A Conversation with Director Jake Kasdan
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I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said like in my head for like 16 years.

Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ring, ring, ring, ring. May I please speak with Zoe? Oh, hello, Lamorne. Let's patch in Hannah. God, I forgot what it was like working with you guys. Welcome to iHeartRadio.

Hello everybody and welcome to our show with Zoe Lamorne and Hannah and we're just so excited today. We have the most wonderful director, person, all around great guy, Jake Kasdan here. Woo woo woo woo!

who directed our pilot and many episodes of our show and also had a huge hand in creating the tone uh developing the show just from the ground up so we're very stoked very very stoked so good to see you guys love this how's your how's your how's your time away from the show been treating you

It's been a nightmare. Are you kidding me? I will say Jake has directed, written so many things that everybody loves from Zero Effect to Freaks and Geeks to Jumanji movies.

Bad Teacher, so many great things that I love and I'm sure you guys love too. - And I think that the question that's been burning the fans forever at this point is will Jumanji return?

That lovely repairman make another cameo. And if so, are you in it? That's the question we get all the time. It was so satisfying that when we would show that movie and Lamorne would walk, Lamorne's in the second of the two Jumanji movies and we would show the movie and in the theater, there was always like an audible,

excited reaction, like a little audience freak out when the morning would walk in right at the end. It was one of my favorite things. It's always the reaction when the morning walks on. Yeah, always. Yeah. Usually I'm wearing no pants, even when it was a it was a bold but strategic move. You knew you'd get a reaction if you entered the end of the movie with no pants and it worked. Exactly. I

I've since been canceled, but I get a reaction. It was worth it. You're wearing a very long shirt. So, Jake, you were born in Michigan?

Yes, that's true. Is that a comedy town? Is that a... Big comedy town. Big comedy state. It's a great town. I left Detroit area. We moved away when I was like a baby. So pre-comedy. Pre-comedy, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah. Yeah, so where'd you get your comedy roots from? Is it a family thing? I know.

I will say this. Okay, so the Kasdans have played a huge role in my career because I actually did my first movie with Jake's dad, Lawrence Kasdan, who's a legendary writer-director who can do... is one of those people that can do everything.

And I also went to high school with his super talented brother, John, and just love the Kazan family. So, I mean, I feel like maybe you got a little comedy from the family tree from me. That's right. Zoe has an amazing long history with with

with our whole family. That is a great, and I love your mom too. Part of the story. Yeah. Yeah. Love them all. Love them. Yeah. So we went to high school with my brother, John, and that was how the very first way that we met. And then, um,

Yes. So we have this great sort of long, long road together. But I think that I pulled into the lead on the Zoe race when we did this show together for many, many years. Yeah. Yeah. I will say that we have done the most extensive work together. But so I think one thing we're all curious about is like, so I was the first cast member to get involved with the show, but like,

what was it like before we were all what happened? Like how did you meet Liz? Yeah, sure. How did you get involved? Yeah, absolutely. I can tell you my, um, my journey with it started, um, just a few weeks before yours. Um, you know, I, it was a wild thing where, um,

Liz, who I had met once or twice before, and I was a big fan of hers because she'd written some scripts that I'd read and loved. And I just thought she was such a funny writer. We didn't know each other well. She wrote me a note and said, would you think about directing this pilot? It had been a bunch of years since I had directed a pilot. So it was kind of a little bit out of nowhere. And I

We had some bunch of common people. She sent it along and I read it and just immediately said, yeah, absolutely. And it was actually one of these things where I had sort of almost decided that before reading it, like there was just I've had this happen once or twice. Very lucky, fortunate thing where somebody.

calls and says, do you want to do something? And you just know that it's the right thing to do. And hearing from Liz about the pilot that would become New Girl was definitely one of those moments where I just sort of had this feeling

instinct, like, this is going to be great. She's so funny. And from the description, I could tell that I was going to love it. And then I read it and I just thought it was brilliant, you know? And it was kind of a, the way that can be sometimes with what we, you know, if you, if you're lucky enough to do this, sometimes you, you make a decision like that quickly and

And it ends up being like a giant thing in your life. And for me, Freaks and Geeks was something like that, where it was similar. Like Judd called up and said, do you want to do this? And by the time I got off the phone, I was like, I think I want to do this. And I had never worked in TV before. You know, I hadn't read it yet. And like, yeah.

And about a little more than 10 years later, it was a very similar thing with Liz, where I just sort of had this feeling like this is going to be something great. I don't know if you remember this, but you and I had lunch in Chicago and talked about Freaks and Geeks. Do you remember? Yes, I do remember that. That's right. This was before I dropped out of college to pursue my dream of being an actor. But you came and you were like,

Do you want to I really would love it if you audition for this. Oh, my gosh. I haven't thought about that. Yeah, right. I was going to college at Northwestern. I was in the theater program and I had basically like just started and you were like, hey, I've got this, you know, pilot like, you know, it's going to be a TV show, obviously. And I was like,

I just started school. I love to audition. But I was like, I just I I got to see what this school thing is like. And then, of course, like six months later, I dropped out. But I remember I remember that vividly and I haven't thought about it in years.

really a long time, but that's right. That was another like turn in the, in the road. Yeah. Yeah. Geeks for freaks and geeks. Yeah. Yeah. It's usually opposite from me. Directors sit me down and say, please don't read from my thing.

