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5 tOP hitmAkERS face the ultimate weekly comedy test: a live audience

MULTI-FACETED

JUNE 2012

BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND

Michael Patrick King on 2 Broke Girls

BAD ROBOT’SPerson of Interest and Fringe

push the boundaries oftechnology — and the universe

From left: Jon Cryer, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Ashton Kutcher, Jim Parsons, Angus T. Jones, Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy

mAStER CLASSJon Cryer, Patricia Heaton,

Regina King, William H. Macy and more talk about their craft

the BIG BANG THEORYOUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

“The geeks really have inherited the earth.” – NEw YORk POST

http://www.wbfyc.com/

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table of contentsJUNE 2012

10 Style: Fashion2 Broke, 2 beautiful...Costume designer

Trayce Field gets her girls dressed with style and grace on a budget.

12 Style: Design Home, Sweet Home...How The Big Bang

Theory, The Middle, Two and a Half Men and The Bachelor create a sense of place.

14 The IndustryMichael Patrick King on capturing the

feminine mystique.

FEATURES

16 Laughing LiveWhy four-camera comedies are king

once again.

20 What Becomes a Legend MostSuccessfully rebooting the Looney

Tunes was no small task; here's how it happened.

22Funny PeopleJon Cryer, Kaley Cuoco, Kat Dennings,

Billy Gardell, Patricia Heaton and Jane Levy are laughing with us, not at us.

DEPARTMENTS

3 Scene and HeardNew stars on the Hollywood Walk of

Fame, three series reach 100 episodes and star power for the USO!

5 The Word: On Having Beauty and BrainsStylish and high-concept, genre shows

may not clean up at the Emmys®, but they are much smarter than they look.

6 The Word: Voice LessonHow the hit show got its stars singing the

same tune.

8 The Word: They Said It"Keep Calm and..."? iPhone vs. Android?

Favorite TV moment? Top stars and producers weigh in.

24 The Drama CircleMichael Emerson, Regina King,

William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum and Anna Torv get dramatic...and funny.

26Gaining InterestJonathan Nolan and

Greg Plageman give up the goods on one of TV's most intriguing dramas.

27 Fringe AppealExecutive producers

Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman discuss storytelling on the edge and satisfying the "'shippers."

28 Out of the Box and Into Your Hearts

Friends' Central Perk couch, the Seinfeld gang's favorite restaurant booth, the press podium from The West Wing — all this and more at the Television: Out of the Box exhibit at the Paley Center. Don't miss Bugs Bunny couture!

12 Inside The Bachelor mansion ALL PHOTOS COURTESY WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC., UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

3The Closer star Kyra Sedgwick and husband Kevin Bacon celebrate the show's 100th episode with Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth

“…one of the few shows on TV worth scheduling a night around.”

–NEWYoRkDAIlYNEWS

BROKE GIRLSoUTSTANDINGcomEDYSERIES

2


SCENE & heardcarpet


Stars from Southland and The Big Bang Theory traveled to Japan for their first-ever USO/Armed Forces Entertainment Tour. Visiting Marine, Army, Air Force and Naval units in Okinawa, Kure and Iwakuni, the group gave thanks to the nation’s armed forces and shook hands with more than 2,000 service personnel and their families. Southland’s Michael Cudlitz said, “Every handshake and smile was a crystal-clear reminder of how important the USO’s work is.”

heard&SCeNe THE INSIDE GUIDE TO HOLLYWOOD HAPPENINGS

walk of fame stars shine bright

From left to right: Southland stars Michael Cudlitz , Regina King and Ben McKenzie join The Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki and executive producer Steven Molaro with service members in front of an F-15 fighter jet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan.

Spotted at SilverCup StudioS, long iSland City, ny: (Right) Star Blake Lively approves of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s fashion choice as he pro- claims it “Gossip Girl Day” in New York City. XOXO.

counting to 100 - three times!

Hollywood Boulevard welcomed a few more immortals this year with Two and a Half Men’s Jon Cryer, The Middle’s patricia Heaton and writer/producer/director John Wells receiving stars on the Walk of Fame.

Patricia Heaton smooches her first TV husband, Everybody Loves

Raymond’s Ray Romano.

ER and The West Wing converged in the Southland, as John Wells Shameless-ly received his star…with a little help from friends George Clooney and Allison Janney.

role moDels: uso tour

USO

PHO

TO bY M

IkE CLIfTON

The proof is in the pudding—or, for the cast and producers of The Big Bang Theory, in the cake! Celebrating at the California Science Center, Los Angeles, CA.

There are many ways to measure a television show’s success, from ratings to critical acclaim, pop-cultural resonance, social media impact, fanfare and more. Yet none are quite as sweet as a series reaching the 100-episode milestone. Here, we salute three programs that made the mark this year.

(Below) The Closer creator/executive producer James Duff (left) and executive producer Michael M. Robin (right) celebrate with a kiss for Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth (center) at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, Universal City, CA.

Jon Cryer celebrates in style…with the Hooters girls at Hooters, Hollywood.

“…M&M has a light sweetness to it, a genuine affectionbetween its two main characters…”

–EW.com

MIKE MOLLYoUTSTANDINGcomEDYSERIES

&


the WORD


Bold, beautiful and just a bit dangerous

Great storytelling can come in pretty packages By Craig Tomashoff

Diaries, Supernatural and Nikita are genre shows that kill at Comic-Con but are routinely left empty-handed when the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences starts dishing out the gold. Gossip Girl has been similarly spurned, despite piling up award nominations when TV fans are allowed to vote.

Laura Prudom, associate TV edi-tor at The Huffington Post, says, “The consistent lack of award-show rec-ognition seems to be little more than an outmoded form of elitism, as if by nominating a show with a title that’s silly enough to reference vampires or supernatural occurrences, it some-how de-legitimizes the so-called solemnity of the occasion.”

Nikita executive producer Craig Silverstein knows he’s battling his-tory. “Traditional Emmy®-winning shows were very hard-hitting, like ER and The West Wing,” he explains,

noting that the tide did shift a bit in recent years with Lost and 24 earning some major awards. “It didn’t hurt that they were getting big ratings too, but I think it does just take one breakthrough like either of those shows to start changing people’s attitudes.”

Whether it’s otherworldly thrillers like The Vampire Diaries or even an angst-filled drama like Gossip Girl, series aimed at a niche audience are like comedies at Oscar® time. No matter how well-written or -acted, they have a hard time getting taken seriously during Emmy® season. Sure, there is the occasional example of the aforementioned Lost or 24 or True Blood breaking through, but more often than not, the major honors go to series that don’t involve the undead, secret agents or lusty teenagers. Rather than let a lack

The Emmys® love shows that aren’t afraid to take on grand themes, so if you’re looking to take

home a statuette of the winged muse, it would seem you couldn’t go wrong with a tale of two very different brothers fighting for the love of a woman with a tortured past. Or a pair of mere mortals caught in a battle between Heaven and Hell that leaves them questioning the very existence of God. Or a troubled woman who grew up in foster care and is now taking on the govern-ment she feels betrayed her. Or young adults who come to learn hard les-sons about love and betrayal as they branch out into a harsh world.

But what if the brothers are vam-pires, the mortals are monster hunt-ers, the woman is a secret agent with a taste for explosives and the young adults live among Manhattan’s wealthiest social set. The Vampire

Looks that kiLL: The Vampire Diaries' stefan salvatore (Paul Wesley) has his eye on Elena (Nina Dobrev)

CO N T I N U E D O N PA G E 6

QUOTABLE

Overheard in hOLLYWOOd

p. 8

REALITY

vOiCe LeSSOnS

p. 6

CONTENDERS

SeXY and SMarT

p. 5

HEAr IT HErE fIrsT

stYLE aND sUBstaNCE: Gossip Girl's Blake Lively (left) and Leighton Meester in character.

Gossip GirlSeason Six Mondays 8/7c The CW This Fallwww.cwtv.com/gossipgirlTwitter:• Josh Schwartz: @JoshSchwartz76• Leighton Meester: @itsmeleighton• Kaylee DeFer: @KayleeAnneDeFer• Kelly Rutherford: @KellyRutherford• Matthew Settle: @matt_settle• Zuzanna Szadkowski: @ZuzannaWanda• Eric Daman: @EricDaman_style

NikitaSeason Three Fridays 9/8c The CW This Fallwww.cwtv.com/nikitaTwitter:• Craig Silverstein: @sesfonstein• Maggie Q: @MaggieQ• Shane West: @shanewest_1• Lyndsy Fonseca: @LyndsyMFonseca• Aaron Stanford: @AaronAStanford• Melinda Clarke: @therealmsclarke• Dillon Casey: @DillonCasey• Noah Bean: @noah_bean

superNaturalSeason Eight Wednesdays 9/8c This Fall www.cwtv.com/supernaturalTwitter:• Jared Padalecki: @JarPad • Jim Beaver: @jumblejim • Misha Collins: @mishacollins • Mark A. Sheppard: @mark_sheppard

the Vampire DiariesSeason Four Thursdays 8/7c The CW This Fallwww.cwtv.com/thevampirediariesTwitter:• Kevin Williamson: @kevwilliamson • Julie Plec: @julieplec • Nina Dobrev: @ninadobrev • Paul Wesley: @paulwesley • Ian Somerhalder: @iansomerhalder • Kat Graham: @KatGraham • Candice Accola: @CandiceAccola • Zach Roerig: @zach_roerig• Michael Trevino: @M_Trevino • Steven R. McQueen: @mcqueeninchains• Joseph Morgan: @JosephMorgan

Follow The CW on Twitter @CW_network

SOCIAL CLIMBERSWhile Emmy® voters may be slow to recognize the power of Gossip Girl, Nikita, Supernatural and The Vam-pire Diaries, fans can’t get enough of the sexy gossip mongers, ass kickers, monster slayers and undead hotties in these drama series, “checking in” and logging on to make them among TV’s most popular shows in social media and online. 34 millionNumber of combined Facebook fans (and counting) of the four shows

6 millionNumber of combined check-ins (and counting) for the programs on the enter-tainment social networking site GetGlue.com; also 500,000 combined “likes”

2.5 millionNumber of average monthly unique users visiting The CW Network’s digital destina-tion CWTV.com between January 1–April 30, 2012

the WORD

6 | JUNE 2012 | SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

of trophies discourage them, how-ever, producers say operating off the establishment’s radar can be liberating.

