used to say, I'm responsible for all of those shows, 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.320 and I'm responsible for none of those shows. 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:52.960 Because you're not the person there. 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:55.240 You only have a certain amount of time in your day, 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:58.879 and you quickly realize that you've got to focus on 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.119 the shows that are in their first and second years, 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:05.200 and you've got to train a staff so that they 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:09.480 can handle the day to day stuff. But you know 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:13.000 the bigger picture on something, you know, Like when I 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:16.560 was at CBS. Once CSI got past year four, I 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:19.199 was like, I want to know the big arcs. I 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:23.000 want to know the big problems. But you, if I've 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:25.600 trained the executive right, you're the day to day person 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:28.480 on the you know what I mean. So you've just 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:29.959 got to give me a heads up if I'm going 0:18:30.000 --> 0:18:33.119 to get a phone call or tell me you need 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:35.760 to call this person and say something, deliver good news 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:39.880 or deliver bad news. It varies. So, but my time 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:45.040 at ABC, honestly, I remember it really fondly because if 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.040 you think about it, in four years I was there, 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.440 you had I mean, you had Seminole Television, you had 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:54.359 your band Home Improvement in comedy, and then you I 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:59.320 just remember, and you had Ellen come Out. And then 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:03.040 on the maddic side, you had My so called Life, which, 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:07.840 though it didn't run very long, is still pollential show. 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:11.040 And you had like the gold standard of cop shows 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:12.159 in NYPD Blue. 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:13.080 Yeah. 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:15.439 Yeah, yeah, that's just in four years I was there, 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:17.080 and then you also had, like you guys, you also 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:20.040 had Full House and Family Metters, which you know, full 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:23.679 House itself invented a whole genre of show. And you 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:27.159 had TGIF. So it was a law packed into a 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:30.440 short amount of time and very successful, which always helps. 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:32.159 Yes, that definitely helps. 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:35.160 You mentioned you said you're you're responsible at times for 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:38.280 delivering good news or bad news. Was there ever a 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:41.800 time that you can remember, especially first season in Boy 0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:43.919 Meets World going into second where there was talk of 0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:46.040 this isn't working, We're not going to pick it up. 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:50.080 I don't remember that. I really don't, but I do 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.760 remember going we need a new showrunner. We need to 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:55.879 bring somebody in, and we need to Michael's really busy, 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:58.680 and we need to bring somebody in who can kind 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:02.120 of I mean, reinvent the show is too strong, because 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:05.199 there was definitely enough, There was enough of the DNA 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:07.320 that I don't think the show was ever in danger 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:09.439 being canceled. In fact, it was interesting because I was 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:11.399 listening to you. I've listened to a couple of other 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:16.119 episodes with the writers, and I think you guys have 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:18.560 this perception that you were on the bubble every year, 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:23.040 which is definitely not true. I can't. I can only 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:25.800 say for the time I was there, and this is 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:29.360