Can I take you to lunch? I would like to make sure you don't be part of this project. What? Yeah, I mean, I don't remember which role I would have been up for in Freaks and Geeks. It was probably like Freaks and Geeks. It was probably like all the female roles, right? There were like a lot of female roles in that show. Yes, I'm trying to remember it. I'm not sure. I mean, we were casting that show in a sort of unusual way. That's right, where we were kind of...

it was, we were open to the possibility of expanding and kind of shaping the cast around beyond sort of what was in the script. So there was, who we found, we were kind of building it to the ensemble, although it ended up being very close to what was in the script, but, you know, with some big kind of

casting swings on that show where it sort of changed the shape of what it was and in a lot of ways to some degree we extended that approach into what we were doing when we were casting new girl which was a really kind of comprehensive and intense uh process but you know similarly like um

you know, it's one of the great casts that I've ever been fortunate enough to work with. And it was like, we went through the, yeah, that's what I meant. And one of the, you know, it was, it was one of those situations where like we, we worked really,

It was a big process, but it really worked out, you know? I feel like when I talk to actors, especially over the past 10 years, I would say 80% of them in this town go, you know, I was almost in the cast of New Girl.

And it makes me feel like every single person in this town read for the show. Jake and I know because we were like, I, as soon as I got cast, I was like, oh, I really, really want to be a part of the casting process because I just know how it is to come in for shows or movies. And it's, it's hard. And you, it's, I was like, you know, I can kind of be someone that maybe can make people feel comfortable. Also we can see chemistry. So as soon as I was cast, even though I, uh,

against my lawyer's advice. He was like, well, the deal's not done. You can't do work before your deal's done. And I was like, I know, but I'm just going to do it. I'm a rebel. I'm a rebel. So I, I joined the casting process and we saw a lot, everybody in Hollywood. Yeah. We, we, we saw a lot of people. And I think, you know, part of it is that it was the,

You know, the whole thing, one of the parts of it that's so interesting is just like the whole world of television has changed so dramatically in the 10 years since we were doing this. And, you know, it was sort of towards the end of an era where the conventional pilot season was,

worked the way that it had for like the whole history of TV, you know, up until quite recently where, you know, you develop the whole television development cycle is very kind of rigid. And like you sell scripts during one period and then they decide what they're going to pick up. And then everybody makes the pilots exactly the same time. And there's this formal, you know, kind of like pilot season casting cycle.

period where everybody's running around from audition to audition. I don't know. I mean, it still exists in some form or at least did, you know, before the current world that we're living in, but not nearly to in the way that it did then. And so it was sort of towards the end of the period where like,

Within the group of people who are out and auditioning and really getting out there, you know, they're going from thing to thing to thing. And you're seeing really a lot of people. And we and we did see a lot of a lot of people, although, you know, and like you say, I mean, Zoe was before any of that even started. Zoe was in and going to play this part. And that was kind of the, you know, first definitive thing.

decision about what... A lot of the show starts to become visible to us from that moment. Okay, it's Zooey Deschanel is this character and we're going to surround her with

you know brilliant people right well when i knew that you were directing the um pilot that was like the deal sealer because i was like this is a hilarious script i didn't i knew liz like i didn't know her personally i had read a play of hers a year before and stuff and i knew she was really talented and i had friends that were friends with her and could vouch for her but like

You know, I was like, but the tone of the show, like everything kind of rests on the directing and setting the tone for the show. Because I'd never done, you know, more than like an episode or two of TV. Or, you know, I did. I've done like I did like a few episode arcs, but I was never like a series regular. You'd never held down a show like this, which is a whole different. It's a whole other thing. When I knew you were directing it, I was like, I am in.

Oh, that's nice. That's true. That's nice to hear. I mean, it was, you know, I think when you're especially transitioning from you were making, you were working a lot in the period leading up to that already. You'd been making all those movies, but it is a very different sort of

it's just a different process. I mean, there's a lot related about it, but, um, you know, there are many aspects of it, of series television that are really different. And it was, it was, um, you know, I loved being able to roll into that with you. Well, just, it was such a gift to be able to like make something where, you know, you have you and then other real, really amazing directors that, you know,

came on this show and I really think that you being on like attracted a lot of other really good directors as well but but the fact that we were doing television you have to make a show every week no matter what like you have we have to and and there's something so nice about that like on a movie there's like something kind of drawn out about it and it's like

With television, you know, you're just going to make it no matter what. And it's kind of exciting. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, the I always feel like that when you're doing the pilot, you know, you're as the if you're directing a pilot, you're you're.

you have a lot of opportunity to kind of help build what the thing is going to be and sort of get in there. And, you know, I always, it's, I always feel like directing a pilot is like being a member of a band. It's like being the bass player in a, in a really good band, if you're lucky, you know, and where you're trying to position everybody else in

to not only be great, but to set up something that they can keep doing for a really long time. You know, that's the cast. It's whoever you're working with behind the camera, the actual camera, all of that, you know, and, and as you, the further you go, I mean, it starts with the pilot, obviously, but by the time you, you know, sort of get into series, it's just,

incredibly clear that the whole thing is completely contingent on the writing and the cast. And there's and you can and we did bring in great directors and we had great directors. It's not to diminish that fantastic contribution that a bunch of people came in helping us figure it out. And then, you know, throughout the series, we had great people.

But it's a different kind of building right at the very beginning because you have nothing to refer back to. So you're doing it for the very first time. And then, you know, as it continues, you're it really everybody else sort of assumes the what it is in a great way. And that's like really satisfying and fun to see, you know, that.