Explains Julie Plec, executive producer of The Vampire Diaries, “We can take lefts instead of rights at times, and if you look at what’s on cable, the one thing that sepa-rates us from them is they can get naked and swear a lot. So we try to weave a level of sophistication into our stories that you’re used to find-ing on cable, only we do it within the parameters we’re allowed.”

Ironically, the freedom from pressure to win awards makes for the sort of deep, daring episodes that usually do attract award atten-tion. Supernatural executive producer Robert Singer says his show’s ability to handle a story arc question-ing the existence and benevolence of God is proof that genre shows can sometimes dig deeper than a typical courtroom drama or police procedural.

“We have the freedom to really go outside the box and do some-thing that’s dangerous without getting our wrist slapped for it,” he says. “In the writers’ room, we can say, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to do a Western episode?’ and know that the network will be supportive of that.”

The edgier a genre show gets, the more likely it is to attract younger viewers looking for anything that’s not their parents’ show. This may not help convince award voters to

give these series a nod, but accord-ing to Gossip Girl executive producer Stephanie Savage, there is another reward — an intense fan loyalty.

“It’s great to make shows for a young audience,” says Savage, who is also executive producer of new drama Hart of Dixie. “That’s the time in your life when you are really passionate about pop culture. Your choices define your identity, and the things that you love at that age are the things that will be your favorites forever.”

That branding and bonding with younger audiences has certainly helped series like The Vampire Diaries, Nikita, Supernatural and

the superstar Chemistry of

The Voicehow Mark Burnett got his coaches on the same pageBy Craig Tomashoff

IT’S NOT LIkE THE VoicE executive producer Mark Burnett was unhappy during the first meeting between

the producers and the show’s four coaches: Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Still, as he looked around the room, Burnett saw an army of agents and managers hovering and thought, “[The coaches] need to be on their own. So I said, ‘Take my credit card and the four of you

singles on iTunes have passed the four-million mark while coach Adam Levine's Voice-powered, Maroon 5 single, "Moves Like Jagger," has sold over five million copies, making it the band's biggest hit. Certainly many of those people are watching to see who will win, but they are also drawn in by the coaches’ personalities and occa-sionally combustible relationships

“People naturally gravitate to the chemistry we have.” — aDaM LEViNE

the VoiceMondays 8/7c, Tuesdays 9/8c (results), NBCSeason 3 Premiere September 10

www.nbc.com/thevoiceTwitter:• The Voice: @NBCTheVoice• Christina Aguilera: @therealxtina• CeeLo Green: @ceelogreen• Adam Levine: @adamlevine• Blake Shelton: @blakeshelton• Carson Daly: @carsonjdaly• Christina Milian: @CMilianOfficial

season 2 winner Jermaine Paul belts it out

with each other.“People naturally gravitate to the

chemistry we have,” says Levine. “And we do all have our differences, but in the end, we all want the same thing — we want everyone on the show to do well.”

Each coach has managed to carve out a distinct identity: At right, take a look at what makes each of them unique. Plus, more about host Carson Daly, the infamous red chairs and the scene-stealing star of the show, Purrfect the Cat. n

go out for dinner.’ I was aware they needed real chemistry, and that could only develop if they got to know each other as real humans without a boardroom full of representatives.”

The mission was accomplished … but apparently at a steep price.

“Adam called me the next day and said, ‘Dude, you made a huge mistake giving us that card. The bill was massive,’” Burnett recalls. “But seeing how it’s all turned out, it was worth every penny.”

Since then, the coaches have not only connected with each other, they’ve connected with viewers and music lovers. At the conclusion of its second season, The Voice ranked as TV’s #1 entertainment series among Adults 18–49 for 2011–12, averaging nearly 16 million view-ers per week. Sales of contestants'

Gossip Girl earn plenty of fan-voted award nominations — and wins — at the Teen Choice or People’s Choice Awards. And the response of Supernatural fans to a TVLine.com readers’ poll asking for examples of overlooked shows that deserve an Emmy® nom was so overwhelming, the site had to turn off comments to the question. As for actual Emmy® attention, though, these shows still face an uphill climb.

“When I talk to people in an older demo and outside of this business, they don’t really know that shows like ours are on The CW,” says Singer. “So when they find Supernatural,

they just judge it on its own merits and tell me, ‘It’s really good. There are some interesting things going on here.’ It’s fascinating what people find when they approach shows without a bias.” n

La fEMME fataLE: Maggie Q's title character gets into some tight spots in Nikita

BrothErs iN arMs: Supernatural's sam (Jared Padalecki, left) and Dean Winchester (Jensen ackles) on a demon hunt.

CO N T I N U E D f r O M PA G E 5


BLake SheLTOnWhat You Know:

Burnett went after the star singer because he wanted “someone who is country, but also a comedian with superstar charisma and an incredible voice. ”What he also got was the

coach who is gen-uinely connected to each member of

his team. “He’s a big nurturer,” says Levine. “He

puts his heart and soul into his people as people and not just as performers.”

If you think Shelton seems like the kind of

guy you’d enjoy spend-ing an afternoon with knocking back several

cold one while shooting the breeze,

you’d be right. “The guy is stealthily

good at what he does, and he’s captured the sentiment of America,” says Daly, “but what I

really enjoy is when he invites me to just sit, listen to some music

and have a beer.”

What You Don't know:

CarSOn daLYWhat You Know:

Every week, a big part of Daly’s job is to tell losing contestants that they are going

home. To cushion the blow, he spends the entire season getting to know

all the singers personally, so they’re at least getting the news from a friend. “After

all, we’re here to help these artists and their families,

not embarrass or humiliate them,” he explains. “That’s

what I love about the blind auditions. These are people from all over

the country, not just Los Angeles and New York, and it’s my job to make them feel welcome at all times. Which, I think,

translates on the air.”

Daly also announces the live-round winners each week, and while he may look cool and composed, he

secretly worries that his quick peek at the card revealing the victors’ names could mess him up. “My mind plays tricks on me,” he says. “So I do sneak

double-checks to make sure. We rehearse the show with stand-ins and I’ll say the phrase, ‘For the sake of this

rehearsal…’ And I say it so many times, that I sometimes catch myself right before I say it on the air live. I keep

saying, ‘Just read the names...just read the names…’ and hoping that I don’t

somehow mess it up.”


The Voice coaches, from left: CeeLo Green, adam Levine, Blake shelton and Christina aguilera.

ChriSTina aguiLera

What You Know: The Grammy®-winning singer has gone from being one of the most agreeable coaches to

one of the toughest this year, and Levine says it’s

because “she’s so good at what she does. She has a natural way of getting people to step up their

game as singers. It can be a little intimidating.”

She’s like the mother hen of the coaches, inviting members of

her team to her house for dinner and games

of pinball, and bringing son Max to the set to

hang out with The Voice host Carson Daly’s

son , Jackson. “One day on the set, I

saw a picture of Max on her BlackBerry and she

started to cry, telling me how much Max misses

it when he can’t play with my son,” says Daly.


CeeLO greenWhat You Know: He is the Zen master,

whose emotions are as obvious as his meth-

odology is mysterious. For example, ask him to

describe his coaching style and he will say, “I am a

bigger fan than anything. That’s why I can easily slip

into character, because CeeLo Green just wishes to be a medium, a vessel that allows sight and sound and spectacle and sensation to

move through me.”

He’s not only generous with his time when it comes to helping

members of his team, he’s also generous with his food when it comes

to helping the crew and his fellow coaches.

According to Daly, Green “orders the best

food every day — great home-cooked soul food — and we all ditch our

catering so we can steal what he’s got.”


adaM LevineWhat You Know:

He insists that “the worst thing you can say to someone is that their song was ‘nice.’ That’s not a constructive word. I’ve had

a lot of coaches in my life, and they’ve run the gamut from

really hardcore guys that want to make you cry to the guy who has a nurturing side as well as a stern side. I’m not doing a ser-vice to anyone if I’m not more

like that second type.”

He’s kinetic to the point where producers put up a basketball hoop on the set

so he can burn off some of his manic energy, the

source of which might have something to do with his

favorite drink. “I had a sip the other night of what he had at his seat,”

says Daly. “It was something called a Red Eye

[a regular coffee with a shot of espresso for added pop] from Starbucks, and it’s no

wonder he is the way he is. He’s hopped up

on that drink.”


PurrfeCT The CaT

What You Know: As it turned out, CeeLo Green is no longer the

coolest cat on the set of The Voice. That honor now belongs to the white feline

that frequently sat in his lap during season two. Purrfect became such a sensation, she now has her own Twitter page

(@PurrfectTheCat) and nearly 66,000 followers.

While Purrfect provided moral

support to CeeLo over the course of the

season, she couldn’t do it during actual show

tapings for fear that the singing and applause

might cause her to run off. Only when the

performances were done for the night

could she be brought out to CeeLo. While she waited for her

close-up, though, she got to stay in her own private dressing room

on the set.


Carson Daly

the WORD


sound bytes

ThANkS To FACEbook, TwITTER, Pinterest and a million other social media technologies, we now know everything about the people we went

to high school with. Maybe a little too much. but what about leading actors and producers?

we asked some of hollywood’s top TV talents to weigh in on everything from what’s on their DVRs and the superpower they’d most like to have, to their take on some of the Internet’s most popular social memes — like “keep Calm and…” as well as the ongoing iPhone vs. Android debate. The results? keep calm and read on.

