TV Summer School: How to Become a Snazzy Sitcom Director
An accomplished television director and industry veteran, Pamela Fryman has wielded her magic wand over a couple of sitcoms you may have heard of: Friends, Suddenly Susan, The King of Queens and Frasier, just to name a few. She’s currently the in-house director on How I Met Your Mother, and after seeing her in action on set last season—a total pro and so well respected by cast and crew—I just had to have her for our TV Summer School feature. So, without further ado, class, let’s get our learnin’ on…
I'm in awe of your résumé. Can you tell us how someone ends up being a successful television director? What was your first job in the business?
Well, as a kid, I was sure that I loved to watch TV, so I got an internship when I was in high school. This will now really date me, but in 1977, I worked on The Mike Douglas Show, a talk show in Philadelphia. I grew up right outside of Philly and got to know some people there. I would do anything for them: I would get them coffee, whatever they needed, it didn’t matter. My first job, actually, was to pull the files of dead celebrities. But it was so thrilling to be around any place that had TV cameras. Back in those days—I hate to say that—but people came to do that show. I remember Robert De Niro was there, and I know John Lennon had done it. I just thought, Oh my God, how cool is this? I was 16.
How did you move from there to scripted TV?
What I really wanted was to work on a soap opera. I used to watch soap operas. That’s what you do in college, and I thought, Hey, there’s a job in television that is 52 weeks a year. I was working on the John Davidson version of Hollywood Squares when I got a call that there was an opening for a booth PA on Santa Barbara, and I jumped at it. That is where it really started. That was dramatic television. It was actors. It wasn't washers and dryers.
I ended up getting promoted from a PA to an AD [assistant director] a short time later. That meant I was editing the shows, which is what this is all about. Once you really learn what editing is, [you see that] it’s the most important part of how a show goes together. [From editing], you can figure out how to shoot the show. So, I went from a PA to an AD, and then they were nice enough to ask me to direct. After that, I went to Days of Our Lives for a year and then did General Hospital for a year.
And from soaps you moved to sitcoms?
After General Hospital, I got a call from my agent to do a show called Muddling Through. And there was a girl on that show by the name of Jennifer Aniston. I was only supposed to do one episode, and I ended up doing three in a row. All the people there were very nice, and this girl is telling me about a show called Friends that she had gotten the pilot for. She really had such a good time, and during that three weeks, I get a call from my agent, saying, “We booked you on this show called Friends that hasn’t aired yet.” Jimmy [Burrows] had done the first few episodes, and I went in and did episode four. I already knew Jennifer, which was a great thing, and I ended up doing one more before it even aired. But I thought, It’s certainly cute, these people are pretty delicious. And long story short, when that show hit, I had it on my résumé.
How is it working on How I Met Your Mother?
It's a dream and so different from anything that I have ever done. I did almost 100 episodes of Just Shoot Me; I did Frasier, that was so spectacular, and King of Queens. I just thought, Pinch me. This is extraordinary. And now, here I am starting my third season of this show which has no [in-studio] audience, a lot of single camera, which has really stretched me as a director, and working with [cocreators] Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, who are unbelievably talented and just as excited about the show now as when we shot the pilot. Nobody is jaded, and everybody is appreciative of what’s happening to this show. It’s heaven.
Are you still learning things, or is it already old hat?
You learn things every day [in this business]. Especially in the beginning, what I thought was a great thing to do was ask questions. All of the people that work on this stage are experts in their own field, and when you go up to a camera operator and say, "Explain this to me. Why is this better than this?" and sit up on a camera and feel what that feels like, people are so anxious to teach. It empowers everybody. It makes for a really great atmosphere. I never pretended to know everything. I still don’t know everything.
On any given week of How I Met Your Mother, what exactly are your responsibilities?
I’m reading the script and kind of breaking it down, I’m looking at the set, seeing if it’s shootable. We’re having rehearsals for the cast, trying to figure out where they should move, finessing their performance a bit.
Throughout the course of your career, have you ever felt that as a woman you were at any disadvantage?