And we did, between this incredible cast we had and just such a funny group of writers. It was like week after week and hardworking and like complicated

constantly punching and how can we make it funnier and you do the table read and it's just like joke for joke like they were it's just like a stealth team of brilliant comedy people that were working on that show so it's just a lot of firepower it was really like an exciting cool thing to be part of yeah question so let's keep it i want to stick to the beginning or stay on the beginning for a little bit i know when you talk about the beginning of the process

how fun it could be. You're seeing a bunch of actors come in. The writers are writing like dope shit. Like what, what's the most frustrating part about that process though? In the, in, you know, start starting from the beginning. What, what makes you pull your hair out for those at home who don't know about this process? I know it's not all fun. It's not all games. I just want to add to what you're saying, Lamorne, that like directing a pilot is probably like,

Like directing episodes is obviously a, you know, it's a feat. But directing the pilot because you're establishing the tone, it's a really, really important job. You know, every decision is a big decision. Yeah. And there's, you know, I guess, I don't know, like pull your hair out. I guess what I would say is, you know, there's famously in making movies,

TV and making TV pilots there, there can be a lot of voices outside of the simple creative process of it. There's, you know, the, the classic thing. And I made a movie about this called the TV set is, you know, that there's sort of like all of this, you

external kind of like executive pressure on something that can mess it up either with you're not allowed to hire the actor or the notes are not good or there's something about it that makes it really fresh and different but that makes people nervous and so they want you to change that thing or you know there are a lot of ways that a pilot can get messed up and

Well, we really did not have a lot of that kind of interference here. I have to give credit to those people. It was not a... They loved it from early on. People loved the script. They got increasingly excited as we would bring them... Bring you guys to them. You know, they would just look at the cast and everything. Just... They got...

Pretty psyched. And so while Liz, you know, certainly went through a development process and had notes and wrote many different drafts, like all pilots, we didn't have a lot of interference on this. All of that said, you're always kind of worried about it. Like I'm, I just go through everything like in this sort of defensive stance. It's like, you're going to get that football to the end zone and the end zone is like,

getting picked up. You mean the sport football, the sport you're talking about for those, for those like me who are not familiar with this thing I put in my shoes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. You know that there's, that there's this wanting to deliver it for everybody, you know, and make sure that you, that you do the work and get the product so it gets on and then it can have its life. Right. Yeah.

I just wanted to talk about casting for a second because I feel like that's a question I get asked a lot, which is how did you guys get chosen at the end for this show? And I don't know if I know everybody's story about if you remember first meeting Jake and Max and Lamorne, we know you've known Zoe for a really long time. Myself. Did you know from the beginning, how did it all come together? That chemistry? We knew that, um,

Well, we knew that we, as I say, like the very first conversations I was having with Liz about this were, you know, about process, how's this going to work? And the very first thing we, and I do remember like saying, cause I had sort of picked up from, yeah,

Judd Apatow working on the Freaks pilot, his thing was always everybody has to read. You just always building a show like this. If you need an ensemble to work together this way, it was like everybody has to read. And Liz was like, yeah, absolutely. That totally makes sense. We'll get into it. And she said, there's one thing, though, which is.

we think we should approach Zoe. And I said, well, I know Zoe. I love Zoe. That's an obvious note writer. Yeah, she'll do it. That would be different. And then she hopped in. And from that point in Zoe had done all this work. We knew she was a known quantity. We knew that we would build the show around her. And from the time that Zoe got into it, like,

As she's describing, she was then part of a lot of the casting. We would do, sometimes we'd do sessions,

you know, without Zoe and then bring back people to read with Zoe. Sometimes she was just there. I mean, she was, my memory is you were really in it with us. Like I was there every day. You were doing it every day. I would volunteer too. I'd be like, Hey, you guys see me? I just come in. Like, I just really like wanted like in case somebody would be maybe like

Like on the off chance that somebody would be like, maybe not good in a pre-read or something, but good with me. I was like, well, let's just like, I'll be there. You had a great instinct that this is critically important because in some ways, as I, like I was saying, it ends up kind of being more important than like,

The longevity is what you're looking for, right? It's like more important than just what happens in the pilot. Because you can have somebody have three scenes in a pilot

but you're going to be working with them if all goes well for years, you know? So like with, with Hannah, for example, that's the thing, like, like CC's big in the pilot, great in the pilot, but in the rest, but by a few weeks later, she's much more dimensional and expanded and has stories and we're off. Right. And so there's a little bit of like what you're trying to find is, um,

beyond what is just in these 30 pages what does it seem like it's going to be in the you know long term the other thing about that i would say was key to this and uh so impressive to me was liz realized quickly that you know in order to really feel the scope of that we would need to keep

updating the sides, what people are reading well beyond what's in the script, because you can't necessarily make a decision of that magnitude from based on, you know, two scenes. And also you've heard the same two scenes 400 times. They're just not as funny to you anymore. It's like, you know what the jokes are and, you know, so you might do those two scenes, but we're also going to do two other scenes. She would go home pretty much every night and she,

write and craft and punch up sides with, you know, Brett Baer and Dave Finkel, who were running the show with her, who are also brilliant guys and who were around on the pilot as well, which is a little bit unusual to have more writers on the pilot than just the... It was a very fortunate thing. You know, she just had...

that they had this sort of great working thing that really made each other laugh. And so we always had new sides. So it was like new stuff every day, you know, which was kind of a cool thing. And then you start to discover what people are capable of. I think in terms of everybody else, you know, my memory and she would have to confirm this, but I,

My memory, I know that Liz and Jake had worked together before. They had, she was aware of his brilliance and had, I think, had him in mind as a possibility for that character. And he came in and owned it right away. I got several emails from friends like Max Winkler and Jeremy Connor, director friends of mine, recommending Jake.

So I was like, okay, this guy's probably going to be pretty good. Yeah. It was a well-known secret at that point. He was, he was somebody that, that people knew was super funny and talented and versatile. And, um,

And and and he and Liz had had worked on something together. Yeah, they worked on her in her movie. Yeah. Yeah. He was in No Strings Attached. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. Which was the first thing I'd ever read of was isn't. Oh, my God. That was such a funny script. It was at that time called Fuck Buddies. Yeah.

Everybody was in that movie. She loves changing the titles of her projects. So many great people in that movie. The salacious original titles. So Liz, when she writes the first, I mean, I don't know whether it still stands, but when I signed on to New Girl, it was called Chicks and Dicks.