What was your first acting job?PATRICIA hEAToN: A Pabst Blue Ribbon commer-cial with Jason Alexander and Polly Draper … you can still find it on YouTube. MAGGIE Q: Juliet in a 6th grade produc-tion of Romeo and Juliet. I got paid in Baklava.kALEy CUoCo: I was the Barbie girl. I sold every Barbie you can imagine.IAN SoMERhALDER: An all-night commercial for a local appliance store. My scene partner was a wash-ing machine!

Jensen Ackles (Supernatural)Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)

Michael Cudlitz (Southland)Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory)nina dobrev (The Vampire Diaries)

billy Gardell (Mike & Molly)Patricia Heaton (The Middle)

Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly, Two and a Half Men)

William H. Macy (Shameless)steven Molaro (The Big Bang Theory)

John noble (Fringe)Jonathan nolan (Person of Interest)Greg Plageman (Person of Interest)

Maggie Q (Nikita)Ian somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries)

Reno Wilson (Mike & Molly)J.H. Wyman (Fringe)

What’s on your DVR?JoN CRyER: I still love my NCIS. I’ve been an NCIS guy since day one.bILLy GARDELL: Game of Thrones and like 97 episodes of Phineas and Ferb for my son.NINA DobREV: Mostly night-time talk shows like Chelsea Lately, Conan and Jimmy Fallon.JohN NobLE: I haven’t got a DVR. I’m a real dinosaur, I’m afraid.STEVEN MoLARo: Five hundred episodes of Spongebob and iCarly … I taught my kids how to use the DVR.JENSEN ACkLES: Making the Cut,

The Masters golf tournament, Chopped, Swamp People

and the 2011 World Series (hoping to watch it again and change the outcome for my Texas Rangers).

If I wasn’t acting or writ-ing, I’d be…

hEAToN: A concierge. I like solving problems. And they

always look snazzy.DobREV: A marine biologist or I’d open a yoga studio/bakery café.RENo wILSoN: A traffic cop. I love the white gloves and I’d be killing the hand choreography.MoLARo: Not excelling at athletics.

What’s your favorite TV memory?MAGGIE Q: Watching Lynda Carter play Wonder Woman.NobLE: I became infat-uated with Hogan’s Heroes when I was at university in Australia.wILLIAM h. MACy: I Love Lucy and the episode with the 500 chicks. I was on my hands and knees laughing!MoLARo: There are too many to choose from, but I’ll go with our epi-sode about Sheldon and the Leonard Nimoy napkin.

iPhone or Android?MIChAEL CUDLITz: Oh, please … iPhone. Although my kid’s Android is

pretty badass!MACy: iPhone with the sound

of crickets as my ringtone.MoLARo: iPhone always on vibrate, so people don’t know my ringtone is "It’s Tricky" by Run-DMC.GARDELL: iPhone,

although I still can’t work it.

Keep Calm and…hEAToN: Apply a second coat of mascara.CUoCo: Scream.CRyER: Moisturize.DobREV: Party like it’s 1999.ChUCk LoRRE: Panic quietly.JoNAThAN NoLAN: Shoot kneecaps.MoLARo: Carry Ativan.

❝Keep Calm and...❞

Wilson

ackles

cudlitz

If you could be any Looney Tunes character, which would it be?NobLE: I love the Road Runner, but I also like Elmer Fudd. I’m a bit of both in real life — like Elmer with ADD!

MACy: Definitely Foghorn Leghorn. I like the way he

talks.CRyER: Daffy Duck, please! He has that unquenchable ego and that bill that can go

anywhere on his head.ACkLES: Yosemite Sam.

Due to beard envy.J.h. wyMAN: Bugs Bunny,

for his incredible panache. Or Blacque Jacque Shellacque, a Quebec lumberjack who upset Bugs Bunny because his dam-building cut off Bugs’ water supply.

What superpower would you most like to have?CUDLITz: The ability to understand my teenage son. That’s on the list, right?NobLE: The ability to fly. It’s prob-ably a bit chilly up there, but you’d certainly save on airfare.MACy: Invisibility. Why? To get in the girls’ locker room, of course!CRyER: Batman’s got no superpow-ers. He’s just a badass billionaire. That’s what I want to be — a badass billionaire.MAGGIE Q: The ability to make my car fly over traffic on the 405.LoRRE: Time travel. I could undo all my fuckups. I’d be called Regretman.GREG PLAGEMAN: Flying or invis-ibility. That’s always what you have to choose between, right? Invisibility is the refuge for scoundrels, so I’ll go with flight.MoLARo: Tallness.

MaGGie Q

What’s Your Favorite Emmy® moment?DobREV: Singing "Born to Run" with Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Jane Lynch and the Glee cast. It was such a rush!”SoMERhALDER: Walking onstage after seeing Michael Bolton in what appeared to be tights.wILSoN: When Melissa McCarthy won. I cried like Halle Berry.

– TV GUIDE MAGAZINE

“I keep hoping the Academy willsomeday acknowledge the existence

of…underrated gem The Middle…”

– THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Not only does Suburgatory click ona number of different levels, it even has a Juno-esque element to it, plus a breakout-

worthy star in Jane Levy...”

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

the MIDDLEOUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

SUBURGATORYOUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES



Never 2 Broke for StyleTalking budget-conscious fashion with 2 Broke Girls

costume designer Trayce FieldBy Annemarie Rouleau

Combing vintage shops and thrift stores, 2 Broke Girls costume designer trayce field is a mas-ter at creating looks that keep stars Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs at the cutting edge of fashion despite their characters’ financial woes.

1-2 Glitz and glamour are extremely rare in the lives of Max and Caroline, so when the season one finale placed them at the ever-so-posh Met Ball gala, designer field took it as an opportunity to dress them in a more enchanting light. Kat Dennings' Max got to step out in an edgy Vivienne Westwood, accessorized with a vintage brooch in keeping with Max's authentic style. As for Beth Behrs' Caroline, field chose the peach, silk-chiffon Notte gown by Marchesa because it pefectly complemented Behrs' golden blonde hair and sunkissed skin.3 "The uniforms are tailored to fit the girls really well and i tend to accessorize them differently for each episode,” says field, with the exception of Caroline’s (Behrs, right) iconic multitiered pearl bib necklace and Max’s (Dennings, left) dual jumbo safety pins which have become staples alongside their polyester-laden work garb. 4 A “label girl” at heart who puts her own twists on high-end pieces, Caroline (Behrs) is often dressed by field in luxury brands like Gucci and Chloe to represent what she was able to keep from her privileged past, in addition to lower-priced items, such as a name label pair of shorts from Goodwill.5 field says Max (Dennings) adheres to a strict budget with more conviction than her uptown-styled roommate. “her character did splurge on a pair of J Brand jeans, though, because i think it’s important that every girl has a good pair of jeans.”6 field strives to create a wardrobe that reflects the girls’ money troubles. “i mix and match the clothes a lot and show variations of the same pieces,” says field, who has flipped the script on standard sitcom fashion by having the main charac-ters wear the same outfits from past episodes. 7 “[Creator/executive producer] Michael Patrick King really wanted this episode to be kitschy, yet cute and fun,” says field of the jingle-bell adorned, two-toned holiday costumes she designed. 8 “she is this crazy, fun melody of a Polish Barbie doll gone wild,” says field of Max and Caroline’s upstairs neighbor sophie. “her character is super fun to dress.” n

StyleFASHION

Rare glitz“We never get to see Max in a glamorous gown or any kind of expensive clothing, so it was nice to show-case her in something so beautiful."

1

2

Peachy Keen“When we put Beth in that gown, it immediately felt right,” says Field, noting the Judith Leiber cupcake clutch and peach earrings added “a classic touch.”


Barbie Gone WildSophie (recurring guest star Jennifer Coolidge) can pull off anything from over-the-top fur wraps to brightly glittered high heels.

3

8

Polyester Panache“The uniforms quickly became the visual icon of the show,” says Field, who found inspiration for the outfits in old photographs of diners and vintage patterns.

Goodwill Glamour“Forever 21, Goodwill, vintage shops — whatever she can afford is where I look.”

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6

Jingle Belles“It’s all about having the comedy come across, and some-times that’s in the wardrobe.”

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Mix and Match“Max and Caroline can’t afford to go shopping every week, so we add things like blazers, belts and other accessories to play up repetitive clothing.”


You won’t see them walking the red carpet. And they’ll never have to deliver an Emmy® acceptance speech. Still, when it comes to primetime’s unsung attention-getters, look no further than

the iconic sets where performers get to do their thing each week. From a Russian space capsule to a ramshackle Indiana tract home, a hip Malibu beach hangout and a swinging bachelor pad, here’s a look at four unique primetime designs that captivated viewers last season.

An intimate sense of place is key to these hit shows by Craig Tomashoff and Diane Gordon

no placelike home

design

1

THE BACHELORLove Shack: There’s plenty of romance at play in The Bachelor mansion, but not all of it happens around the infamous hot tub. According to production designer angelic Rutherford, the key to creating the perfect abode for amour is incorporating as much of the Bachelor or Bachelorette’s personality as possible. “The more comfortable the cast feels on set, the more they act like themselves and are at ease.,” she said. And once they’re really comfortable — it’s time for that tub. “If a man and a woman get into the hot tub, their intentions are relatively clear,” said creator/executive producer Mike Fleiss. “I’m always encouraging more hot tub activity — it’s an essential part of the show.” It’s not the only location ideal for love, though. “There’s an area of the house that we lovingly refer to as The Lido Deck,” says Rutherford. “It’s a cabana-type structure that’s next to the pool with a gorgeous chandelier. It’s very over-the-top and romantic — that’s probably the best spot.”

