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'You're the Worst' Creator Opens Up About Failure, Dating and How Jenji Kohan Brought Him Back to TV

So, no, You're the Worst is not a swipe at NBC [for cancelling "Next Caller"] at all. It was literally just me needing to clear my creative gullet, my creative palette, and try to do something that was very personal and small. I'd gone through a really weird divorce. I'd been in the dating scene. I had tried this recalibrating my relationship to what true love is. It's very weird, and it's incredibly rich. I'm a big fan of romantic comedies, but I come at it from a very cynical, been-burned-before, bought in, been-burned-before point of view. The show for me really explores what it's like for someone who believes but then also has empirical evidence that a real loving long-term relationship is probably possible. How do you keep going and why do we keep going? Part of you feels like a fool. Part of you feels like, "Why am I buying in again? Am I just succumbing to my training from ’80s movies and rock songs? Or the basic nature of procreate or to construct some sort of family unit? Or am I genuinely willing to try again?" The show was my attempt to do a British, cable version of Mad About You. It's a show that I really liked, but it was very much of a time and a space: early ’90s/New York/NBC. This is my attempt to do something that's taking that same romantic view but filtering it through all of our share of knowledge. And that is f—ing hard and painful.

Edited by arc
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A second THR piece.
 

You mentioned YTW was your attempt to do a British, cable version of Mad About You. How did you pitch the show to FX?

 

I talked about my post-divorce and dating life and used that to get into it. I said it's my attempt to do a traditional rom-com, but in a new way. I used the words British/U.K. cable version of Mad About You, but I'm not sure it's exactly that anymore. The show has gotten more into the ensemble element, which is always a secret hope with comedy writers. There's always push and pull with network, which would like you to stay on message with the main two characters, but people have embraced that Lindsay and Edgar really aren't just sidekicks. They have their own storylines and that's always been my intention. It's not ensemble, it's a romantic comedy first and foremost, but secretly, wink, wink, it's an ensemble.

and

Even more relatable, Gretchen and Jimmy both know what a lot of us know, that love is painful, hard, icky, distasteful and cliche, and yet they're trying and going for it. There's something admirable in that. They're not just saying, I'm cutting myself off. There's something brave in that. No, we're not going to consciously try to make the characters more palatable or likable; these glimpses of humanity will keep coming through and by design

 

Edited to add a couple more: Stephen Falk's interview with TV Guide and Brandon Smith's interview with Paste.

Edited by arc
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And 13 episodes rather than 10. Yay!

I actually missed that, I was so excited about the renewal and semi-bummed about the quasi-demotion to FXX.

 

I think 13 episodes is a nice run. 10 episodes basically just was enough room for the story they had to tell, and I suspect given Falk's comments in recent interviews that a broadcast-like 22 per season would be too much, but 13 gives them the room to do arcs about the same as season one plus have a couple of standalone episodes.

Edited by arc
  • Love 1
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I have issues with FXX but that's a whole different can of worms. I'm thinking I'll be watching on Netflix like I do with The League and It's Always Sunny now.

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From what I've been reading, FXX is focusing on "younger shows" and that's the reason it was moved.  Always Sunny is on FXX and I don't think that's going away. 

 

I'm just thrilled that it's getting a second season. 

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Apple TV has a new FX app that offers a lot of FXX. It requires a cable login to watch full episodes but it does the trick for me!

 

ETA: Did anyone catch Desmin Borges on The Mysteries of Laura? He played a very Edgar-esque character.

Edited by rho
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Not seeing too many promotions for season 2, which is suppose to start airing in a few weeks.

Hope to see some reviews of Married and You're the Worst.

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A few weeks?  Last I heard FXX still hadn't nailed down a set date, so everyone involved has only been able to say late summer / early fall.

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/youre-worst-adds-cougar-town-799973

Cougar Town alum Collette Wolfe has joined the second-year comedy created by Stephen Falk, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Wolfe will recur as Dorothy Durwood, a cute and spunky improv teacher who introduces Edgar (Desmin Borges) to the world of comedy.

Wolfe becomes the latest new face to join the cult comedy's sophomore season, which will move from FX to FXX and return in the fall. She joins The Office's Andy Buckley who will guest star as Jimmy's agent in an episode.

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(edited)

They moved it back to FX? Or is it still on FXX?

Good catch.  I was watching Married on FX and assumed it was on that channel.  But the commercial actually had FXX in the bottom right hand side of my screen.  Which channel I apparently don't get ($155/month and I don't have FXX?? To paraphrase Charlton Heston, Damn you, DirecTV!! Damn you to hell!!).

 

Guess I'll be watching online.

Edited by Lone Wolf
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Stephen Falk on the episode:

 

It's interesting, the way that episode ends, we were gonna have her be very distraught, like she is in the scene with Lindsey down in the bedroom. But instead, at the last minute, I think right before we wrote it, we were like, "Wait, why don't we have her be in PR mode, because that's her job?" So instead, and I think this is way more affecting than the version we'd originally conceived of, Gretchen manages it, like she would a PR thing between Sam and Shitstain and Honey Nutz: "Here's what I have, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it's not a big deal, don't worry, we'll be fine. And here's what I need from you."

 

And they ended up setting up an interesting conundrum, if you're watching close. She says, "Look, I need you just not to try to change me, not to try to fix it." And he immediately says, "Oh, but I can fix it. I caught that mouse, after all." And you see the look on her face of like, "Oh no," and that's giving a hint of where we're going with it. And yes, it'll continue through the whole season.

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Inverse: You're The Best: How Television's Best Comedy Broke Itself Into Amazing Pieces

 

What I like about this — what rings most true about this — is that Gretchen and Jimmy’s lifestyle isn’t proved wrong. There were moments earlier in the series when it seemed like You’re the Worst wanted to be the story of romantic redemption, about how two assholes fell in love and the process of compromising with one another led them to become good, normal adults. 2/3s of “LCD Soundsystem” made it look like this was happening again. Then it redeemed itself by not redeeming itself.

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Stephen Falk has two other shows in development with FX and they're written by his YTW writers: http://www.vulture.com/2015/12/youre-the-worst-stephen-falk-gets-2-new-fx-shows.html

 

 

One's an untitled semi-autobiographical comedy from Alison Bennett about "an unrelentingly dissatisfied TV writer who returns to her hometown in rural Pennsylvania to live the 'simple life,'" a.k.a. unemployment. YTW writers Franklin Hardy and Shane Kosakowski are teaming up for Join Me, a comedy based on British writer Danny Wallace's 2003 novel of the same name about unintentionally founding a movement dedicated to random acts of kindness. (In other words, it'll be a spinoff about Edgar's fairy-tale ending.) Falk is set to executive-produce both shows and co-write Bennett's.

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2016 Critics' Choice Award nominations:

BEST COMEDY SERIES

You’re the Worst

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Aya Cash — You’re the Worst

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Kether Donohue – You’re the Worst

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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Great piece by Todd, he's definitely one of the best TV writers around and a has a great ability relate shows back to his own experiences. This is on another level though. A truly affecting piece of writing.

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