I have to tell you, I don’t know why, but no. And I know it happens a lot. There are certain people I could probably point to who have treated me a little differently because I’m a woman. But it has not hindered me at all, and in some cases, it has worked to my advantage. It can be hell for some people, but I have to tell you, I do everything I can to push other women into this. We all have that responsibility.
What would you tell someone who wants to be you in 10 years?
The best thing you can do is learn everything you can from those who are willing to teach. The DGA is great, because it has a lot of wonderful programs in this town, but for me, it’s [all about] being on the stage and watching the people who are already doing it. Everybody lets observers come in, and I always thought that was the best way to learn. Also, watch these shows from home and break them down, and if you can get into the edit bay, do it, because that’s the most fascinating part of all.
Of course, you can go to school for this, but I didn’t do that. However, I know these days it’s much harder and the window was a little more open when I came through. Somehow, I was lucky enough to dive through before it closed. I feel very fortunate.
TV Summer School: How to Be a Network President
Good morning tubers, and welcome to TV Summer School!
Wait, what? How did I get enrolled in summer school? This is so not fair!!
Chillax, kiddos, this is fun school, because it's all about TV. We're interviewing some of the powers behind the small screen to learn how the idiot box got so smart lately, discover what's really involved in making your favorite shows and explain how all this TV industry stuff works.
Okay, but there better not be any freaking homework!
No homework. We promise.
Our first lesson actually goes straight to the top. We tag-teamed newly installed Fox president Kevin Reilly at a recent event to find out exactly how one goes about running a network. He has a little experience, you see, having also run NBC until just recently. Read on for a look at his career and his thoughts on giving himself a pep talk, turning on "the hit machine" and working in a business of "nonsense and egos."
What was your first job in town?
My first job was in 1985 cleaning wardrobe closets out of a commercial production company in New York. I started as a production assistant in New York doing commercials and music videos. I worked on 150 of them in two years; I never slept and made $13,000. It was a good job.
What do you think is the job that made it possible for you to be here today? What was the turning point?
I was working for Brad Grey at Brillstein-Grey, and running a TV company there, and I met Peter [Liguori], who was trying to convince me to come to FX. He was really trying to get this going, and I thought he was a great guy, and he was really smart, but not a chance was I going to FX.
And then I started thinking about cable, and I know he was looking to hire somebody, and somebody said, "Don't judge FX too quickly, because they really want to get that thing on the map." Then Peter started telling me what he had on his mind, and Peter had come from HBO, and we both sort of came up with this idea of HBO for basic cable. So, I took a flyer. A lot of people thought, "Oh man, you've just killed your career. What is that network?" But then it all worked and came together, and it was good. We had a lot of fun, and it really worked, and we created a real asset for News Corp.
Specialized technical knowledge—do network presidents have any? And if so, what?
Zero. It's a very weird job, where there isn't any actual training for it. I've seen people with all different backgrounds do it. You have to be somewhat a student of television. You've got to appreciate it, and you probably know over the years what's worked, and what hasn't—just as a reference point. You really need to have creative instincts, but I've seen people come from various backgrounds. Usually you come up through the ranks of programming. You've been doing it, you form relationships, you've seen how it works. But ultimately, it's a really weird way to make a living.
Was it always your intention to get into television and on this side of the business?
No, I just always wanted to be in the entertainment business my whole life. I was a television addict; I loved watching television, but you always hear people say, "I always wanted it; I had a little scheduling board in my room." I was never quite that fanatical, but I got my break in television, and then I realized I liked the energy of television. I mean, the movie business tends to work at a very glacial pace, and what fills all that is nonsense and ego. Although there is plenty of that in TV, it moves quickly. I mean, [if you work on] a movie that takes 10 years to [make] and at the end of 10 years you end up with a classic movie that wins an Oscar, great, but you know, if you're going 10 years to work on…
Daddy Day Camp…
Daddy Day Camp…
And on a daily basis what kind of meetings are you taking? Whom are you talking to? What kind of work are you doing?