TWO AND A HALF MENMaLibu Men-Sion: Celebrities aren’t the only ones in Malibu getting makeovers. When tech guru Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher) moved in with Alan and Jake Harper (Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones) on Two and a Half Men last season, their beachfront mansion got a facelift as well. To fit the aesthetic of a young billionaire, production designer John Shaffner and set decorator ann Shea wanted a contemporary design that reflected a sense of popular culture. That includes Walden’s desk, which Shaffner says “looks like it’s made out of part of an aluminum airplane wing. ” The house is on the beach and driftwood is a recurring theme, with pieces including a coffee table and sculpture. Explains Shaffner, “I would love to move into this house, so I could walk in from the beach and the sand would blend right in. It would be a good way to live.”

THE BIG BANG THEORYout of thiS WoRLd: Saying a show is a bit spacey might be considered a negative, but when it came to an episode of The Big Bang Theory last season, it’s literally true. For the emotional season finale of TV’s #1 comedy, the series’ Emmy®-winning production designer John Shaffner had to build the replica Soyuz space capsule in which Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg, left, above) blasted off on a mission for NASA shortly after his hastily rescheduled wedding to Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch). Shaffner accepted the chal-lenge from the writers and called upon the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center to get exact measurements of the Soyuz capsule they own. With those dimensions in hand, he says, “NASA was extremely helpful providing detailed photographs. Then, I could build a model and construct it for camera placement and angles.”

THE MIDDLEbeautifuLLy aveRage: It’s not easy being average. Just ask Randy Ser, production designer for the acclaimed comedy The Middle. The show’s Heck family is ordinary to the extreme, so his job is to design an authentic house that is steeped in very familiar items and designs. Says Ser, “We wanted it to resonate with many age groups and types of people so that viewers would feel like they had lived in a house like that, or knew people who did.” His favorite items in the Heck home? The living room sofa and Mike Heck’s easy chair. “The way [All in the Family’s] Archie Bunker had his chair to watch TV in, our family has the sofa and Mike’s chair where they watch TV and eat dinner. I don’t know if they’ll end up in the Smithsonian, but to us, they are iconic pieces.”

Living room before Living room after

The Bachelor mansion's Lido Deck

The hot tub at night

The Heck living room

Styledesign

Patricia HeatonSTarriNG

the MENTALISTOUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

“Around this time in a series’ life,we sometimes take it for granted.

It’s still funny, fast-moving television, with a great ensemble cast.”

– NEw YORk DAIlY NEwS


the INDUSTRY


How have Kat Dennings (Max) and Beth Behrs (Caroline) evolved over the course of the first season?

They were both kind of flawless out of the gate in terms of everything I needed them to have. They’re

both extremely funny, extremely hard-working, extremely dedicated and beautiful. They’ve

evolved as the writing has evolved. They have more chemistry. They had an

instant shorthand to start: Now they have an instant instant shorthand. And now it’s up to the writers to

give them material that’s evolved. We’ve never said in the writers’ room, “We can’t do that because they can’t do

it.” They can do anything—they’re fearless. Being funny and being a good

actress is one thing, but being able to turn a joke

around and nail it in front of an audience is a super-

power. I’m glad they have that superpower.

Emmy® AWArd WINNer mIchAel Patrick King is known for getting inside women’s heads and making trend-setting TV shows out of what he finds there. When he ran hBO’s hit dramedy Sex and the City, King told the stories of

four close-knit New york city women who bonded over love, life and cosmopolitans in manhattan. In his newest comedy hit, 2 Broke Girls, he tells an even more relatable story of two culturally clashing twentysomething gals working and trying to make ends meet—and create a cupcake empire—in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. While the city is the same in both shows, the cultural landscape has changed dramatically.

You’ve written for Murphy Brown, Cybill and, of course, Sex and the City. Tell us about writing 2 Broke Girls?

These are two disenfranchised characters. The great thing about writing female protagonists is that they’re always on the outside of mainstream society and always fighting for something. Our girls are fighting for how to have their dream, how to have a life they can afford. The money is just the goal, the dream. It represents the journey the girls are on, and just because $250,000 feels unreachable doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach for it.

What was your inspiration for creating these two characters?

I didn’t think there were young female char-acters on television that people could tune in and see, the way people followed rachel and Phoebe. There was no Friends in multicamera comedy. I wanted to do that with young women and make a really funny comedy about two girls. I wanted it to be relatable, and the most interesting thing that can be universal is being broke in your twenties.

What it became about—with caroline’s story and max’s story—was the dif-ference between being born with or without a dream and with or without money. max

was born without money or dreams, where caroline was born with both. The show contrasts those two ways of being: rich vs. poor. We explore money every week, which very few sitcoms do. We talk about taxes, college loans and rent…how much you can save in this economy. I wanted to make sure they were hardworking, that was the most important thing, not having them be entitled.

The show has gotten buzz for its frank, and sometimes graphic, sex talk and humor. Has that been missing in the way sitcoms handled young, female characters?

I felt that girls today in their twenties are much more aware and comfortable with comedy about words than they were a long time ago. coming off Sex and the City, where there was an enormous amount of comedy based on sex, it seemed like a natural thing for me. max is the main font of it. We only say outrageous things if we find a really funny or clever way to do so. As long as the comedy comes out of character, it’s fun. It’s not the word; it’s the context we put it in.

Michael Patrick King on writing great women By Diane Gordon

Is there any Kryptonite to these TV superpowers? The length of sitcoms nowadays is 21 minutes.

There’s the challenge of telling a full story with a beginning, middle and end with an emotional arc in 21 minutes. That’s a worthy task for me.

What do you enjoy the most about making 2 Broke Girls?

Being in a room and on a stage with a bunch of really funny comedy writers and brilliant actors, coming up with funny stuff on the spot and putting it in front of an audience. n

Powergirl

2 BROKE GIRLSSeason Two Mondays 9/8c, CBS, This Fall

www.cbs.com/2brokegirlsTwitter:

• 2 Broke Girls: @2BrokeGirls_CBS• Kat Dennings: @OfficialKat

• Beth Behrs: @BethBehrs• Jonathan Kite: @jbkite

• Matthew Moy: @TheMoyWonder• Jennifer Coolidge: @JenCoolidge

BlaCK aND WHITE: Max (left) and Caroline don

cleaning clothes to make extra cash clearing out

a hoarder's apartment

GirlS INTErrUPTED: Max (Kat Dennings, center) and Caroline (Beth Behrs, right) get an unexpected visitor (guest star Noah Mills)


What was your first writing job?My first writing job was for Caro-line’s Comedy Hour in New York City, a standup comedy show on A&E. Jon Stewart and I wrote the comedy bumpers in between the standups.

What’s on your DVR? Mad Men, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Downton Abbey, Oprah’s Next Chapter.

iPhone or Android? What’s your ring-tone? BlackBerry. My ring-tone is vibration in my pocket, which I’m now starting to feel when my phone’s not in my pants, and that’s starting to scare me.

What’s your favorite TV memory? My favorite TV memory would have to be something like the Mary Tyler Moore Show finale, something emotional like that with completion. My favorite TV memory that I’ve been involved with is the Sex and the City finale. I was very proud of that, the event surrounding it, and cross-ing the finish line and not having people or myself disappointed.

Keep calm and……carry on. It’s classic. I have a poster of Keep Calm and Carry On. In TV, you just have to keep going, and that poster is just a reminder to keep going.

What’s your favorite Emmy® moment? My mother’s face when I won my Emmy®. Sorry, I’m Irish Catholic. I have to say it. It was her shock and awe when they called my name…

What superpower would you most like to have?I would like the ability to fly. Can you imagine? I’d avoid airports and the overhead luggage thing.

If you could be any Looney Tunes character for a day, which would it be? The Tasmanian Devil, but I feel I may already be that. There’s too much of that in me. Tweety Bird also, because he’s sarcastic and relaxed.

MPK SOundS OFF

are these Brian atwoods?

The girls get a gig baking Kosher cupcakes

THE KINg aND qUEENs: Michael Patrick King with his muses, Beth Behrs (left) and Kat Dennings


POWER PEOPLETO THE

WEird SciENcE: Johnny Galecki as Leonard and Kaley cuoco as Penny, on the set of The Big Bang Theory

On the set with

Mike & Molly director/executive producer

James Burrows (right)and creator/executive

producer Mark roberts

it taKES MOrE thaN Two and a half Men:

chuck Lorre (center) with series star ashton Kutcher (left) and crew

photo oF JohNNY GALECKI AND KALEY CUoCo bY David Strick


Now that another election year is in full swing, odds are that we’re going to be hearing plenty of promises to give the people what they want. however, if you really want to see democracy in action, skip the news and switch over to a four-camera sitcom. That’s where the voice of the people comes through loud and clear. every week, the cast and crew of every

comedy that shoots in front of a live audience gets a first-hand reminder of who it is they answer to.

“The audience is what keeps you honest when you’re doing a four-camera show,” says The Big Bang Theory co-creator/executive producer bill prady. “There is nothing more brutally honest than 250 strangers laughing—or not laughing—at your work. are they always right? They are our customers, so they are right by definition. it’s a customer service issue. we service the customer base with the product they want—jokes they can laugh at and characters they like.”

adds legendary emmy® award winner James burrows (Will & Grace, Friends, Cheers, Taxi), director/executive producer of Mike & Molly: “The audience really does have the ultimate power in what we do. The proof is that when some audiences are not as responsive to a joke as you thought they’d be, you have to lose it and come up with something else.”

There are times when, in appeasing an audience, “you can go too far and, in that moment, go with a lesser joke,” admits 2 Broke Girls creator/executive producer Michael patrick King. “But they are the test to see what’s funny. you can’t pretend a joke is working if it doesn’t in front of a live audience.”