And she'd written this script that ended up being called No Strings Attached and it was originally called Fuck Buddies. Isn't that a play you talked about reading? Wasn't it called Sluts?

No, it wasn't. That was a different play. That was a pilot. That was a documentary. That was a pilot she had done, yeah. It was a documentary. It was a docu-series. I'd have to go back and look at the title, but I remember I actually didn't connect it that I had read a play of hers until I somehow was searching her name, and then I found this play that my friend had sent me because we were going to do a reading of it, I guess. It never ended up happening, but I had remembered reading it and how funny it was. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Zoe's origin story. Jake's origin story. Yeah. Keep going, Max. I was at this in these very first weeks I was in New York working on something else. And I was not in those very first casting sessions. But my memory of it is that like the first week they had located they had sort of.

been knocked out by Jake and Max. I was watching him remote and I think he just kind of came in. I mean, Max was somebody who, you know, had been around a little bit and had done other pilots. People were aware of his work and how funny he was. He'd never, uh,

had anything quite like this obviously, but it was, he, he came and, uh, it was a similar thing where I was like, he read Schmidt and it was like, Oh yeah, that's it. These two are the first two guys. It's like, this is this, these three are where it starts. And, um, we had, we, we kind of knew that really early. Um, and then you thought we need two VJs. Yeah.

To round out the crowd. Listen, we should round it out by making sure we have a Canadian one and an American one. That's right. We want all of North America represented in the VJ world. What are we missing here? VJs. Fox is really adamant that we get some VJs. And then...

basically as is often the case when that happens and ironically, that's not what we're talking about, but ironically it was a very similar thing with freaks and gigs, which was like half the cast fell into place like in 10 days. And then we spent three months figuring out who was going to play the rest of the parts. And so similarly you know, we started to have a,

the core and needed to fill it out and figure out who the rest of the, everybody was going to be. And it just became more, you know, just, we saw a ton of people to see these remaining, remaining characters. I will say Hannah, I remember that like with you, you and I, I remember being like, that,

Hannah is just the most like somebody who would be my friend and like that comfort level. You know what I mean? Like you were just like, I had the most ease with you. I feel like that played a huge part. I mean, other than your performance was great, but I remember that our ease together played a big part in your casting. What do you think? For sure. And there's, I think that there's also just this thing when you've been

you know, sometimes when you've been looking for who's going to play a character for a long time and you've been in those rooms for days and days and it can get, you know, exhausting or you can think like, is there something wrong with the scenes or the character? What do we mean? What can we do differently? Is it like, why is this so hard? And then somebody comes in and

And you're just like, oh, it's not hard anymore. It's that person. But, you know, it's just like a kind of a bell rings and you all they walk out and you all look at each other and you're like,

Look at that. She's here. And I think that can happen. And it's really exciting when it does. And I do think that that's it. Sometimes they just don't walk in right at the very beginning. It takes a minute for the right people to walk in. And Le Morne was part of that early process,

as well in a big way and was, you know, somebody that we loved from the moment we met him. And another one of those things where it was, you know, oh, yeah, this guy's really, really funny and went through quite a bit of process. You could probably remember it better than I do. But but basically, yeah, well, go ahead. You took a show with Heather Locklear.

Well, because the process and I've talked about this before, but it's I want to say this is the first time I'm talking about this with with what with one of the decision makers. You know what I mean? So I it was my first pilot season. I was reading for a lot of stuff.

And testing. And so I had the tests around the exact same time, but I remember being at the callback, just the general callback for the CBS show, The Assistants, starring Heather Locklear and TJ Miller. So I said, I was like...

They had said, "Hey, we hear you're testing for a new girl tomorrow." - Are you promoting The Assistant? - That show has crashed and burned, my friend. It has fizzled out a decade ago. And so they had said, when I was at the audition, they said, "Hey, we hear you're testing for a new girl tomorrow." I said, "Yeah." They go, "Can we ask you to tank that audition?"

And I was like, I don't know how this process works, but whoever makes me an offer. I was like, whoever makes me an offer. And so I remember us going back going, hey, this network is going to make him an offer. Hey, new girl, can you guys make him an offer? And the answer from casting was no. And so I went to the test anyway. And I decided I'm going to the test no matter what. I want this show.

And then a call came in when I was right before you signed the contract. A call came in from my agent saying, hey, don't sign the contract.

I was like, what? Why not? They were like, well, you just got an offer. They made an offer. They offered you. They made me an offer. So you can't say no because you can go and read for all these things and get passed on. So just take the offer. So that's what I did. Yeah, well, I mean, that makes sense. You got to work. And I mean, that's a big deal. With that character, which was Coach, that we were casting in the pilot,

I do think with that character, probably the most, we were trying all different ideas of what that, what it ended up being with, with, with Damon was just a little different than what it was in the original script. And so there was some of that exploration that I have to say, I can't remember exactly what was leading that Liz would remember better than I do, but there was a,

you know, there was an evolution to what we were, we were kind of reading people and trying to figure it out and changing the sides and all of that. And I do remember that you, the one, I remember thinking you were so funny and we, there were, and then there was some moment I remember where we were kind of in it and then suddenly you were no longer available. It was hot gossip in the actors who had been cast circle because I remember talking to Jake and Max, we were like,

we saw him, like we all came in for the test and we saw you. - We saw him outside, I remember that. - We literally saw him outside. - He's gone. - And then he was gone. - He's so mysterious, yeah. - But I do remember this about that part. Every time I would come in, it'd be you, Liz, I think I wanna say Brett and Dave, and Zoe. And I remember one time in particular,

Every time we would come in, everyone would be so like, hey, what's up, LeVar? Hey, hey. I feel like we were on first name basis at that point. And I remember taking the offer and sitting in the Fox Courtyard and you guys walking to go do the test. And I remember going, hey, guys. And you guys went, hey.

