Speaker 1: You're listening to Comedy Central.
Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to The Daily Show Ears edition. This
Speaker 2: is Daisy Lighteck. You might have seen that The Daily
Speaker 2: Show won in Emmy last week and John Stewart had
Speaker 2: a very special shout out. But if you really want
Speaker 2: to know the heart and soul of the team, if
Speaker 2: you really want to know the Keeper of the Flame
Speaker 2: of the Daily Show, Ms Jen Flans is our executive
Speaker 2: for also and.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Miss Jen Flans has been there since nineteen ninety eight,
Speaker 3: and just say, just say to the people, well.
Speaker 1: I love our show, and I love the people we
Speaker 1: work with, and I love working at TV somethings. I
Speaker 1: love John.
Speaker 2: So here with me today is the Keeper of the Flame,
Speaker 2: Captain of the Ship. It's showrunner and writer Jen Flans. Welcome.
Speaker 3: The Keeper of the Flame makes me feel like I'm
Speaker 3: in the Olympics and I'm running with a torch, which
Speaker 3: is hilarious because I don't run no, and I'm afraid
Speaker 3: of fire.
Speaker 1: But like whatever, I love it.
Speaker 2: But it is basically the Olympics and your job.
Speaker 1: I was like, you're for the I couldn't hear anything
Speaker 1: on stage, so like I didn't know he said that
Speaker 1: till later. I mean, I knew he was saying something nice,
Speaker 1: but I didn't follow the words. And then when I
Speaker 1: saw Keeper of the Flame, I was like, wow, that
Speaker 1: makes me sound so much more athletic in my mind
Speaker 1: than I am.
Speaker 2: You were the Gabby Thomas of Late Nights running. You
Speaker 2: are just running. It was such a beautiful, well deserved
Speaker 2: shout out. And I think anyone who knows The Daily
Speaker 2: Show even remotely knows that you are the Keeper of
Speaker 2: the Flame, that you are the glue that holds everything together.
Speaker 2: You are the Olympian. What were you what were you
Speaker 2: thinking in that moment?
Speaker 1: Well, thank you for saying that. I h I love
Speaker 1: talking and I don't love speaking publicly, so I was like,
Speaker 1: oh no, John, I told like m mmmm no. But
Speaker 1: I was also very very very flattered, and I was
Speaker 1: just so happy. We want I mean, you know, like
Speaker 1: this iteration of the Daily Show and the fact that you,
Speaker 1: let's let's please acknowledge that you also want an Emmy
Speaker 1: and also got a shout out because the four I mean,
Speaker 1: John has won before, but you costa Klepper and Nanni
Speaker 1: it was your first one, and it was just like
Speaker 1: so awesome to see and to be there for it,
Speaker 1: and I really feel more than ever like this iteration
Speaker 1: of the show is just like such a good version
Speaker 1: of what we've done and a real like build on
Speaker 1: where the show's gone for over the last few years.
Speaker 1: But I was thinking, oh my god, I hate talking
Speaker 1: him public.
Speaker 2: Did you know that he was going to toss it
Speaker 2: to you?
Speaker 1: You know? He he he said like, I'm gonna say something,
Speaker 1: and I said, and you could say my name, I'll
Speaker 1: wave And he said, okay, So that's what I expect.
Speaker 1: Like I was, you know, on the way up He's like, okay.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my god. And then I was
Speaker 1: going to wave and then he's like, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: you get up here.
Speaker 2: I'm so glad he did.
Speaker 1: It's you know what, John, And this is I literally
Speaker 1: coming to this realization right now. John has pushed me
Speaker 1: out of my comfort zone so many times to do
Speaker 1: things that I didn't know that I could do, that
Speaker 1: he believed that I should and could do. And that
Speaker 1: was just another example of it. But you know, he
Speaker 1: really has like been such a mentor to me and
Speaker 1: encouraged me and always treated me just like he knows
Speaker 1: that I can do things, and he just gives him
Speaker 1: and I'm the kind of person that's never going to
Speaker 1: say no. If you want me to do it, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna I will do it. Yeah, but there's definitely been
Speaker 1: a million times over the years, and that was one
Speaker 1: of them where I'm like, I don't know if I
Speaker 1: can do this. But sometimes I'm just like, well, if
Speaker 1: he thinks if he thinks I can do it, I
Speaker 1: can probably do it.
Speaker 2: I want to ask more about that, but I have
Speaker 2: to acknowledge in this moment. Yeah, speaking personally, Yes, you
Speaker 2: have taken on that quality as a leader and spread
Speaker 2: that to other people, because there are a thousand times
Speaker 2: when I have been here at the show and gone,
Speaker 2: I can't do that. I've never done that before. I
Speaker 2: don't know if I can do that, and you so
Speaker 2: confidently are like, you can do that, Go right out
Speaker 2: there and go do it. We're going to do this,
Speaker 2: And I'm like, well, Jenland says I can, so I
Speaker 2: guess that's what we're doing.