This populist approach may make shooting a multi-camera comedy “like being on a roller-coaster,” as executive producer Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly) describes it, but it’s a thrill ride that audiences in the studio and at home don’t mind taking. The genre has been what Prady refers to as “an american tradition” ever since the days of I Love

FOuR-camERa sitcOms EmPOWER thE audiEncE By Craig Tomashoff

Lucy and The Honeymooners. There’s just some-thing about putting on half-hour plays in front of a live audience that makes viewers feel like they’re a part of the characters’ lives.

“when it works right, there’s an intimacy that only the four-camera genre allows for,” explains lorre. “you feel like you’ve gotten very close to these characters. The feelings you had for archie and edith Bunker [from All in the Family] or sam and Diane [from Cheers]…that’s thanks, in part, to the format.”

in the end, lorre adds, four-camera shows are “a couple of actors sitting on a couch talking to each other.” and rather than seem boring, that simple structure is precisely what audiences at home want to see for one very simple reason: it’s almost like looking at a mirror instead of a television screen.

“i think people like being able to turn on the tV almost any time of day and see a show where the characters are doing just what they are doing,” says Mike & Molly creator/executive producer Mark Roberts. “it feels like you’re checking in on your friends.”

as comforting as all this might feel to viewers, though, creating a four-camera episode presents challenges single-camera series never have to face. For example, if a single-camera series decides it wants to do a 30-second flashback to when the characters were on a second-grade field trip, or send them on an african safari for an entire epi-sode, it just packs up the cast, crew and cameras and heads out on location. Multi-camera shows are confined to the set. as lorre explains, “you have to figure out how to solve your problems without money or editing or stunt casting.”

like being stuck in the house on a rainy day, multi-camera producers have to make due with whatever they have on hand. The storytelling has to be “more constrained,” admits Prady. “your scenes have to be longer and physically simpler because it’s just people sitting around talking. But it just forces you to think harder, which—from a

CO N T I N U E D O N PA G E 18

four-cameraballet

The Big Bang Theory DIRECtoR MARK CENDRowSKI DIShES oN

CoMEDY ChoREoGRAphYBy Craig Tomashoff

WhEN yOU thiNK aBOUt it, ShOOt-ing a four-camera comedy is kind of like speed dating. There’s a limited time to make a good first impression on a bunch of strangers.

“You want to get things right with your first pass because that’s the freshest the audi-ence will be, which means the biggest laughs you’re going to get,” says Mark Cendrowski, director of The Big Bang Theory.

Hence, four cameras rather than just one. Whereas a single-camera comedy needs time to potentially shoot each scene dozens of different ways, the multi-cam format has four lenses going at once to capture a variety of shots — something wide, something with just two actors, something up close and so on. And as each camera films its own particu-lar part of a scene, the director and producers watch one big screen with all four shots so they can start editing the show in their heads.

It can take at least a day to coordinate what Cendrowski calls “the ballet,” not only moving around to find the right mark to shoot from, but also making sure timing is in sync so the cameras are not crashing into each other. The multi-camera process also requires a major adjustment for actors, he adds, because, “We can’t put the camera wherever we want to, so actors don’t get 18 takes to do things a little differently each time. And if an audience can’t see what the actor is doing, they’re not going to get the joke.”

That’s why, in the end, it’s not necessarily the number of cameras that make a TV com-edy memorable. It’s the number of laughs.

“I’ve never had a sitcom pilot picked up because test audiences said the shots were the most beautiful they’d ever seen,” explains Cendrowski. “They have been picked up because they’re funny.”

PEOPLE

arrEStiNG hUMOr: Mike & Molly's James Burrows has a laugh with Billy Gardell

FaMiLy aFFair: Lorre in action at Two and a half Men


EARLY IN MY CAREER, I wAS woRKING at Jim Henson’s company in the licensing department. I had this tiny, little office down in the basement. There were a lot of public relations requests that would

come in but weren’t getting handled, so I asked the PR department if I could go through that stack and try handling one of them.

The first thing I found was a request from the U.S. Post Office, which was introducing that year’s Love stamp, and it had a puppy on it. I thought that dogs and mailmen are just inher-ently funny together, so I wrote this speech for Rolf the Dog to give at the Post Office’s press conference. Rolf wanted to use that opportu-nity to clear up any misconceptions about the relationship between dogs and mailmen. He wanted to make it clear that dogs love mail-men and, in fact, they’re so sad when mailmen leave their house that they may want to tug gently on their legs to keep them from going.

I’ll always remember being in the basement late, and Jim Henson actually came into my office and asked, “Did you write this?” I said “Yes,” and it turned out he really liked it. And so my writing career began.

mY fIrSt WrItING Job

The Big Bang Theory’S bILL pRADY

director/Executive ProducerMike & Molly

co-creator/Executive ProducerThe Big Bang Theory, Two and a half Men;

Executive Producer, Mike & Molly

creator/Executive ProducerMike & Molly

co-creator/Executive ProducerThe Big Bang Theory

MAESTROS Of 4-CAMERA COMEdy

❞

❝

comedy point of view—has absolutely made me a stronger writer.”

according to Burrows, during the entire first year of Cheers, the characters never left their famous bar. still, viewers seldom noticed that, because when characters would come in from the outside, “we’d take a little liberty that they didn’t discuss everything they had to say in the cab ride over. it did make the writing a little more difficult. you had to have the words they were saying sound like they were coming out of their mouths legiti-mately and weren’t just explaining something viewers didn’t see.”

if dialogue does come across as too clunky and unreal while shooting on the stage, no amount of messing around in an editing bay is going to change that. it’s too late to go back and try again. That’s a tightrope multi-camera producers must traverse every week, and yet that fear of falling flat on their faces is what keeps them coming back for more. Just ask King, who spent most of the past decade working on single-camera comedies like Sex and the City and The Comeback before returning

CO N T I N U E D f r O m PA G E 17 to the multi-camera format for 2 Broke Girls.“if i was going to do big comedy, i wanted to do it

in front of an audience and make sure it was funny instead of going into an editing room and pulling laughs out,” he explains. “it’s the risks and rewards of putting yourself out there and waiting for that big sound from the audience when the actors stop talking. it’s like the olympics gymnastics events, where you have to hit a mark. and when you pull it off in front of the audience, it’s a victory and it’s addictive, and that’s what you go back to.”

Multi-camera comedies have drifted in and out of fashion with the same frequency as bell-bottoms. in the early ’70s, some of the most popular shows on tV were sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and All in the Family. in the late ’80s and early ’90s, series like Roseanne and Home Improvement ruled the airwaves. however, after Seinfeld, Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond went away in the mid 2000s, predicting the death of traditional sitcoms became a sport for many television critics.

That’s due in part to the fact that “it’s considered much more hip to do single-camera,” says Burrows. “The format has always had this mystique about it because it looks like a more difficult form. For years, emmys® always went to single-camera shows because they seemed more artsy or highbrow.”

not that, as roberts explains, viewers were sit-ting at home thinking they preferred single-cam-era shows. “what happened was, like anything, a lot of what was being done in four-camera was being done badly and so the audience turned away from it,” he says. “But if anything is being done well, they’ll watch.”

lorre has been credited with keeping the multi-camera format alive and viable with the recent suc-cess of Two and a Half Men and, then, The Big Bang Theory and Mike & Molly. as far as he’s concerned, though, the number of cameras he works with has very little to do with what he’s done.

“if you don’t have characters you care about, it doesn’t matter whether you use one camera or four or a camcorder,” he says. “you have to ask yourself, ‘are these people i want to write about? Do they interest me? are they worth caring about?’ if the answers are all ‘yes,’ then people will laugh at them and want to be with them on their journeys.” n

Jim Parsons (left) and Bill Prady

If I was going to do big comedy, I wanted to do it in front of an audience and make sure it was funny instead of going into an editing room and pulling laughs out.

—Michael Patrick king, 2BrokeGirls

James Burrowscreator/Executive Producer

2 Broke Girls

Michael Patrick King Bill Pradychuck Lorre Mark roberts

“…a tent pole for the strongest night of comedysince the days of NBC’s Must See TV.”

– TV GUIDE MAGAzINE

TWO and a HALF MENOUTSTANDING cOMEDY SERIES



storyboardWith an audio track in place, storyboard artists work with the director to craft the performance of each character. “This is a very acting-intensive show,” says supervis-ing producer Tony Cervone. “There’s such a higher level of performance that we have to take extra steps in the storyboard process to bring that out.”

W e Were given The keys To The greaTesT and mosT beloved creative legacy in the history of cartoons,” says sam register, executive vice President, Creative affairs, for Warner Bros. animation, when asked about the honor — and challenge — of working with the iconic Looney Tunes

characters. “i’ll be honest: as lifelong animation lovers, we were terrified of the Looney Tunes and how to approach that huge legacy. We just didn't want to mess it up.”

When register started at the studio in 2009, he had a mandate from Warner Bros. Television President Peter roth to breathe fresh life into the iconic Looney Tunes brand. in response, register and team created the sitcom The Looney Tunes Show — an immediate success that out-delivered Cartoon network’s primetime average by +28% in its first season and was recently renewed for a second.

Utilizing a talented voice cast that includes Bridesmaids star kristen Wiig, world-class animators and a writing staff plucked from L.a.’s famed comedy troupe The groundlings, register and WBa turned Bugs and daffy into room-mates and used the classic sitcom format to bring animated adventures to an all-new generation of kids.

here’s a step-by-step visual tour of how they do it — as demonstrated by some familiar faces.

They put the

Looney TunesREPoRTING by JERRy bECk

in

record Jeff Bergman first began voicing Bugs Bunny and daffy duck in 1989, but when it came time to find a voice for Bugs’ on-again/off-again girlfriend Lola, producers davidson and rachel ramras turned to fellow groundlings member and Saturday Night Live star Wiig.

