Sean kicks it off.
I know you’ve mentioned liking “I Love Lucy” even if you don’t love it as much as some. What is your opinion of Lucille Ball’s later TV shows?
Never liked them. The gags and situations just seemed forced and formulaic. It’s like the current version of the Beach Boys. Mike Love and none of the original members singing the same songs. 75 year-old men should not be singing “Be True to Your School.” And Lucy shouldn’t be carting out old routines she did better in I LOVE LUCY.
And don’t get me started on LIFE WITH LUCY. Imagine Willie Mays trying to play centerfield at 70. ‘Nuff said.
Ben wonders:
How often do you meet with David to write nowadays? What kinds of projects do you do? Are you looking to keep up the same pace as when you were younger or just freelance as needed?
David is currently the Chairman of the Graduate TV Writing Department as a tenured professor at USC. That’s a full-time job. We’ve worked on a couple of pilots over the last couple of years. But he’s busy with USC and I’ve been concentrating on playwriting. So not that often. We still see each other socially (or at least we did before the pandemic — and we still Zoom each other).
Unknown asks:
Someone on Reddit posted the opening and closing to a foreign version of “Cheers” from c. 2011. When another country wants to produce an American product (or vice versa), how much input or consulting does the original crew offer?
Not much. I believe they redid CHEERS in Spain a few years ago. They used the original scripts from season one. So I got a nice royalty. But my understanding is that no one from the original show contributed any input. And it was short lived.
When Russia decided to reboot EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND they brought over co-creator/showrunner, Phil Rosenthal to consult the process. This resulted is a terrific documentary called EXPORTING RAYMOND. It deals with the culture clash between the US & Russia and is quite entertaining. That show became a big hit.
Most countries will just play the original American series and maybe have them dubbed. But there have been examples of American shows being rebooted locally. Germany has done this on several occasions. I think they redid THE NANNY. And from time to time countries will hire American comedy writers to either consult or write scripts.
And finally, from Mark Solomon:
Ken, speaking of writers, I noticed that your daughter and son-in-law, whom I believe have been a writing team for some time, are now Co-Executive Producers of the new Kyra Sedgwick comedy “Call Your Mother.” After watching their episodes air, does your Writer/Producer instinct kick in to “offer notes” to Annie and Jonathan? Would it be something of a bucket list item to someday direct an episode of your daughter’s show?
I would give notes when they were writing specs trying to break in. But they’ve been working writers for over eight years now and I don’t give any notes. Most of the time I never see a script. My first exposure is watching it on TV. And no, I don't offer after-the-fact notes based on the episode that just aired.
Besides, their job is to serve the show runner. Not me.
And to answer your other question, I have directed Annie Levine & Jonathan Emerson. Twice. It was back when they were on INSTANT MOM on Nick at Nite. And I have to say it was an incredible thrill.
from By Ken Levine
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