Speaker 1: It does I will tell you that because I, first
Speaker 1: of all, I think you can do anything, but you
Speaker 1: can do no wrong.
Speaker 2: I can't run. I also can't run.
Speaker 1: Well we have that in common either, use but I
Speaker 1: feel like I know I've done that with you where
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, you can because I think and I
Speaker 1: hate to make it like a woman thing, but it's
Speaker 1: like sometimes women doubt themselves more than men. Men just
Speaker 1: go and do it. And I have been like, I'm
Speaker 1: going to make sure that you know that you can
Speaker 1: do it because you can. And and that goes with
Speaker 1: hostang or you know, going out into the field doing
Speaker 1: a big interview, whatever it is like. And also I'll
Speaker 1: always be honest with you. Is there something I think
Speaker 1: you can't do, like you know, I don't know, bench
Speaker 1: press two hundred pounds, Like I'm going.
Speaker 2: To tell you, no, I can do it. I can
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 1: I'm going to be yeah, totally. Do you know what.
Speaker 1: I didn't expect that about you. Now that I know,
Speaker 1: I'll only encourage you.
Speaker 2: You do that for everyone here at the show, though,
Speaker 2: And I think that that's a quality, one of the
Speaker 2: many qualities that I admire about you. But you have
Speaker 2: a way of empowering everyone around you, everyone here at
Speaker 2: the show, and helping them build confidence, giving them the
Speaker 2: trust that they can do their job, while also gently
Speaker 2: guiding them towards a vision. Was that something that you
Speaker 2: picked up along the way or was that something that
Speaker 2: you feel It's just innate in you.
Speaker 1: You know what, I'm a big sister. I'm the oldest
Speaker 1: stuff for my parents trusted me to guide and really
Speaker 1: watch and parent my siblings. So being a big sister
Speaker 1: is like kind of I'm always this is the role
Speaker 1: I was meant to play, right, Like, I'm just I'm
Speaker 1: a big sister in life. I'm a big sister daily show,
Speaker 1: and I really hesitate to be like I'm a mom.
Speaker 1: I'm not a mom. I will can't take care of
Speaker 1: you completely, but I can encourage you and cheer you on.
Speaker 1: And I think that I love being a manager and
Speaker 1: I love managing a process, and I love managing people
Speaker 1: and making them like I feel like when people are
Speaker 1: the best version of themselves, we make the best version
Speaker 1: of the show. And I really have always thought like
Speaker 1: I am not good at much, but I am good.
Speaker 1: I think I'm good at seeing talent in other people
Speaker 1: and putting the right players in the right positions, and
Speaker 1: like coaching and like being a team coach. And that's
Speaker 1: essentially what it is, right, That's that's what the job
Speaker 1: that I ended up with is. And I love that.
Speaker 1: I think we have so many talented people here, and
Speaker 1: it's just a matter of like putting them all in
Speaker 1: the right positions that we like win the World series.
Speaker 2: You are good at a lot. You say you're not
Speaker 2: good at much. You are good at a lot of
Speaker 2: things you have to be to be in your position. So,
Speaker 2: like John mentioned, you started at the show in nineteen
Speaker 2: ninety eight as a PA. True story when you first
Speaker 2: of all, like talk about the differences in this show.
Speaker 2: I'm sure it's immense, but just even like the production
Speaker 2: wise the analog version of The Daily Show versus.
Speaker 1: I mean I my first day I started as a PA,
Speaker 1: I got a pager. We didn't have cell phones really,
Speaker 1: I mean I had my own that like was on
Speaker 1: my family plan. My parents had one in like, you
Speaker 1: can only use this in an emergency, like if you
Speaker 1: get in a car accident or your car breaks down.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like that one four three, I love you. Do
Speaker 2: you remember that I had a pager in ninety eighty two.
Speaker 1: Oh the pagers were like boobs, Like everybody wrote boobs.
Speaker 1: But yeah, so when I started here, it makes me
Speaker 1: sound like a dinosaur, but I we got a pager,
Speaker 1: and my pager literally never went off. The whole time
Speaker 1: I had it, but I had for like whatever, like
Speaker 1: two years.
Speaker 2: You still have the pager.