“as played by kristen Wiig, Lola is as adorable as she is crazy,” register says. “her performances are just jaw-dropping. she gives us gold every time.”

script The premise for each episode of The Looney Tunes Show is usually relationship-based: a grain of real life that quickly develops into outsized animated conse-quences.

“my brain always told me that Bugs and daffy were friends,” says producer hugh davidson of the series’ core roommate dynamic. “no matter how many shorts had them trying to get one another killed.”

1

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3

START


animation Bringing the Looney Tunes characters to life is a collaborative and global effort. Produc-ers in Burbank work closely with animators overseas to deliver precisely timed silliness. daily communication and occasional inter-national trips by producers ensure that even the subtle nuances of each character are not lost in the process.

“The reason we redesigned the characters was to create a separate identity for the show,” says supervising producer spike Brandt. “We think of it as the same charac-ters in a different format. it is a sitcom — these aren’t the old shorts.”

editing Just as in a live-action comedy, many of the laughs in The Looney Tunes Show come via rhythm and pacing. a visual gag will fall flat if daffy’s gaze is just one frame too short — and editor Craig Paulsen makes sure that doesn’t happen.

“This is a character show,” says Paulsen, a multi-tasker who works on up to 12 different episodes at once. “The editing role, with the director, is about establishing the rhythm of the back-and-forth between Bugs and daffy.”

4

5

final cartoon“From all of us involved — the writers, art directors, storyboard artists, everyone — there are a lot of personal touches [in the show],” says supervising producer Cervone. “a lot of heart is poured into this production.”

7

FINISH

mix/mUsic and what would the Looney Tunes be without music?

“We record real instruments and a real band,” says series composer andy strummer. “We’re part of a legacy. i really wanted to use real instruments wherever possible.”

6


Laugh-iNTalking Comedy with Some of Primetime's Funniest Stars

By Craig Tomashoff

Do you remember the first time you ever got a laugh out of someone?

Kat Dennings: It was when I was three years old. My mom had all these Steve Martin standup comedy records, which she’d hidden because she felt they were inappropriate for kids. But I found them and played them on the record player we had in the base-ment. I memorized Let’s Get Small, both sides of it. Then I went upstairs and performed as Steve Martin for my mom. She went bananas, and I loved that reaction.

laugh. I hear somebody say “poop” and I lose it.

Kaley Cuoco: It was when I was little and my family would do these home videos. My sister and I would try to make our parents laugh, and I was constantly pushing her out of the way, making the most ridicu-lous faces and jumping up and down. I was such a camera hog even then.

Getting a laugh is one thing, but when did you real-ize you might be able to do this for a living?

Jon Cryer: It came to me after watching The Brady Bunch. I was Bobby Brady’s age at the time, and he — let’s just say he kept his acting very simple — and I thought, “I can do that!” I was also spending my sum-mers at theater camp in upstate New York and spent the first couple of productions as Chorus Member #3. Then, I finally got a part in a show where I got some laughs, and my mom says I never changed as much as I did in that moment when I got those first laughs.

Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)

Patricia Heaton: I still remember riding the bus home from high school, sitting in the back with my friends. We were all being pretty obnoxious, and I made some wisecrack that a guy sitting near us heard. He burst out laughing, and I clearly remember the immense pleasure of getting that reaction from someone who wasn’t in my gang.

Billy Gardell: For me, it happened when I

was nine. I went to a banquet with my father, and he whispered a dirty joke in my ear … which I promptly repeated and got a big laugh from everyone around us. I didn’t understand the joke at all, but I could see that it worked.

Jane Levy: My mom always tells the dirtiest jokes and thinks they’re so funny. When I was growing up, my grandfather would call her at seven o’clock in the morning just to tell her a dirty joke he’d heard. So now — and I’m not proud of this — I also have the mind of a 13-year-old boy. Potty jokes make me

Patricia Heaton (The Middle)

❝We’ve had some incidents with our horse that have been funny, and I don’t think they’ll ever make it on the air.❞— kat dennings, 2 Broke Girls

CoMedY HaS oNCe agaIN BeCoMe SerIouS BuSI-ness in primetime. Whether it’s the continued success of shows like The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly and The Middle or the arrival of newcomers like 2 Broke Girls and Suburgatory, the sitcom seems to be surviving and thriving after spending a few years on life support. We gathered some of the genre’s standout stars — emmy® win-ner Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory), Kat dennings (2 Broke Girls), Billy gardell (Mike & Molly), two-time emmy® win-ner Patricia Heaton (The Middle) and Jane Levy (Suburgatory) — to talk about everything from dennings’ work with urinating horses to Cuoco’s ongoing identity crisis.


character of all time. He just looked at me and said, “Welcome to our world!”

Has anyone else ever had a run-in with their idol?

Dennings: I did get to meet Steve Martin for a couple seconds once, but I try to pretend it didn’t happen. It was really embarrassing! I just started talking and couldn’t stop. Hopefully, we will work together someday and he will have no idea who I am.

Cryer: a couple months ago, I was at Paramount’s 100th anniversary celebration. all these famous stars were there, like Mickey rooney and Jerry Lewis and Kirk douglas. at one point, I was introduced to Shirley MacLaine. all I could come up with was “oh my god!,” stammering and stuttering in front of her. and she said, “You’re just like you are on television.” It wasn’t done with humor. I think it was a kind of

disgust, and she liter-ally turned away. I fig-ured it was best not to chase her down.

Cuoco: I haven’t had that experience, but I do have people come up to meet me sometimes. and the joke is that I get mistaken for myself. I get, “oh my gosh! You look exactly like that girl on The Big Bang Theory.” They don’t believe it’s actually me. and when I travel with the cast, nobody

Did you have any comedic idols that inspired you?

Cuoco: I loved Lucille Ball! I remember watching reruns of I Love Lucy when I was a kid. I’d never seen a woman be so funny. I loved how physical she was and all those over-the-top faces she’d make. Her big eyes really made me laugh. I liked to do the same thing with my eyes, and that still comes out on our show. When the camera comes in close, my eyes get really big.

Gardell: I loved Jackie gleason. I would watch The Honeymooners with my dad and loved the way that, no matter how much he and the characters were beaten down, they just kept trying. I also still remember my first george Carlin album when I was maybe 13. I loved him, and I’d stay up to watch The Tonight Show with my grandmother to see all the comics.

Dennings: Besides Steve Martin, I was a really big fan of British humor. My mom still has this Polaroid picture of me at age four or five lying on the kitchen floor with headphones on, listening to a Monty Python Cd. I used to put on shaving cream and per-form “Lady of the Lake.”

Levy: I loved the Ace Ventura movies and thought Jim Carrey was hilarious. I used to think, “Holy crap! What a bold man! and what a lunatic.” I was also a big Twin Peaks fan. I was majorly in love with agent dale Cooper. I was actually at an event once, taking pictures on the red carpet, and Kyle MacLachlan came walking toward me. I told him I was in love with him, that he played my favorite fictional

Dennings: We’ve had some incidents with our horse that have been funny, and I don’t think they’ll ever make it on the air. There’s one that I’m sure won’t. It was early in the season, when I go to his new stable and cry because I’m going to miss him. So we’re doing a run-through of the scene when our horse starts to pee during my big emotional scene. I’m trying to cry, and he just keeps peeing. It was loud and long.

Now that you’ve all established your comedy cre-dentials, do you have any desire to get serious and go all Meryl Streep on everyone?

Levy: I actually never thought I’d be working mainly in comedy to begin with, so I’m just enjoying this for now. I don’t believe I’m funny, although I do like it when people tell me that I am. My favorite part of my job on Suburgatory is when I can get a cameraman to laugh. They’re the toughest audience, so if I look over and see them break, I know we’ve done our job.

Cryer: For a while, I was doing a lot of pilots that were canceled quickly. So I tried to figure out how to start over, and I did a play in London. It was an amazing experience, but during a break, I booked a pilot called Getting Personal. and I decided, you know what, I love sitcoms as a genre. getting a laugh is so much better than drawing out tears. When a show is really hitting it and you know that two jokes down the line you’re really going to kick people in the butt … there’s no better feeling in this business. n

Heaton: I remember doing theater camp, too. It was run by these crazy theater people from Kent State. We did a lot of improv because, basically, the teach-ers were all stoned. We did a rock-and-roll version of Cinderella, and were supposed to do another play until they lost the scripts, so we had to make the whole thing up off the top of our heads.

Gardell: I was working loading trucks when I was 17 and making all the guys on the line laugh. They dared me to do open mike, so I did. I snuck down to a comedy club, got on the list, talked to the owners and performed. The first five minutes were great … and then the next two years sucked. adrenaline car-ried me through that first set — then it became clear how hard standup is. But that first time on stage was enough to keep me coming back. It was a long road before I was any good at it.

recognizes me. I’m the one people come up to and say, “Could you take a picture of me with the guys? and where’s Penny? Why didn’t she come, too?”

Take us behind the scenes of your shows. Are there funny things happening that will never make it onto an episode?

Heaton: Well, I tend to belch after every take. does that count? It’s the way I breathe when I’m acting. There’s this buildup of air that happens. I have to tell new people right up front, “This is what hap-pens.” and our crew is, like, “Is Patty here? oh. Wait. I hear her. She’s on set.”

Jane Levy (Suburgatory)

Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly)

❝I’m the one people come up to and say, 'Could you take a picture of me with the guys? And where’s Penny? Why didn’t she come, too?'❞— kaLeY CUOCO The Big Bang Theory


drama clubMichael Emerson, Regina King, William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum and Anna Torv

dish on their methods, motivations, memories and more By Craig Tomashoff

› Emmy Rossum: Like TV father, like TV daughter! Mine involves Zeffirelli too. I was really young, maybe seven, working as a chorus girl in the Metropolitan Opera. I was in a Zeffirelli production of Carmen, with Denyce Graves singing. I was completely taken by the character she created, and the whole world of the production was so different from the world when you walked outside the theater. I knew this wasn’t something I’d do as a fun after-school activity, like it was soccer. I just wanted to be a part of all that beauti-ful energy.