We cold shouldered you? You're an ex-boyfriend at this point. Well, you were like, you were probably like, I mean, like at that point there were like a handful of people coming in for the test. This was...

like before we even thought about Damon or anything, we had this like handful of people that were all coming into test and you were my top person. And I was like, I pretty much thought you were going to be cast. And then you pulled out like last minute. I'm like, but I will say it obviously worked out. Otherwise we would, it worked out. Well, that's why it was really nice that. Yeah. I mean, yeah,

Yeah, it's true. I mean, it made it so that, I mean, yeah, the short version of that was, you know, Damon is somebody we knew and loved, but thought he wasn't available because he was on a different show. And then we sort of got the word that we could, it sounded like that show probably wasn't going to come back. And so we could, well,

he was like the last one in like right as we were about to start, it was like, Oh, maybe that could work. Maybe the, you know, his other show isn't a problem. Then we go, we did the pilot with them and great time with them. Then his other show does get picked up. So he can't do new girl. So there was this sort of like, Oh, now what do we do? But yeah,

As you say, in a way, there was something about the way this whole messy thing had worked out that kind of worked for us because when we had that sort of shocking panic moment of we've made this pilot that we love and we don't really know what one of the guys is not going to do it. It was like, well, who should be? And we all knew that.

Like, well, there's this hilarious dude that, you know, was right. Maybe we can, maybe his other pilot didn't happen and lucky for us, it hadn't. And we were able to, you know, get you to join in this other character. Like, you guys had something to do with that pilot not happening. I don't know. Really? Yeah. You guys threw a, you guys, I don't know. You think we were working behind the scenes? Yeah.

They want to do that. We're like, Heather, Heather. Heather, you don't want to do this. You think we're an inside person? In a world where TikTok didn't exist yet, las películas no tenían color. The comedy of a genio mexicano across borders conquistó the heart of America. TikTok!

And his catchphrases are part of our culture, but...

Sonoro y iHeart's My Cultura Podcast Network present Nace una leyenda. Chesperito. I'm Felipe Esparza y te llevaré de viaje por la obra del super comediante Chesperito. From his television debut hasta la cima del éxito. ¡Síganme los buenos! Listen to Nace una leyenda. Chesperito as part of My Cultura Podcast Network en la aplicación iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.

I've been thinking about you. I want you back in my life. It's too late for that. I have a proposal for you. Come up here and document my project. All you need to do is record everything like you always do. One session, 24 hours. BPM 110, 120. She's terrified. Should we wake her up? Absolutely not.

What was that? You didn't figure it out? I think I need to hear you say it. That was live audio of a woman's nightmare. This machine is approved and everything? You're allowed to be doing this? We passed the review board a year ago. We're not hurting people. There's nothing dangerous about what you're doing. They're just dreams. Dream Sequence is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television, iHeartRadio, and Realm. Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life and marriage. I don't think he knew how big it would be, how big the life I was given and live is.

I think he was like, oh, yeah, things come and go. But with me, it never came and went. Is she Donna Martin or a down-and-out divorcee? Is she living in Beverly Hills or a trailer park? In a town where the lines are blurred, Tori is finally going to clear the air in the podcast Misspelling. When a woman has nothing to lose, she has everything to gain. I just filed for divorce. Whoa, I said the words. Yeah.

That I've said like in my head for like 16 years. Wild. Listen to Misspelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Cheaters and Backstabbers. I'm Shadi Diaz. And I'm Kate Robards. And we are New York City stand-up comedians and best friends. And we love a good cheating and backstabbing story. Welcome.

So this is a series where our guests reveal their most shocking cheating stories. Join us as we learn how to avoid getting our hearts broken or our backs slashed. Listen to Cheaters and Backstabbers on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

I'm Angie Martinez. Check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians, actors in the world. We go beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between. This life right here, just finding myself, just relaxation, just not feeling stressed, just not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things.

That feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly.

Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell, if you've come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to our show.

So now that we've gone through the cast, I feel like when we've talked about the pilot together, Lamar and Zoe and I, the pilot, we keep saying like, it feels like a movie. It feels like a standalone movie and not like a pilot episode of television. Was that like an intentional approach that you had when you kind of put it together? Because it feels so different than any other pilot I've ever seen.

I've seen pilots that tried to be it afterwards. I've seen. Yeah. You know, I think that that's always my hope for it is that it feels like a little movie and that we shoot it in a way that feels sort of like it's in a movie language. You know, I think part of it is that there are conventions to what single camera comedies look like a lot of the time. And, you know,

particularly then there have been so many more of them in the time since, I mean, we were already well into that sort of, you know, there were a lot then, but there've been a lot more now. I think, you know, so, so part of it's just, we were in a different kind of vernacular, just, and I was very conscious of, you know, shooting it in a way that was more like how you'd shoot a movie. And, and then I think the other part of it is,

It's obviously who you're working with, the cinematographer, the design. There are a lot of decisions you can make along the way. But it was very much how we approached Freaks and Geeks, which is even though it's a comedy, we're going to try to give it the scope that you would if you were making a movie about this. Yeah.

Now that process from script to page, a lot of changes. Did you, did you see yourself adjusting things? What, what did it start out as and then what ended up being on the screen? Yeah. You know, I, I really do think of it as, it was one of the really great collaborative experiences I've ever had with, with,

with Liz and Brett and Dave and with you guys. It was just like this very sort of fluid thing where everybody's trying to figure it out together and working towards the same thing. You know, I think the script evolved over time partly because, you know, really because Liz has this sort of relentless joke

thing of just like she's it's going to be funny like she's as kind of like talented and hardcore about that as anybody i know like i'm just like she's going to make sure it's funny and she's really funny and she if the joke isn't landing it's going to be a better joke and if she sees something that someone else she's never precious about it she's totally receptive to other people's stuff she loves it when you guys would riff she was just she was just like a great um

you know, like a kind of intensity that you, that to me is, is awesome. And endless well of jokes. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And so that makes us, you're just laughing the whole time, but then there's also like, you know, just this whole emotional story to it that we were very kind of like communicative about with, with each other, with, um,

With with, you know, you guys doing the scene. So I'm sure that it did sort of like evolve as we were doing it. But my memory of it is that it was just this very kind of like we're all in it together and let's figure this thing out. You know, Catherine Pope was the other executive producer at that stage. Yeah, brilliant person who who is kind of the other, you know, voice in all of those conversations in the office. And very supportive. I just remember she was.