Speaker 1: I wish now we had to give them back to
Speaker 1: like next Tell or something whatever, like company we were
Speaker 1: renting free cut. It was a deep cut. Next tiles
Speaker 1: were like a huge thing during for the Daily Show,
Speaker 1: during like one of the conventions. I want say, I
Speaker 1: want to say it was two thousand was our first
Speaker 1: experience with them, but like we were walking talking each
Speaker 1: other all over the place, and that was kind of
Speaker 1: the first way you could text. It was or that
Speaker 1: The Daily Show could text. But anyway, Yeah, So the
Speaker 1: the immense difference between the technology then and now is
Speaker 1: also why I encourage people who are good at their
Speaker 1: drops to do them, because I'm very I'm not sure
Speaker 1: I could learn all the technology now. But we yeah,
Speaker 1: we used to like it would be on tape, so
Speaker 1: like the Field shoots would go out, they'd come back
Speaker 1: and they'd have a tape tapes. You'd have like, oh
Speaker 1: my god, this Field producer shot nine tapes? Are they psychotic?
Speaker 1: Like oh, I remember Stu Baile used to come back
Speaker 1: with only like three or four and we'd be like,
Speaker 1: we love him. He's the best field producer because we
Speaker 1: don't have to log so many tapes. Oh, oh my
Speaker 1: god god.
Speaker 2: And did they also shoot with one camera so they
Speaker 2: would do one side first and then shoot the other.
Speaker 1: Yes, if you needed a two camera shoot, it was
Speaker 1: like very expensive and they really had to consider who
Speaker 1: the interview was with. Wow. But yeah, it was so different.
Speaker 1: I mean even like when I was a PA. Wait,
Speaker 1: there were four of us, and each one of us
Speaker 1: had a late night, so like I don't remember, maybe
Speaker 1: mom was Wednesdays, and you would take the actual tape
Speaker 1: of the show, like we'd record it to tape. You'd
Speaker 1: have to wait here until the edit was done, take
Speaker 1: the edited master down to HBO down to and was
Speaker 1: like on twenty third Street and we were on fifty
Speaker 1: seven and just like in a cab and you were
Speaker 1: delivering the master and it's the only way the show
Speaker 1: got out at night. So like there was this immense pressure.
Speaker 1: The technology was not up to speed where you're just
Speaker 1: like I hope this, like God forbid, I get like
Speaker 1: kidnapped in this cab right now, like I have the
Speaker 1: show or like.
Speaker 2: Oh I love it. That is such a producer. You
Speaker 2: were destined to be an EP because you're you thought
Speaker 2: that way. You're like, you're not, You're not like, oh no, my,
Speaker 2: what would my parents think if I got kidnapped? Or like,
Speaker 2: what would happen to the show?
Speaker 1: That is? This show would not air that night. So
Speaker 1: it was like there used to be a guy that
Speaker 1: you drop it off to, just a one person and
Speaker 1: he'd like sometimes go out for a cigarette, and if
Speaker 1: you dropped, you'd leave it on his chair, and you're like,
Speaker 1: I hope nobody moves this before he comes back from
Speaker 1: his cigarette. This is the show. So yeah, So the
Speaker 1: technology was is it's really the updates? Uh, And listen,
Speaker 1: we used to like we have email. I remember using
Speaker 1: my own hotmail account when I started. We had the
Speaker 1: day this office that we figured out we could do
Speaker 1: AOL instant messenger to each other's computers. I mean, forget it.
Speaker 2: We were new World, New World, New World is your oyster?
Speaker 1: I can't couldn't even slack wasn't even a figment of
Speaker 1: my imagine.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, we've come so far, come so far. Uh,
Speaker 2: walk me through the process of your of your job
Speaker 2: titles throughout the years, Like I remember you so that
Speaker 2: you started out doing those types of jobs. I remember
Speaker 2: you telling me that you One of my favorite bits
Speaker 2: on the Daily Show was Beth Littleford coming in with
Speaker 2: the Batholeene lens interviews hiding behind that the big flower interview.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they were they were amazing.
Speaker 2: And you you used to set the flowers.
Speaker 1: I bought and set the flowers. I actually made a
Speaker 1: deal with a deli down the street, a corner deli
Speaker 1: that had like only New York bodega's tons of flowers,
Speaker 1: and the guy, you know, we had like a friendship.
Speaker 1: I would go in every few weeks, get a ton
Speaker 1: of flowers for best interviews and set them up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so that was one of my I mean, I like,
Speaker 1: I've done a lot of jobs here, So that was
Speaker 1: my as a PA I did that. But then like
Speaker 1: that kind of translated to when I was a coordinator.
Speaker 1: Then I really was like managing all the pia's runs
Speaker 1: to get the props and other things like talk about technology.
Speaker 1: We used to we used to rent movies at the
Speaker 1: video store. And so I made friends with this guy Alan,
Speaker 1: who used to own Alan's Alley and it was a
Speaker 1: video store down on actually like twenty second Street.
Speaker 2: And it was Alan's. Allie sounds like an adult video it.
Speaker 1: Does, and I think it did have a back room.
Speaker 1: But Alan was basically like he was the best guy.
Speaker 1: He was so nice on the phone all the time.