The good and the bad of the job is, at its core, you are the bridge between the artistry and the business. So, ultimately television is an advertising-delivery mechanism, and that is where we all make our living. Everybody in America hates commercials, but we're a consumer society, and even though we complain about advertising we also want to know what's new and what's on. And that's what fuels our economy, much more than we realize.
People say they don't watch commercials, yet somehow they get through. They let us differentiate between two different shampoos. How many shampoos are there in the world? A lot. How many differences are there in shampoo? None. So, that's what creates our world of choice. Okay, so that sales mechanism, that business imperative, that corporate imperative to hit targets and grow the business and create profit is one world.
But at the other end, you've got writers and actors and people who are just trying to be creative, and they got into it for a very different reason. They want to do good work. They are not interested in any of that, and you have to be able to nurture them along, and bring out the best in them, and then deal with all the business guys who truly do not understand the artistic thing at all. They think you can just order it up. They're like "turn up the hit machine," and everything after the fact always seems really obvious. You can look at a show and say that's ridiculous…well, yeah, after the fact it's very easy.
In the heat of the moment, you have to go with your instincts, and most things don't work. It takes a lot of alignment from the stars for it to actually come together and be good. You're taking a bet on things, so when it comes together it's pretty magical, but a lot of times there is just one piece off—and all you need is to be off by five degrees for the ship to go in a totally wrong direction.
And hit an iceberg and kill everyone.
Exactly. So, of course, it's very easy for everyone to yell at us, and go, "What were you thinking?" Most people just second-guess.
What advice would you give somebody who wanted to be you in 20 years? And/or what advice would you give to someone who wanted a show on your network next season?
Never lose your enthusiasm. The business does grind you down, and it's very relentless, and you have to maintain your enthusiasm for things that are special and exciting. Somebody said to me years ago, "always do something that is out of your comfort zone every day." You have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone.
And how to get on Fox next year? Bring us a good show.
Have the recent happenings in your life soured you? Did you lose your enthusiasm at all? Did you have to have that "you still love the business" talk with yourself?
It does sometimes, and you go through cycles. You go through cycles where you get discouraged, and you feel like you can't catch a break, and nothing is going to work. Ultimately, all you have is your instincts and your ability to bet on things, and if you get freaked out over that you're probably going to have nothing. So, when stuff happens you get pretty ground down, but I've learned this: You can't script life. I've had things happen that I would have never anticipated. If you're true to who you are, and you believe in yourself, in this country at least, you have the opportunity for things to work out.
TV Summer School: How to Create and Run a Successful Sitcom
With so few quality half-hour comedies on the air right now, one might wonder how two young guys from Connecticut managed to make it to the promised land, all before their 30th birthdays. At just 32 years old, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are the genius minds behind CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, a show many of us dearly love and look forward to every Monday night.
But besides being hilariously funny, Carter and Craig may just be the coolest, most down-to-earth show runners in Hollywood. How did two normal dudes end up in the catbird seat so quickly? Let’s bother Carter about it…
So, we're doing a feature on how to create and run a successful sitcom.
Oh, wow, I can't wait to read it and find out.
Modesty, I love it. Now, I know you and Craig's first job after college graduation was on the Letterman writing staff, but I think we'd all like to know how two young guys just out of school land Letterman.
Well, Craig and I had an internship at MTV. That was kind of the beginning of it all. Before that, during our junior year of college, we were both English majors and thought we were going to write sweet, little stories in The New Yorker every couple months and that was how we were going to make a living. Not that anyone can make a living doing that. But, no, TV hadn't even entered into our thought processes at that point.
And then we both, simultaneously, unbeknownst to each other, got this internship. It was in the development department at MTV, which is kind of the most fun place to have an internship if you're interested in getting into this business, because you saw a lot. Like, our specific job was watching all the tapes that people would make with their friends and send in, saying, "Hey, we should be on a show on MTV!" You know, they would be all earnest and sincere and they would type up a cover letter. They were so excited. And our job was just to sign the boiler plate rejection letter that was sent to everyone.