Performing at The Met isn’t a bad first job to have. What were some of the lesser jobs you have all had?

› Anna Torv: For some reason, I was getting cast in food commercials. I did one for Cup-a-Soup that just kept getting renewed and renewed to the point where I thought, “Will this ever go away?” I also did one for ice cream, which sounds like it would be pretty easy, but you have to make sure you have a look on your face like you’re enjoying the ice cream … no matter how many takes you’ve done. I’m not sure how exciting it all was, but I was getting paid to perform, so that was exciting.

› Emerson: During the Bicentennial, I went out with my acting professor to do a multimedia show that toured county fairs in Iowa. We had a lot of

Michael Emerson (Person of Interest)

Your job is to move your viewers. When was the first time you remember being moved by something you watched?

› Michael Emerson: One of my earliest and dark-est memories was this story hour Shirley Temple hosted. In one episode, they did this haunting story from Dickens about a kid sent to a boys’ school where he ended up getting crippled and dying. It was really depressing, and I wasn’t able to shake it. I lost a sense of the world being benign, and it’s my earliest memory of wishing I hadn’t seen something.

› Regina King: For me, it was seeing Sally Field. Watching her in Sybil and in Norma Rae, it was the first time I ever went, “Oh my God! That’s amazing!” As a kid, I was used to the idea that people always played the same thing all the time. So, seeing some-one play characters 180 degrees from each other was a revelation.

› William H. Macy: I guess it was when I saw Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet. Maybe it was because I’d just done Hamlet, which I have to admit I found pretty boring. But that movie was so thrilling and seemed so modern. It was the time when I was watching a lot of really depressing films, plugging into my young man angst, but seeing the Zeffirelli film made me throw my hat fully into the acting ring.

"It’s got everything you need, comedy and drama. It’s hysterically funny but it’s also got a little pathos in it. Plus, I usually get the girl. Okay, sometimes she’s dead. But hey, I’m not picky." — WILLIAM H. MACY Shameless

AAND yOu THINk yOu HAD A TOuGH DAy? Try spending most of your waking hours as a drunken, deadbeat dad or his long-suffering daughter, or an inner-city cop, an FBI agent bouncing between alternate universes, or a paranoid computer genius hiding from mysterious forces. These aren’t exactly prized gigs in the real world, but this panel of actors has won raves inhabiting these edgy characters on TV. We brought Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), regina king (Southland), William H. Macy (Shameless), Emmy rossum (Shameless) and Anna Torv (Fringe) together to talk about everything from finding motivation by imagining dead relatives to getting out of speeding tickets to why Macy thinks that working on Shameless — with its mix of comedy and drama — is the best job in Hollywood.


seats, and they were these wooden things, three of them ganged together. They were serviceable but creaky to the point where you could tell when you’d lost the audience. When 180 people crossed their legs at once, it sounded like an earthquake in there.

› Rossum: I’m still shocked that I might affect an audience at all. It’s such a difficult achievement to make somebody laugh or cry when they’re in their living room or bedroom. But for me, I guess I real-ize we’re doing something right when I’m walking around and people feel the need to come up and tell me my character, Fiona, is the heart of the show for which they have such affection. And then they tell me that my TV dad, Frank, is the biggest douche ever dreamed up.

With great acting comes great responsibility. But have you ever been tempted to apply your skills to, say, get out of a traffic ticket?

› Torv: Does pretending to be sick as a kid so you can get out of going to school count?

› King: Sure! As a teenager, you try all of that. I didn’t force tears, but I did use my skills to come up with some story that got me out of a speeding ticket. But the truth is, I really think that as people, we’re always acting … even if we don’t know we are.

sure why I get those parts — maybe because I’m a really good audition crier. I walk in and just turn on the waterworks by just imagining the worst thing possible. I fear that I have channeled the passing of my mother and all my relatives at some point. And when I’m done with the scene, I’ll usually call that person to make sure he or she is still alive. “Hey, Mom … I killed you off in my head today.” There must be some serious therapy in my future.

› King: I don’t understand the whole idea of method acting. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I can’t even tell you if I have a method. Although I can say that one thing I definitely do is build some back story for the character I’m playing. It’s nothing you’ll see onscreen, just something that connects the dots for me about who I am and why I am. How many brothers and sisters do I have? What did my mom and dad do?

Whatever method you all use, you’ve certainly made your mark as dramatic actors. Do you ever want to shake things up and try comedy?

› Emerson: Actually, I feel like I’m a comic actor who has strangely found himself in all these sinister, dramatic roles. There were times on Lost when I thought, “Am I the only one here realizing we’re in a comedy?” My character, Ben, would have this dry delivery that I thought was really funny.

› Torv: I’m not thinking about comedy at the moment. I just want to do things that don’t involve standing in front of a green screen holding a gun!

› King: I’m sort of the opposite. I’d love to be able to do something with more action, like a Die Hard or a Tomb Raider movie.

› Macy: I already have the best job in Hollywood, working on Shameless. It’s got everything you need, comedy and drama. It’s hysterically funny but it’s also got a little pathos in it. Plus, I usually get the girl. Okay, sometimes she’s dead. But hey, I’m not picky. n

memorabilia about Buffalo Bill that we talked about, and we did scenes from historical plays. I will be the first to tell you it wasn’t very good, but mercifully, most people couldn’t hear us over the din of the car-ousel and the other carnival rides. I just remember thinking, here I am with my new degree in drama, and this is what I’m in for?

Was there a moment early in your careers when you could feel the power good acting can have over an audience?

› Macy: I remember an experience where I could tell I didn’t have any power over them. I was working at the St. Nicholas Theatre in Chicago, which all of us working there built. I was the one who found the

› Emerson: I suppose there are some actors who are good fibbers in that way, but I’m a very transparent kind of person. That serves me well in revealing the human condition when I’m acting, but in the real world, it makes me the worst liar. I can’t even con-vince people I’m me.

› Macy: I know what that’s like. I recently went on a motorcycle trip and got a flat tire, so I called the mechanic at this Harley Davidson dealership and asked how soon he could fix it. He said, “I’ve got four people in front of you.” So I said, “Do you watch Shameless?” He said, “I don’t watch TV.” Then I tried the movie star card, saying, “Okay, did you ever see Wild Hogs? I starred in that.” He told me, “Around here, I’m the star.” So I just waited my turn.

When you’re on the job and doing a particularly intense scene, is there any particular approach you try to take?

› Rossum: I’m not a sad person in life but, man! I’ve had to cry so many times for so many roles. I’m not

Emmy Rossum (Shameless)

"I’m not thinking about comedy at the moment. I just want to do things that don’t involve standing in front of a green screen holding a gun!"—ANNA TORV, Fringe

Regina King (Southland)


There’s a humorous element to it. And they both operate off the grid and have experienced serious loss.

Can you talk about how Finch and Reese have incorporated Detective Carter (series star Taraji P. Henson) into their operation?

Plageman: Finch has much trepida-tion about Reese involving either detective in their operation, largely out of self-preservation. Finch puts a premium on privacy — to protect both the Machine and their own anonym-ity — and he knows the consequence

of anyone finding out about what they do. It’s taken him some time to trust either detective with that knowledge, however limited.

As a military operative, Reese has always viewed Carter as an asset, one he can trust. And Carter has a much more strin-

gent moral code than many of the law enforcement individuals she's surrounded by, a character that Reese sees as vital to protect.

How do the worldviews of Carter and Detective Fusco (series star Kevin Chapman) impact the group?

Nolan: Finch is comfortable with the math of what he and Reese are doing: As he says in the pilot, if they keep doing this, they’re probably going to get killed some day. They’re lonely, soli-tary guys who’ve already lost everyone they cared about. But Carter and Fusco both have families, responsibilities,

URBAn pARAnoIA Is An all-too-real facet of mod-ern life in the post-9/11 world, and it takes a very special talent to turn that concept into a hit TV show. But the brainiacs

behind Person of Interest — creator/executive producer Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight films) and execu-tive producer Greg Plageman (Cold Case) — have done just that: Person of Interest was the most-watched new show of the 2011–12 TV season just concluded. We talked to the dynamic duo about their urban vigilantes using the ultimate information machine to protect those in need, the cops on their trail and why nolan calls working with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot productions like a dream.

How much did the theme of paranoia play into Person of Interest’s initial concept?

Nolan: paranoia was a big part of it. I grew up in the UK and surveillance was in place there by the time I was eleven. scotland Yard was interested in putting up cameras — giving the public the sense they were being watched. A formative moment after I moved to the states was sneaking out with friends and realizing the powers that be weren’t aware of everything you did all the time.

Plageman: We’ve always talked about the movie The Conversation as an inspiration for the show. It predicted a lot of surveillance that is happening now. Every time we turn around, there’s an article about the whistleblower from the nsA (national security Administration)

kids. He’s a lot less comfortable entangl-ing them in this crazy mission they've embarked on.

Plageman: Reese feels unencumbered by the rules of law enforcement, a vigilante who does whatever it takes to get the job done. While Reese often operates in a moral grey zone, Carter is quick to bring him back in focus. Reese sees the compromised Fusco as a more flexible asset, a dual agent that can be used to infiltrate the forces of corrup-tion within the city's many corridors of power.

Tell us about working with the Bad Robot Team?

Nolan: It’s an amazing place J.J. Abrams has built there, he and Bryan Burk and Kathy Lingg and Athena Wickham. The show came about because I went to meet with J.J. about movie stuff.

I finally told him about this TV idea I’ve had for years about the confluence of the surveillance state and heroes who have access to info no one else is paying attention to. I found myself pitching this to J.J. at the end of this marathon general meeting. He asked all the right questions, pushing and shaping it. There was a creative energy and he said, “Let’s do it.”