Speaker 1: He loves it's closed. Now obviously nobody's friending the videos,
Speaker 1: but like he used to screen videos. I'll be like, oh,
Speaker 1: do you have any can you think of a movie
Speaker 1: where there's an avalanche and somebody falls off a cliff,
Speaker 1: but like maybe they don't die and they pop back up,
Speaker 1: and it'd be like, we need it for the show.
Speaker 1: And he would know off the top of his head,
Speaker 1: like three movies and then screen them for me before
Speaker 1: I sent a pa down to go pick up the
Speaker 1: tape to bring it back to the show. So he
Speaker 1: was like kind of an an employee.
Speaker 2: Alan was the original Google. He was the original Poor
Speaker 2: Alan was replaced by Google.
Speaker 1: Poor Allen. And then I mean when the store was closing,
Speaker 1: a Lisa and I went down and we said goodbye it. Now,
Speaker 1: I don't know, but I wish I knew. He was
Speaker 1: so nice.
Speaker 2: If only we had an Alan to search up what
Speaker 2: Alan is doing? You know what, I'm going to google
Speaker 2: it us with Alan. If you're out there, give us
Speaker 2: a call, let us know what you're at call.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so we had, I mean there were other video
Speaker 1: stories we also called, but we always called Alan's first
Speaker 1: because he was so nice and cooperative.
Speaker 2: And then and then you went into so pa, it's
Speaker 2: a production coordinator.
Speaker 1: Actually I was assistant production coordinator. That I was a
Speaker 1: production coordinator. Then I was a production manager. Then I
Speaker 1: was a coordinating producer, which was kind of when I
Speaker 1: straddled from like being more in the production track to
Speaker 1: more creative. And it really was a product of me
Speaker 1: being like, hey, I can't do budgets. I'm really bad
Speaker 1: with money. I don't think that that's the track I
Speaker 1: should be on. But I do love managing and I
Speaker 1: love managing a process. And there's actually nobody here who
Speaker 1: really is translating the creative the scripts and everything to
Speaker 1: production and to making sure that it gets done. Like
Speaker 1: there's a wide gap between like oh, people should read
Speaker 1: the script and like just interpret, you know, like who's
Speaker 1: talking right? And and it's kind of like a trend
Speaker 1: of my career here has been like just finding gaps
Speaker 1: and being like this is something that seems like somebody
Speaker 1: should do it. I'd love to do it.
Speaker 2: Defining your own role.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it was like, yeah, something that, Like I
Speaker 1: made up the title coordinating producer from like looking at
Speaker 1: IMDb and other shows, I'm like, hey, we don't have
Speaker 1: that title here. What if I had that? And anyway,
Speaker 1: saith the quartering producer. Then I was a super Then
Speaker 1: I was a COE P and then an EP and
Speaker 1: then EP showrunner writer.
Speaker 2: What a great lesson for people to learn, Like, if
Speaker 2: you don't see a place for you within your workplace,
Speaker 2: see your own tickets, see.
Speaker 1: A place that something, they might need somebody to get
Speaker 1: side the box. I was a little wild Westie back
Speaker 1: in the day. You know, it was a half the
Speaker 1: size staff that we have now, so there was more
Speaker 1: room for that. But yeah, I think. I mean, people
Speaker 1: are always like, oh, did you always want to be
Speaker 1: a showrunner? I'm like no, And I feel like I
Speaker 1: give the worst career advice because I'm like, no, don't
Speaker 1: dream big, just just keep doing your job really well
Speaker 1: and then and then the next thing will come. And
Speaker 1: so it's kind of been my I mean, listen, I
Speaker 1: love what I'm doing and I am so glad to
Speaker 1: be the showrunner here. But I was never like a
Speaker 1: PA and thought oh I could be that, Like I
Speaker 1: could be Madeline, the woman who used to run the show.
Speaker 1: I was like, I wanted to be a really really
Speaker 1: good yeah, and then I got a promotion and then
Speaker 1: it was like, okay, I want to be a really
Speaker 1: really good sister production coordinator. And then things just kept coming.
Speaker 1: So I don't know if.
Speaker 2: That did you. Was there a moment in time that
Speaker 2: you thought, I do want to be the showrunner?
Speaker 1: So I was doing it?
Speaker 2: Was it when John asked you to be the showrunner?
Speaker 1: Like it was? You know? It was. I think it's
Speaker 1: a confidence thing, you know, And I think that I
Speaker 1: I wish that I was as confident as like, yes,
Speaker 1: I should be in charge here. But I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: I like doing this. I'm good at doing this, I'm
Speaker 1: good with people, I'm good at translating and the funny
Speaker 1: to the you know, actual physical how it's going to
Speaker 1: manifest in the studio. And I think that I love
Speaker 1: that he saw that in me and that that could
Speaker 1: keep you know, my career, you know, growing and to
Speaker 1: a place where it is now. And then obviously, like
Speaker 1: Trevor also had a big hand in it. When he
Speaker 1: got here, he was like I was, you know, already
Speaker 1: one of one of the EPs, and then he was like,
Speaker 1: you know, basically like I trust you. What do you
Speaker 1: think you know about how to run this place? And
Speaker 1: and so that gave me even more confident. It was
Speaker 1: it was also a lot because I was here with John.