Like, um, get, uh, having a baby. She was, she was, she was texting Liz from like her C-section or something. It was like one of those things where I was like,

this woman is the most dedicated producer I've ever seen. She wasn't like, I'm going to take a day off because, you know, having a baby. She was like, no, we were getting emails from her. She was having two babies. This show and her baby baby. Oh yeah. There was something I wanted to mention that I thought was so smart. And I know that, and it was kind of related to something you were saying earlier, but

but about kind of, you know, knowing, you know, that you wanted the show to get picked up, which is obviously everybody's goal, but having been through it before, you had an idea of what, you know, the network and studio were looking for and that we did do a ton of work, you know, like on, I mean,

on the table read side before, because the table read of a pilot is like one of the most important things to kind of making the studio and the network feel like they, you know, feel kind of confident, you know, because sometimes cast gets fired after the,

That's what I thought was going to happen. Sometimes, you know. It's terrifying. Sometimes, yeah, table reads can be a real make or break moment. And I remember we did multiple run throughs before we did the table read. I remember we did one, you know, with cast members, like people filling in for cast members that we didn't have. We, you know, Liz would be doing, Liz and Brett and Dave would be doing rewrites and

we, we would be getting, we'd do pre-reads, we'd get notes. It was really, I had my script like marked up to a T and you know, once you get going, you're not doing, you know, you're kind of cold reading scripts, you know, once you're in the season, but, but that pilot table reads really important. And I thought that was so smart that you really, really coached us all through that. But that, yeah, that was, um,

that you're right that that's can be a critical moment and you know we knew that like the cast was just rocking i mean that was un un unconfusing it was clearly a great cast um the but it's certainly a moment where something can go screwy if

for the wrong reasons where something doesn't land in a table read or something that feels like some element of the story isn't doing what you want or something reads

Harsh instead of funny. I mean, it's like there's any number of million things can happen in a table read that can just sort of make people uncomfortable right as you're like a week before you start. And which is like the worst moment to be reactive to it's bad for confidence. It's a bad sort of creative place. So the way you can sort of avoid those kind of problems is to just make sure that the table read goes really well. And we, we,

knew that that would be important. We also knew that it wouldn't be that hard here, but it, you know, because this, it was really funny and you guys were great. And, and we, and, you know, usually it goes well if those things are in place, it's just, you never know. So yeah, we were being, you know, super, super

make sure that it's buttoned down. I have a really vivid memory of the, I think I was only there for a day or two of the pilot, but I had to do that phone call where Jess is on the other side saying, you know, two boobs Johnson and,

And I was just like, I'm sure Lamorne felt the same way where you kind of show up and your whole thing is like, don't get fired, don't get fired, don't get fired, don't get fired. And they needed someone to read the other side of the phone call and to be Jess. And I don't know what happened because we were on like, it's like a little propped up set really, really quick. And there's a million other things going on. And so, yeah.

You did it, Jake. Me? I played Jess. And I was like, this is so terrifying that this man who has so much control over this moment is now... And I'm hearing you go like...

Rebecca Johnson, two boobs Johnson. And I'm trying to stay in this call. Yeah, for the people listening, sometimes you're off doing something else for some reason and you can't be there for off camera. Sometimes you do two sides of a phone call at different times, exactly. And so on some lucky occasions, you get me reading.

the other side of the phone call. Though I do remember that we shot a scene that never made it. Surely there would have been someone better for that than me. Johnson, two boobs, Johnson. It's a very clear traumatic memory. But then what was funny about it is that you guys brought me back. You're lucky to...

to have. Well, I was just like, he's so close and he's watching everything so closely. What if I say it wrong and I got fired? I mean, dramatic for me in terms of my own fears. That trauma. Your performance was brilliant. Thank you. That's what I was looking for. I was like...

What I was trying to get to was how was I? You were amazing. You made a great Jess. It was really my job that was in jeopardy. The thing that was funny, though, is that we shot a scene that never made it into the pilot where you guys dressed me up as a gigantic bird at a photo shoot and then brought in a...

like a a vicious condor bird yeah a condor or i don't know what it was and they said quiet on set nobody speak it was a bird yeah a vulture and it will attack you and but i have to speak and it was the side of the phone call they needed someone to read the other side and jake i will say you did not read the other side of the phone call then

We've got someone more qualified. You're like, I don't want to be attacked by a bird is what I thought the thinking was. It sounds like Jake was involved. Anyone who spoke could be attacked. It sounds like Jake is involved in a lot of hazing. Okay. Because he made you dress up like a bird, brought in a goddamn vulture and didn't use it. For me, there was a moment.

I think when you dumped yogurt all over me. Oh, yes. At some point. And I don't think that got you. A yogurt bath or something? Yes, a yogurt bath. You're bathing in yogurt. Yes. Was I there for that? Yes. That was the episode 102, right? Yeah, yeah. It was a flashback. It was Latvia. Yeah, yeah. That's right. Latvian initiation. I love it.