It was kind of unsettling, but at the same time, we were making copies and getting coffee for the people who make all the creative decisions about what goes on MTV and what doesn't, and that was really our introduction to writing as a business. And the friends that we made there—specifically one guy, Jeremiah Bosgang, he was, like, a vice president of development and friends with an agent in L.A. That was the turning point. The door opened a crack and we just dove through it. We sent this agent a packet of material—we wrote a terrible Seinfeld spec—and he's still our agent to this day, Matt Rice. It's kind of cool, because he was like a junior agent then, and we were these shit-kicker kids from Connecticut. But yeah, he still gives us crap about how bad our Seinfeld spec was.
So, Matt helped you land Letterman?
Yeah, well, this was all during our senior year. It was settling in that there was no fifth year of college. We actually realized our parents weren't going to pay for us to play in a band and drink beers for another year. And everyone else sort of knew what they wanted to do with themselves, and Craig and I kind of didn't.
But we both started watching Conan O'Brien. Every night, we'd watch the comedy and we just got really into it. I had written for the humor page in the [college] newspaper and Craig and I had been working on a screenplay together at one point, and he was also really funny, so we just started writing Conan material together.
That was just the best year for Conan. It was the year Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog and Pimpbot appeared. It was just a very formative time, I think, for that show. So, we spent a year working on this material, and then by the end of the year, we graduated and we had this packet. We were like, "Okay, this is it, we've got to get on Conan O'Brien, this is it." So our agent puts the call in and calls us back and says, "Yeah, they're not hiring. You're never getting hired. Everyone loves it there. No one's ever going to leave. You'll never work on Conan O'Brien." And that's when it was like, Okay, grad school?
Your dream was dashed.
Yeah, but then, as it happened, that summer I was, like, living at Craig's mom's house—we had no idea what we were going to do. We'd just go down in his basement, and he had a drum set, so we'd play music and stuff.
But then, all of a sudden, two writers just up and left The Late Show. And that was our window. We had to pounce on it. But we didn't have any material for The Late Show. We hadn't written up a submission packet, so we had like 48 hours to do it. And at the time, it felt like, 48 hours?! But we spent a year on that Conan packet! There's no way we can do this. It just can't be done in 48 hours!
Little did we realize that the job is, you know, you read the paper in the morning and there's comedy on TV that night. That is the job. You have to turn it over really fast. So, we just stayed up for 48 hours straight, coming up with material, coming up with jokes, and put together this packet. I had done layout on the newspaper at school, so I sort of had all these layout skills, so we had like a bellows binding and color pictures to go with it. It was very impressive.
Ah, so you made it pretty.
Yes, it was all packaging. That was actually the key, I think. That's the one piece of advice I would give anyone: packaging and, of course, make sure everything is spelled correctly. And yeah, that got us an interview with the head writer at Letterman, and then we had an interview with the executive producer. And after our second interview, they gave us the job.
I can't imagine how elated the two of you must have been.
Oh yeah, we were sort of like hysterically blind from excitement. It was on a Friday and we were starting on a Monday. All of a sudden, we had a job on Letterman. I remember, actually, after that meeting we were so sort of dazed that we came out of the executive producer's office and we immediately got lost.
We couldn't find the elevator, and we were just wandering around. And having worked there now, looking back on it, we really must've been just completely stupid, because it's like one hallway. It's impossible to get lost in that building. But we ended up turning this corner, and it was just me and Craig, and there, at the other end of the hall, was Dave.
We're just standing in the middle of the hallway, completely empty, just us and him. And he's got this football and it was sort of like, Do we go out for a pass? What do we do here? And he said hello and I said, "Do you know where the elevator is?" and he goes, "Yeah, it's down the hall." The whole subway ride home, it was like, "Do you know where the—?" Of course he knows where the elevator is!
Was it always your intention to jump from late night to sitcom?