Speaker 1: I was mentored under John. I knew how to make
Speaker 1: the Daily Show, and when Trevor got here, he was new.
Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, I'm the like elder
Speaker 1: elder expert that knows how to run the place. And
Speaker 1: I was like, oh wow, somebody has to do this,
Speaker 1: so it's got to be I got to do it.
Speaker 1: I know I've been here, I know how to do it.
Speaker 1: And so Trevor putting that trust in me also just
Speaker 1: like kept it going. And then John coming back and
Speaker 1: being like, I can't even you know, we've evolved the
Speaker 1: show so much since he left and expanded social podcasts,
Speaker 1: you know, activation spaces are the way we run the
Speaker 1: news team, you guys at desk. In addition to him,
Speaker 1: we did guest hosts. Like He's like, I cannot believe
Speaker 1: you know what you've done here, which is was really
Speaker 1: really a great feeling for him to just be like
Speaker 1: in fress, I'm like, it's like when your parents come
Speaker 1: to see you at work or something, and you're just like, oh,
Speaker 1: I want to show you everything I can do. I
Speaker 1: know I talk about it. I know I've talked to
Speaker 1: you about it, but like, look and John Stewart and
Speaker 1: he taught me everything. So yeah, it's it was. It
Speaker 1: was I think our first live show with him back here.
Speaker 1: He after the show said to me, he's like, what
Speaker 1: you guys do this is like what we did like
Speaker 1: on crack, Like this is just beyond what we used
Speaker 1: to do. And it is, I hate to say it's
Speaker 1: it's a lot because of the technology, we do a
Speaker 1: lot more. But I think our team is just so tight.
Speaker 1: We have a shorthand we kind of thrive on that
Speaker 1: like deadline deadline thing. And and he was just like, wow,
Speaker 1: you guys, you really elevated, like you raised the game here.
Speaker 2: How did that feel?
Speaker 1: It felt so good. It felt so good to be
Speaker 1: like I didn't only keep this place like your legacy intact,
Speaker 1: but but you think I elevated it and that is
Speaker 1: so it meant so it just like working together again
Speaker 1: has meant so much in that one. He's just fun,
Speaker 1: you know, he's a great guy. It's really fun. Tog
Speaker 1: out with him. He's he's just like.
Speaker 2: Truly the best everything you want him to be and
Speaker 2: so much more.
Speaker 1: And it's so funny when people are let's see, I'm like,
Speaker 1: he's just like exactly what you what you think? Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's exactly what you think. He's like, he's awesome, and yes,
Speaker 1: he's a really good hang. But but in addition to that,
Speaker 1: it's just it's been so nice to show him what
Speaker 1: we can do here, you know, and how much like
Speaker 1: it doesn't when he was here round one, he was
Speaker 1: you know, by the end of it, he was in charge.
Speaker 1: He screened every piece, he signed off on, every pitch
Speaker 1: he signed like. He wasn't managing people like I want
Speaker 1: to raise I'm like, dude, like how I think back
Speaker 1: and I'm like, the amount of work that was on
Speaker 1: is no wonder he burnt, you know, was like, hey,
Speaker 1: I got to step back. This is a lot of work.
Speaker 1: And to be able to take some of that off
Speaker 1: his plate for him only because he stepped away came
Speaker 1: back and it was already parsed out to other people,
Speaker 1: why take it back on has been really nice to
Speaker 1: just like let him focus on the thing that he's
Speaker 1: amazing at which is it is actually good at all
Speaker 1: of it, which is the crazy part, Like it's crazy,
Speaker 1: he's he's really just good at everything. Yeah, but it's
Speaker 1: been nice to be like, I know you can do
Speaker 1: all the other stuff, but like, why don't you just
Speaker 1: focus on what you want to say and the point
Speaker 1: of view of the show and helping us all focus on,
Speaker 1: you know, what kind of content we're going to do
Speaker 1: and not worry about like it if are recycling, you know,
Speaker 1: if we're doing paper and plastic or just plastic. You know,
Speaker 1: Like he's involved in everything, every discussion he would be
Speaker 1: involved in. So it's been really nice to be able
Speaker 1: to take a little of that pressure off his plate
Speaker 1: and just be like, just have like fun, like what
Speaker 1: you want to say.