He and Burk have built this dream factory on the Westside. There are so many creative people in that space. n

Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman on writing one of primetime’s most intriguing dramas

By Diane Gordon

who understood this is something our government has been involved with for years. It’s not fantasy or sci-fi. It’s in the zeitgeist now. Technology that wasn’t ubiquitous 10 years ago, we take for granted now. social media, Gps locators in cell phones, it can all be easily monitored.

Is John Reese (series star Jim Caviezel) an urban superhero?

Nolan: Definitely. It’s readily apparent to comic book fans that we’re clearly living in a golden age of superheroes, but that extreme interest in the genre has not really translated to TV. There’s a greater need for intimacy on TV. I’ve always been interested in urban vigilante stories and that’s the back-bone of the entire superhero genre: Batman, superman, spider-Man, etc. Reese — in the plain black suit and white shirt — can go anywhere in new York, blend in anywhere. Coupled with an overcoat, it has a silhouette, like a superhero.

Plageman: There’s something very appealing to people about a morally correct vigilante, a mili-tary operative dropped down and let loose in an American city. I don’t want to say it’s wish-fulfillment, but the colli-sion of his skills within a crime environment is very appealing.

Is Harold Finch (series star Michael Emerson, from Lost) the hero behind the superhero? They’re kind of an unlikely pairing.

Nolan: There’s a lovely odd-couple aspect to the show. We were fortunate with casting. We really got it right. If anything, we’ve taken the superhero paradigm and fractured it. Finch is the one with the secret identity.

Plageman: It’s very appealing that their skills are complementary. There’s this cerebral, software-genius billion-aire (Finch), not quite as physically capable, who needs this man of action (Reese). Their skills don’t overlap.

PERSON OF INTERESTSeason Two Thursdays 9/8c CBS This Fallwww.cbs.com/personofinterestTwitter:• Person of Interest: @PersonInterest• Taraji P. Henson: @TherealTaraji• Kevin Chapman: @POIFUSCO

Kevin Chapman as Detective Fusco

Taraji P. Henson as Detective Carter

Persons of Interest

Reese (Jim Caviezel, left) and Finch (Michael Emerson)

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT | JUNE 2012 | 27SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT | JUNE 2012 | 27

Pinkner: In order to tell these stories, we constantly want to be moving forward, and we basically reinvent the show every week with our production team. We also try to ground it in emotion, and that’s hard. The talent that works on our show — the cast and the produc-tion team — they’re so invested in it being fresh every week. The greatest joy is seeing how deeply commit-ted the family we’ve created on this show has become.

Wyman: I feel so incredibly blessed to do Fringe. I’m so in love with the pro-gram, the way we get to tell stories, the people involved — so to me, I don’t feel “challenged.” If anything, the challenge is in the other aspects of my life that are overlooked or underused because of my love and commitment to Fringe. I couldn’t say “Fringe” and “challenging” in the same sentence and be authentic.

FRInGE ExECUTIVE pRoDU-cers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman have given new meaning to the phrase “rock your world” with the multiple alternate universes

they’ve juggled in this saturn- and people’s Choice Award–winning series from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot productions. Viewers and critics have come to embrace the perfor-mances of Anna Torv as olivia/Faux-livia, Joshua Jackson as peter Bishop, 2011 Critics Choice Television Award winner John noble as Walter/Walternate and the rest of the talented cast in each world

of Fringe. We talked to Wyman and pinkner about the many twists and turns in the landmark sci-fi drama, which will

return for a fifth and final season this fall.

What is the greatest challenge and reward of making the show?

How many realities do you think the audience can keep track of?

Pinkner: How many can we keep track of ? [laughs] We don’t do it because we like to create puzzles or hurt people’s brains. It’s done to tell different aspects of our characters’ journeys — holding a mirror to reality, talking about identity and how it’s formed, how connections are formed, how they’re meaning-ful, how you fit into the world. The only way to tell these stories is through the sci-fi vehicle of time-lines and consciousness.

It has to be challenging for your cast as well.

Wyman: The critical acclaim and passion for Fringe is a true testament to the unbelievable cast that we have had. The performances from John, Josh and Anna were mind-blowing — especially considering the narrative that was introduced this season in which they were playing versions of their previous characters, with an entirely new perspective and experi-ence. We’re so lucky to have a cast this talented. It is what John, Josh and Anna brought to these characters that really shaped this season.”

How do you satisfy the Peter & Olivia “’shippers”?

Wyman: no great love story is worth telling if it’s easy. It’s more rewarding for the viewers if the characters have obstacles they have to overcome. We believe in the relationship and that’s where it’s at. The show is a metaphor for modern-day problems of the world, both family and interpersonal. It’s a very important aspect of the show for us and we take it very seriously. We’re actually “’shippers” too.

Looking ahead, what’s important for you to do in the show’s final season?

Wyman: As TV fans, we know when we’ve been disappointed and we know when we’ve been satisfied by programs we’ve been watching throughout our lives. The right ending for the program is ultimately aspirational, with feel-ings of satisfaction and hope. For us, the per-fect ending takes into account the fans’ loyalty and the time they’ve spent with the show. I’ve experienced Fringe for so many years and spent time with these characters, so even though this saga is ending, I can understand or imagine where these characters are going in the future. They’ve earned closure and satisfaction. That’s hopeful to us, and we embrace that. n

FRINgEFifth & Final Season Fridays 9/8c FOX This Fallwww.fox.com/fringeTwitter:• Fringe: @FRINGEonFOX• Joshua Jackson, @VancityJax• Lance Reddick, @lancereddick

An otherworldly discussion about TV’s most riveting sci-fi drama By Diane Gordon

John Noble

Anna Torv

Joshua Jackson (left), John Noble and Anna Torv star in Fringe.

To the Edge and Back with FrInGe “I LOvE HOW WILD FrInge Is —

how it is always just one real-life sci-entific breakthrough away from being just barely possible. It is a show about family and passion and loyalty and secrets — but it also celebrates the renegade, the madman, the reckless and dangerous. The writers, directors and, of course, actors have done an extraordinary job in bringing to life characters that are simultaneously heartbreakingly relatable and wildly out-there. I don’t know another series that better lives up to its title. I am grateful beyond words to the fans of Fringe (and to the awesome FOX network) for keeping the series on the air just long enough to see how these disparate worlds and people collide.”

CO-CreAtOr J.J. ABrAMs On tHe WOrLD OF FRINGE

Joshua Jackson


Paley Center exhibit lets you interact with 60 years of TV

Out Of the BOx

The Television: Out of the Box exhibit at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills is a TV fan’s dream come true, an impressive

interactive collection of costumes, props, memorabilia and more from classic shows spanning nearly 60 years of TV history. The museum highlights previous Emmy®-winning programs such as ER, Friends, Murphy Brown, Roots, Seinfeld and The West Wing, as well as current hits such as The Big Bang Theory, Fringe, The Mentalist, The Middle, Mike & Molly, Southland and Two and a Half Men, among others.

The TV wonderland includes the iconic couch from Friends’ Central Perk set, the press briefing room podium from The West Wing, a booth from the Seinfeld gang’s favor-ite hangout, Monk’s Diner, and much more.

“This is a project of love, because we all love television — obviously as an industry we work in but also as true fans of the programs,” said Warner Bros. Television Group’s Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Gregorian.

Television: ouT of The Box The Paley Center for Media, 465 North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210Wed–Sun, 12–5 p.m., closed Mon and Tue (310) 786-1091, www.paleycenter.org

BAsh of The TiTAns: In a historic gathering of Warner Bros. executives past and present, former Warner Bros. Co-Chairmen & Co-CEOs Bob Daly (far left) and Terry Semel (far right) joined Bruce Rosenblum, current President, Warner Bros. Television Group and Office of the President, Warner Bros. Entertainment; former Warner Bros. Television President (and current CBS Corporation President & CEO) Leslie Moonves (center) and current Warner Bros. Chairman & CEO Barry Meyer (second from right) at the Television: Out of the Box opening night party.

TM & © 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the prior written permission of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

seAleD WiTh A Kiss: Series star Kunal Nayyar visits The Big Bang Theory exhibit and plants one on the Shelbot, the Mobile Virtual Presence Device created by Sheldon Cooper (series star Jim Parsons) to take his place during what he considers life’s more mundane moments.

Bugs Bunny, Style IconANIMATION ICON BUGS BUNNy’S PENCH-ant for haute couture is on full display at the entrance of the Television: Out of the Box exhibit. More than 70 one-of-a-kind Bugs dolls created exclusively for Warner Bros. Studios by fashion powerhouses Gucci, Burberry, Versace and more can be seen proudly wearing their respective designer’s most iconic patterns and logos. Timeless pieces of art, these bunnies have been fashioned into some of the most coveted collector’s items for TV enthusiasts and fashion gurus alike. Now, that’s carrot couture. —Annemarie Rouleau

TwenTy of The deSIgner

BugS dollS (IncludIng The

PuccI creaTIon Seen aT rIghT)

are on Sale excluSIvely

aT The Paley gIfT ShoP.

PERSON of INTEREST

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

– ENTERTAINMENT wEEklY

“The show can simultaneously unsettle, comfort,excite, and amuse its viewers — something for everyone,

if you, like Mr. Finch, like to watch.”


Stairs (clockwise from top left): Conchata Ferrell, Nyambi Nyambi, Swoosie Kurtz, Katy Mixon, Kunal Nayyar

Living room (seated left to right): Melissa Rauch, Simon Helberg; (standing left to right): Mayim Bialik, Reno Wilson, Holland Taylor

CROWD PLEASERS“There’s just something about

putting on half-hour plays in front of a live audience that makes viewers feel like they’re a part

of the characters’ lives.”

p. 16

3 shows, 4 cameras - hollywood reporter | … to see who else is on our cover 3 shows, 4 cameras...

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