Well, we had seen other people we worked with [make that move]. Like the guy who hired us at Letterman, Tim Long, he went on to write for The Simpsons, and we had seen other people come from our background and move on to write sitcoms, so that seemed like the logical next step. I think, in the beginning, if you had asked us what we really wanted to write, it would've been movies we were more interested in. But the fun thing about TV is that it's a job and there's some security in it. We liked the weekly paycheck side of it, as opposed to, you know, you spend six months writing a screenplay and either it sells or it doesn't.
So you honed your sitcom writing skills doing episodes of Quintuplets, Method & Red and American Dad. But were you pitching ideas for your own show that whole time, too?
No, we had forged a strategy with our manager and agent to really get some credits under our belt as sitcom writers before we started pitching our own thing. We wanted to really learn how it's done and be on a couple staffs and make some connections. We worked for about three years before we even started thinking about developing.
How much time did it take to develop and sell How I Met Your Mother?
It's funny—How I Met Your Mother just sort of happened naturally. It was actually the second thing we pitched. The first thing we pitched was the story of an Enron executive who gets sentenced by the judge to go teach at an inner-city high school, which you know, sounds like a great show. But from page one, neither of us wanted to do any research. We were just kind of like, "I don't know, it's probably like this" and the whole thing just rang completely false. But the other idea was just, "Well, let's write about our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York."
That idea seems to have worked out well for you.
Yeah, that just came really naturally. But still, you can tell, like everything we sort of know about makes sense [on the show], and everything we don't know about [is hokey]. Like, we have a friend who is an architect, and he's always like "Really?! Ted's designing his own skyscraper at 28?"
On any given day during the production of How I Met Your Mother, what are you actually doing? How do you go from a blank page to the product that's ready for air?
Well, in two years of doing the show, Craig and I have sort of discovered what's important and what isn't. And what is most important is story. So, we'll sit down with—not the whole writing staff—but me and Craig and usually two other writers in a room, with a dry-erase board, to figure out what the episode is going to be about.
You know, Phil Rosenthal wrote a book called You're Lucky You're Funny, which Craig and I are both reading right now. He talks about how Carl Reiner, on The Dick Van Dyke Show, would shut all the writers in a room and say, "What happened at your house this weekend?" And that's where the story comes from.
So, it sort of starts off as a few hours of therapy, talking about what we're feeling. You know, we'll be talking about what secrets do you tell your partner, and what do you keep from them, and that will eventually turn into [the] Robin Sparkles [episode]. Or we'll say, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if Robin was a Canadian pop star?" and we'll work our way backward, figuring out how you get to that. We sort of chart it all on the white board, and then we can assign that story to one of our writers.
When the story is broken and the scripts are locked, is the bulk of your job done, or are you heavily involved in what's happening on set and in the edit?
Well, it seems like so much of the great stuff comes out on the set and in the edit room, but if a script is solid, it is like a huge, weeklong sigh of relief. But with some scripts, you know, when the actors are rehearsing scenes for camera, to figure out angles, we're completely rewriting those scenes in the midst of it.
What would you say to someone who wants to be you in 10 years?
Can I have a job, please? No, seriously, Craig and I are really looking forward to that. You know, this business, it's like that. We have such a great team of writers that we work with, and one of them, Chris Harris, was actually the head writer on Conan the year we applied to work on the show. So, that's really sort of surreal and awesome. It's like having your own fantasy baseball league, except it's not a fantasy.
Tricia Helfer gets multi-episode arc on Burn Notice
Tricia Helfer will be in good hands once her run with Battlestar Galactica is over which, as we all know, is coming up very soon. As part of her recently announced talent deal with Fox, Helfer will be appearing on USA’s Burn Notice when it returns to the air this July (Fox produces the show). She will be playing Michael’s handler for an uknown number of episodes. Hey, the more episodes the better if you ask me.
I just love it when two shows I love come together and involve the same people that make each show great. No, I don’t mean a cross-over; with the exception of spin-offs, I usually hate cross-overs. When I see a director or actor I love head over to another show I love (or, in the case of a new show, one that sounds up my alley), it’s magic. It’s like when you switch jobs and and old co-worker friend comes with you. Except the whole part about hating the first job you left. OK that was a horrible analogy.