Speaker 2: So great for him to walk back into this and
Speaker 2: just know he's in the absolute best hands. The show
Speaker 2: is in the best hands. We're going to take a
Speaker 2: quick break, but we'll be right back. We're back with
Speaker 2: Jen Flans. You've seen so many evolutions of the show
Speaker 2: from nineteen ninety eight with Craig Kilbourne and then John
Speaker 2: coming in and basically defining modern political satire, and then
Speaker 2: Trevor coming in and evolving it to his version of
Speaker 2: the show with you and then the guest host Era
Speaker 2: and now John being back, and they're being sort of
Speaker 2: this ensemble version are the what's your north star or
Speaker 2: your main tenants of keeping the DNA of the Daily
Speaker 2: Show through each evolution.
Speaker 1: Truly, Uh, you know, a lot of it's John's like,
Speaker 1: let's like have a good time, Like I really am
Speaker 1: live by Like if we're making something good here, it
Speaker 1: will translate, right, Like, if we're making something we feel
Speaker 1: good about, we believe in makes us laugh, then it
Speaker 1: will translate to the audience and never really getting caught
Speaker 1: up in like the ratings or the press or listen,
Speaker 1: I love I love to get press. When it's good press,
Speaker 1: you get caught up in it. But the like social
Speaker 1: mentions like things that like you kind of have to
Speaker 1: tune it all out and make the thing that you
Speaker 1: believe is the show that we should be putting out
Speaker 1: in the world. And it was always like listen, if
Speaker 1: we put out something and we get canceled, then then
Speaker 1: that's what we went down, feeling good about it, you know,
Speaker 1: giving it our best instead of just like chasing ratings
Speaker 1: or something like that. So that was always and listen
Speaker 1: to Comedy Central execs, like, you know, I remember Doug
Speaker 1: Michelle Kent like and even still now with Christina, like
Speaker 1: we aren't held to a rating, you know, listen, ratings
Speaker 1: are important, but it just doesn't guide anything. And I
Speaker 1: think that it translates on screen when you're having fun
Speaker 1: in the building and I like love to like throw
Speaker 1: a party, have everybody that like everybody together having a
Speaker 1: good time. And I think that like party Planner and
Speaker 1: me just also like brings that vibe to the show,
Speaker 1: which is like, let's just make sure we're having fun
Speaker 1: because if not, I think on screen it looks like pained. Yes,
Speaker 1: we feel that, yeah, And I feel like, listen, we've
Speaker 1: we've had weeks or shows where you feel it like
Speaker 1: people are tired, and I think it translates on screen.
Speaker 2: You really are so good about that because I feel
Speaker 2: like you're always optimistic, you always rally the troops. You
Speaker 2: make sure that we are having a great time. Doesn't
Speaker 2: matter what's going on with snacks all around. But it's
Speaker 2: snacks all around. It's important egg sandwich Wednesdays.
Speaker 1: Obviously, I'm like it really It's also like it's not
Speaker 1: just me, like the team here we've been together for
Speaker 1: so long, people are friends. You know. It's like cozy environment.
Speaker 1: We have this studio. We're far from everything in the world.
Speaker 1: We're like out on way over almost in the Hudson
Speaker 1: River and the horse stables and nothing else, is it.
Speaker 1: We're kind of like isolated and insular. Yeah, and I
Speaker 1: think that works in our favor.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm curious about was there ever a time
Speaker 2: you talked about John being so instrumental as a leader
Speaker 2: and kind of pushing you out of your comfort zone
Speaker 2: and him saying that he believes in you even if
Speaker 2: you weren't quite ready yourself. Was there ever a moment
Speaker 2: when you started to doubt yourself and how did you persevere.
Speaker 1: I think I doubt myself at almost every moment. No, Like,
Speaker 1: I'm like, uh all the time I think that I
Speaker 1: in my head with John or Trevor or the corresponds like,
Speaker 1: I'm like, I don't want to let anyone down, so
Speaker 1: I just just make it happen, you know, whatever it is,
Speaker 1: and that is, you know, I wish it came more
Speaker 1: from a place of like confidence, but it's it comes
Speaker 1: from a place of like I don't want to disappoint people.
Speaker 1: And then and then I do it, and then I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh cool, I could do that. Now I have the
Speaker 1: confidence next time to do it, you know. And you'd
Speaker 1: think you'd remember that the next time you're in that
Speaker 1: situation and you do.
Speaker 2: Doubt yourself to do it all over again.
Speaker 1: But I have a fake it till you make it attitude. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's just fake it, like put on a smile, go
Speaker 1: out there, get it done. You will, You'll get it done.
Speaker 1: And what's the worst thing that can happen if you don't. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you leave the tape in the cab and the show
Speaker 1: never airs, you know, and that will never watch. Yeah, exactly,
Speaker 1: that is.
