jcs starts us off:
Traditional multi-cam sitcoms play an important role on Netflix. Otherwise the streaming service would not pay the huge licencing fees associated with shows like SEINFELD or FRIENDS. How come Netflix hasn't tried too hard to come up with their own multi-cam sitcoms? They certainly would have the budget to greenlight handful of shows each year.
Uh… Netflix does have multi-camera shows. The one my daughter and her husband work on — THE UPSHAWS — got picked up for a second season. In the past they’ve had the FULL HOUSE reboot, some horrible Nascar show with Kevin James, and a series called THE RANCH. And there may be more.
Check out THE UPSHAWS if you haven’t. It’s actually very funny.
From Ere I Saw Elba:
I listened to a recent podcast with showrunner Dave Hackel, and you got into a conversation about casting. Specifically, Ted Danson was pointed out as someone that no one, including himself, thought was right at first for BECKER. The question is, how often do you think unlikely casting choices go right? And is there ever a case where someone is just perfect from the start?
There are times when someone is perfect from the start and believe me, you know it instantly. Unfortunately, those are rare occasions. In most cases you have ponder, maybe make adjustments, call the actor back, etc. before deciding. And even then you hold your breath.
Casting against type has always intrigued me. Actors tend to have more range than they’re given credit for. They get pigeonholed in one genre, which is not fair to them.
We used David Morse and Kurtwood Smith in a comedy. Both were terrific. Both were not easy sells.
I remember the network casting session with Morse. He did great, but CBS president, Jeff Sagansky had reservations. Morse was known for drama. Tim Flack, the VP of Comedy Development at the time (God bless him), stood up and said, “I don’t know what the problem is. We all laughed, didn’t we?” David Morse was approved.
Obviously, you don’t want to go so against type that you have David Spade play LeBron James, but taking a chance on an actor playing a role you’ve never seen them in often pays off.
My favorite example: Margo Martindale as a villain on JUSTIFIED, season two. One of the great villains EVER.
Jessica Miller asks:
I just saw the "bathtub" episode of MASH, which is credited to you & David plus Johnny Bonaduce. Was he related to the kid from the Partridge Family?
Yes. Danny’s brother I believe.
And finally, from DyHrdMET:
Could you and your writing partner write sketch comedy week in and week out (forget about being consistently funny), given your skills and talents? Or is it not necessarily the same skill set as writing a short play, a movie, or regular 22 minute sitcoms?
We have written sketches. We contributed sketches for THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW. It’s a different genre but with the same rules — beginning, middle, and end. We loved writing sketches. Like eating bite-sized Snickers instead of one big candy bar.
What’s your Friday Question? Buy me something nice today.
from By Ken Levine
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