I remember I was so excited about it. I was like, Oh, this is going to look so great. Oh, this is going to crush. This is going to kill. No one's ever. The, uh, I do remember the thing with, with the vulture that was the thing I always remember about that was, and I remember the scene was funny and it was just, you know, things get shorter as you're cutting them down. You just start, you know, you want the tightest possible version for some reason that that fell away. But I remember with that, with that, um,

we were in the cutting room and we're looking at it and it's all kind of working in a fun way. But then I remember Liz saying like, I'm not sure we should have a vulture in our pilot. Seems like a bad, seems like, seems like something you shouldn't do. I will say I felt that way in the moment. In the moment I thought this feels like a risky idea and the director is choosing not to speak. Yeah.

during this moment when he did this yesterday I feel like we all should be scared great instincts all around there was a moment too as well that I remember vividly that I feel like pretty much helped me get into I know there was a lot of you know character traits that would change from my character throughout episode to episode I know you guys were trying to find who Winston was and I forget the episode I'm not sure if it was the first episode of season two

where we're in the bar and Nick is making fruity drinks. And you were yelling out notes to me. You were throwing us, sometimes for all those out there in listener land, you know, the director and writer sometimes will toss out jokes from behind the camera. And I remember you were trying to get me to behave in a certain way, perform in a certain way. And I couldn't hear you

And I remember you going, these stories never end well for me. It was great. It was great because it became, it became, I, I, I started getting it. I started understanding. All you said was, uh, more girly. I was like, Oh man,

Oh, but you didn't meet it. And I remember how you met it. And that became my thing for every, every time I had a drink on the show, I would behave this way. And the memes that go around where I'm just kind of looking at Nick and I say, look at me being so naughty. It's, it's, it's all over the place. And I, and I just remember going forward from that moment being, try it. Don't just, don't just do what's on the page. Like,

Be bolder, you know, try other things. That to me is the mark of a great director is when they, you know, like they say the thing that makes you, that opens up your imagination so that you can really inhabit the character. And, and,

And I think Jake is just such a great example of a great director who really allows you to be creative in your own right, but guides you into the place where you're going to be your best. But yeah, that's a good example. Thank you. With a series in particular, so much of it, like I say, is just...

trying to figure out something that can be great in the moment, but also hopefully that you can see

signs of how it's going to be great for a long time and that the writers are going to pick up on and go like, Oh yes, there's a whole episode about this. There's a whole, you know, we could do a whole story arc about this. And part of that is just inspired by what you're seeing from people. And then part of it's just the million great ideas that people have to come up with in order to sustain these things, you know, just great writing. But the, um,

There's an enormous part of it that's like, how do we, you know, what are we seeing from what the cast is giving us that shows us what it's going to be? And I do think, you know, more than like you say, that the Winston just got, it was, it's definitely like as the series went on, it just got bigger.

sort of deeper and richer and more interesting and funnier and this is what he's getting i mean it was we would always say in editing like oh my god this is like you know as we would get later he was like

What he's doing here is just so kind of brilliant. And like, this has been there and we could have been, it was just like a thrill of watching this emerge as you just sort of like the, you know, the character fell out and what you were doing with it just got so funny week after week. Oh, thank you. I have to say this too, because I have that similar moment that,

So I remember, and I shared this with Zoe and Lamorne, going in for that final test, and I was like, I don't know, I don't know.

And that's what's kept me through the pilot. I feel like feeling so strong. I went for the final test and I talked about the thin walls that existed at Fox. So all the girls that had gone in before me had read and they had read in a very similar, had made similar choices where it was a lot louder, broader. They had made those comedy choices and it sounded funny. And I was like, oh, everybody's doing it this way and they've made it this far. And I had a very different approach to

To Cece. Yeah. And I remember walking in the room going, well, maybe I should just do it like these far more seasoned actresses are doing it. Maybe I've been doing it wrong. Like, I don't know. And but I decided at that moment when I sat down with Zoe to do that chemistry read to Cece.

Yeah.

And it was just like this moment. And I, it really like impacted me to continue the audition, making the same choices and then going to like my first ever set really. And to know that I had made that right choice and that you had kind of given me that gift in the room. It was really powerful. And I don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but.

but I remember you saying that to me a decade ago. It was really powerful. I think, you know, that's awesome. I love hearing that. I always think it's weird when people want to be stingy with positive feedback. Like,

Like, it's like, like I, if someone's great, tell them they're great. I mean, it's hard enough. And especially like with actors coming into audition, it's like, yeah, it's so vulnerable and, and hard. And if it's not going to be, if they're not vulnerable, then, then it's because they've, they're sort of beat up by it. And I mean, it's just like the process of, of auditioning is, is,

nerve-wracking for for people coming in and that's why I want to be there yeah that's why I want to be there because I was like I know what this is like to go in for things and like you feel I I mean I started working when I was 16 years old so I had been on a lot of like

devastating auditions in my life you know and I wanted everybody to feel comfortable and it was so nice because it's true Jake you're always so positive and make people feel so comfortable and I think that just like putting people at ease like it's just like creates that baseline for you

for just a good experience for everyone and for them to do their best rather than, you know, people starting on edge, like thinking they're not doing a good job. Nobody's going to do a better job if they think they're doing, you know, or if they think that the audience is exhausted or something, you know, which can also happen sometimes because you can get, you know, it can, by the time you've been sitting there for a few hours, you do, you can get a little like,

but it's sort of on the people who are doing the auditioning to, you know, who are reading people to like, you know, stay on.

Stay alert. Be the other person in the room. You still have the basic social responsibility. Are you saying you could get tired listening to the same scenes be performed over and over again for hours on end? No chance. I'm not saying that. You could. You could. But I will say, honestly, and it's like I said it before, but what is always amazing with that is you can get kind of worn down and you can get in your own head about like,

you know, what's going, why is this hard? Why am I having trouble focusing? And then someone will walk in and you'll just be like,

wide awake all of a sudden like it's just that someone will walk in and just open your eyes with what they're doing and it's yeah exactly and so and that's the cool part you know you you got it sometimes it's so sometimes it's like what i was describing where you get you know okay we have we've been casting for a week and we have three of

And then sometimes it's, it, you got to earn it a little more, but it's still something really kind of great when people come in and you're just like, ah, that's, that's so exciting. Yeah.