Speaker 2: I think that's actually an incredibly confident way of looking
Speaker 2: at it, to make it about the team, Like I'm
Speaker 2: here for the show and I want to do what's
Speaker 2: best for the show and with my team, and I
Speaker 2: don't want to let people down. So that's a very
Speaker 2: confident thing to do. I think the insecure thing to
Speaker 2: do is to make it about yourself and think about
Speaker 2: you know, you're always so nice to Yeah, well, well
Speaker 2: let me tell you. Listen, I appreciate that. I want
Speaker 2: you to know just because you're my boss. I'm not
Speaker 2: here for softball questions. Okay, I'm going to ask you
Speaker 2: the hard hitting.
Speaker 1: Question, the hard questions. All right, I know you care?
Speaker 2: Are you ready?
Speaker 1: I have confidence in you.
Speaker 2: What is your favorite color?
Speaker 1: Wow or aqua? It's that I never know what to
Speaker 1: call it, but I love it.
Speaker 2: Follow up question, which one?
Speaker 1: Is it?
Speaker 2: Turquoise?
Speaker 1: I think I think turquoise because it's like the color
Speaker 1: of the water when you go to the crib like
Speaker 1: that color is my favorite.
Speaker 2: It makes you think of vacation.
Speaker 1: It automatically puts me in the best mood. It's just
Speaker 1: like calming. Yeah it's okay. Favorite food, favorite food. That's hard.
Speaker 1: That's a hard hitting one. Yeah, I really can't. I mean,
Speaker 1: franchise are undeniable. I answer, if you put them in
Speaker 1: front of me, I will eat them. But ice cream
Speaker 1: it depends sweetmanship. I love briar'smanship. The white, Yes, white
Speaker 1: is like the best men That one is my favorite menship.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I do want to ask. Okay, So I get
Speaker 2: this question all the time, and part of me really
Speaker 2: hates it, but I have to bring it up. Like
Speaker 2: being a woman in comedy, being a woman in late night,
Speaker 2: is it something that you think about because there's there's
Speaker 2: something there's part of me that's like, I don't want
Speaker 2: to I don't fucking think about it. I'm just totally comedy.
Speaker 2: Stop asking the question. I would love to not have
Speaker 2: to talk about it being a rarity that women are
Speaker 2: in late night Yeah, at the same time, it is
Speaker 2: true that sometimes you're the only woman in the room
Speaker 2: or one of few women in the room. Is it
Speaker 2: something that you pay much attention to?
Speaker 1: You know what? I didn't until it was like the conversation.
Speaker 1: So like, for like the first fifteen years I worked
Speaker 1: in TV, I didn't even think I didn't even think
Speaker 1: about it, right, And like there were women at the
Speaker 1: Daily Show, so I never it didn't occur to me.
Speaker 1: I guess you know, I knew there weren't late night
Speaker 1: shows hosted by women, but I also like grew up
Speaker 1: like loving lettermen and loving Conan, and so I wasn't like,
Speaker 1: oh damn, I wish it was a woman, right, I
Speaker 1: was just like, I love this show. Yeah, So I
Speaker 1: didn't really think about it, and it kind of I
Speaker 1: feel bad that I didn't think about it, Like I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: should I have been more? I think that you don't
Speaker 1: you don't like a plan on being a like a trailblazer, right,
Speaker 1: Like you just like look back and you're like, oh,
Speaker 1: that was I have blazed a trail. But like, like
Speaker 1: I didn't think about making sure more women are in
Speaker 1: the room because it was always like, let's just get
Speaker 1: the best person for this job, and many times it
Speaker 1: was women and oftentimes it was men. And I now
Speaker 1: think about it in a way of like trying to
Speaker 1: keep some balance because it helps in the room for perspective,
Speaker 1: Like you and I know, like there are jokes that
Speaker 1: like when we're in a room together with like Sarve,
Speaker 1: like we'll laugh at yeah, and maybe the guys aren't
Speaker 1: laughing yeah, and you're like, well, fifty one percent of
Speaker 1: our audience will laugh.
Speaker 2: That's okay, they are.
Speaker 1: You know, it's like half the world as women. So
Speaker 1: but there are certain things that like make us laugh
Speaker 1: and don't make men laugh because the references aren't resonating
Speaker 1: with you or whatever. So I think, just for the
Speaker 1: sake of like rounding out a show and making sure
Speaker 1: that you're reaching all parts of the audience, it is
Speaker 1: a really important thing to have all genders in the room.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 1: But I will say, like I I don't think about
Speaker 1: like are they talking to me that way? Because I'm
Speaker 1: a woman, you.
Speaker 2: Know, I try to not at the forefront.
Speaker 1: I try not to make it that because I feel
Speaker 1: like sometimes it puts you in a place where you're
Speaker 1: looking for the room to be against you, if it's
Speaker 1: like too heavily weighted men, like I feel like when
Speaker 1: you are like I am the only woman in this room,
Speaker 1: you're automatically a little bit like alone and on the defensive.
Speaker 1: Whereas like if I look at it, like I'm sitting
Speaker 1: in a room with people I like, love working with them,
Speaker 1: make me laugh every day. Mm hmm. These are my friends,
Speaker 1: these are my coworkers, and I love them. And they
Speaker 1: happen to be men.
Speaker 2: They also happen to be evolved men. And if there's
Speaker 2: something that they don't get, they're.
Speaker 1: Not like grabbing my butt, like they're just like there
Speaker 1: are men lucky for you. I mean, all right, no,
Speaker 1: but you know, it's like they are very evolved men.
Speaker 2: They are, and they'll ask if there's a joke that
Speaker 2: they don't get, they'll say, why is that funny? Or
Speaker 2: why you know?
Speaker 1: And there's a then you yeah, and I think having
Speaker 1: I think coming at the room or any room you're in,
Speaker 1: all of our all of our meetings from a place
Speaker 1: of like this is a this is a community, This
Speaker 1: is a welcome, warm room to be in and not
Speaker 1: like I'm alone or I'm one of two, or I'm
Speaker 1: one of you know, like counting up the numbers. It
Speaker 1: just I don't think that's productive for a creative environment.
Speaker 1: I think I think at like a level of hiring,
Speaker 1: you should be aware so that those rooms are mixed
Speaker 1: and diverse at some point when you're in them. But
Speaker 1: once you get in those rooms, I think it's not
Speaker 1: the right thing to focus on to Like, I mean,
Speaker 1: we make a show fortnights a week. We have a
Speaker 1: really quick turn around. Like to sit there and like
Speaker 1: be on the defensive is just feels like it would
Speaker 1: take away from you know, what you could possibly put
Speaker 1: out that night, right, I totally agree.
Speaker 2: What would you say to someone who wants to you
Speaker 2: have your job one day? Someone who wants to work
Speaker 2: in TV, particularly other women coming up and look at
Speaker 2: you and go like, god, I want to do what
Speaker 2: she does. What advice would.
Speaker 1: You give I would advise to? I mean, I think
Speaker 1: work really hard, work hard at the job, that you
Speaker 1: have learn as much as you can. I think one
Speaker 1: of the reasons I'm good at what I do, And
Speaker 1: as I say it, I'm like, oh my god, that
Speaker 1: sounds so self centered, but like, no, the one of
Speaker 1: the reasons I'm good at what I do is because
Speaker 1: I've done so many different jobs here and I know
Speaker 1: whatever it makes you like know what everyone does and
Speaker 1: appreciate what everyone does and how hard people work, and
Speaker 1: even if it's a job you haven't done, it's like
Speaker 1: you know what their role is. And I think working
Speaker 1: your way up, I think you know, it's a generally
Speaker 1: rational thing now. And I hate to be like I'm old,
Speaker 1: but like I know that there's a thing where like
Speaker 1: people are PA's and they're like, I want and I
Speaker 1: now want to be a showrunner now, and you're like, oh,
Speaker 1: but if you like take the time to like work
Speaker 1: your way up and like learn everything, you're going to
Speaker 1: be such a better showrunner. Great advice and and just
Speaker 1: like be honest with people. And I don't think you
Speaker 1: have to be sugary, sweet. I don't think you have
Speaker 1: to be you know, nice, good mood all the time.
Speaker 1: I think it's good to be respectful of the people
Speaker 1: you work with. I think it's important to go home
Speaker 1: at night be able to look yourself in the mirror
Speaker 1: and say, like, I'm a good person. I feel good
Speaker 1: about the person I was today, and I think that
Speaker 1: makes you, you know, a good leader. And uh yeah,
Speaker 1: that's my advice. I think, work hard and be nice
Speaker 1: to be honest.
Speaker 2: Oh great advice.
Speaker 1: Work hard, tell people the jobs are bad when they're bad.
Speaker 1: I mean, that is really part of it.
Speaker 2: I know I can always count on you for that.
Speaker 1: Like, guys, I'm not I'm not laughing that joke tanked.
Speaker 1: We're cutting it, like, I love that part at my job.
Speaker 2: Are you the one to do that so we don't
Speaker 2: do that in front of everyone else? Jen Flans, thank
Speaker 2: you for being the keeper of the flame. I am
Speaker 2: her grateful to you for a million reasons. I'm not
Speaker 2: gonna cry right now.
Speaker 1: I'm like, I really thanks. It's hard. I hate talking
Speaker 1: about myself, but talking about myself, I.
Speaker 2: Love talking about you. Okay, absolutely true.
Speaker 1: Thank you for having me on the podcast.
Speaker 2: You got it anytime. Thank you for listening to the
Speaker 2: Daily Show Ears edition. We'll see you next time.
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