Now, obviously, I want to switch topics a little bit. We can dive back into this in a little while. But obviously, working with such an amazing cast like you did on New Girl. And humble. Humble, modest, amazing. Yeah, the most humble cast. A clear bright spot in your life. But your career took a downward turn. A downward turn when...

I said it at the time, it's all downhill from here. And it was. You were obligated to direct and create the new Jumanji series. What was that process like going backwards? It's a lesser cast.

How'd that come about? It must have really sucked going to Hawaii and filming in paradise after filming in Los Angeles. In Century City. In Century City. Beautiful Century City. Going from beautiful Century City to Hawaii. It was a change of pace. There's no question. It was a whole different...

ball game, but in many ways, but at the same time, a lot of the basics of what you're doing are actually not that different. I mean, there's, there's on a movie like that, there's some stuff that is really different. You know, there are a lot more,

digital ostriches in Jumanji than in New Girl. And there are other differences too. There's this, you know, it's more physical. Wait a minute. You're saying the vulture could have been digital? Jake? We definitely, yeah. What they realize is the vulture could have been digital. Noted. By the time we got to Jumanji, we realized that if we're going to have a vulture, it should be digital. And there is a vulture, by the way. Yeah.

But, you know, I think that we you'd be surprised. I mean, you came and did a day with us on Jumanji. And like when you're standing there doing that, I mean, it's different kinds of like that particular thing was like not exactly a hard comedy scene, but doesn't feel like.

Basically, it feels like the same job, right? It's like you're doing the same thing. It does. Fundamentally. It was an interesting prep, though. My scene, obviously, was the scene. It was a quick scene. But...

Prior to that, I had to do this thing where I got... Was it motion capture or something? Where I stood in this thing with a million cameras. They scanned you. That's not something you do on... That's not something you do on... That wasn't on New Girl, yeah. No, we weren't doing LiDAR scans of everybody. Yeah, there's... There...

You know, it's obviously a lot more physical. There are differences. But the basic thing of what you're doing every day, which is like, how do we get the best version of the scene working with these people? It's not that different. And that that cast is they're amazing, obviously. And they're also just like they show up and want to figure it out and do their best thing. And they all have to read, too.

That's what's important. How many times did the audition? How many times for this role? The studio show, The Rock. I'm not sure he knows what that is. He's never had to audition in his life. You guys. He's just like Kevin Hart. He's sitting in Hawaii just waiting to do it. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. He's just, yeah, he's living life. Was there, was there a challenge for you knowing that a prior, prior IP of that already existed? Having to do it justice, having to. The original. The original. Yes. I mean, there was, there was the pressure of, that's always with anything that's, you know, rebooted or,

you know, a sequel or there's always that concern. Now there are so many things that are, there's so many more things that are based on something else than that aren't for better or worse. I don't really think it's for better, but even though I've, I've done, I had a good experience doing that. Yeah.

You know, I like original stuff. I think, you know, there was the with that there was how do we I knew that what we were doing was very, very different. People would when they ultimately saw it, they would not feel like we were

you know, treading, we were doing a lesser version of the original movie. We were just in a different, it's a completely different idea. And it also had this additional, you know, sort of weight of the original movie is one of Robin Williams, kind of like staple movies for a lot of people. And he's like a hero to anybody who works in comedy. And so you kind of want to be

uh honoring the work uh so that we were conscious of all of that and we were conscious that you know it's the kind of project that when you say like when people read there's going to be another jumanji they're just immediately

suspicious of it. I think that's probably appropriate. You know, like people, there's a natural sort of audience skepticism about anything they love coming back in some new form. And so then it's on you to like, you know,

Show them why you did it and that they could have a new good time with it. So it's part of the, it's part of the thing, you know? Well, I say you did that. Congratulations. Yeah. You did a great job. You should keep doing it. I think you're onto something here. Thank you.

In a world where TikTok didn't exist yet, las películas no tenían color. The comedy of a genio mexicano crossed borders y conquistó the heart of America. Da-da-da!

And his catchphrases are part of our culture, but...

Sonoro y iHeart's My Cultura Podcast Network present Nace una leyenda. Chesperito. I'm Felipe Esparza y te llevaré de viaje por la obra del super comediante Chesperito. From his television debut hasta la cima del éxito. ¡Síganme los buenos! Listen to Nace una leyenda. Chesperito as part of My Cultura Podcast Network en la aplicación iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.

Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life and marriage. I don't think he knew how big it would be, how big the life I was given and live is.

I think he was like, oh, yeah, things come and go. But with me, it never came and went. Is she Donna Martin or a down-and-out divorcee? Is she living in Beverly Hills or a trailer park? In a town where the lines are blurred, Tori is finally going to clear the air in the podcast Misspelling. When a woman has nothing to lose, she has everything to gain. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words.

That I've said like in my head for like 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I've been thinking about you. I want you back in my life. It's too late for that. I have a proposal for you. Come up here and document my project. All you need to do is record everything like you always do. One session, 24 hours. BPM 110, 120, 120.

She's terrified. Should we wake her up? Absolutely not. What was that? You didn't figure it out? I think I need to hear you say it. That was live audio of a woman's nightmare. This machine is approved and everything? You're allowed to be doing this? We passed the review board a year ago. We're not hurting people. There's nothing dangerous about what you're doing. They're just dreams. Dream Sequence is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television, iHeartRadio, and Realm.

Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Cheaters and Backstabbers. I'm Shadi Diaz. And I'm Kate Robards. And we are New York City stand-up comedians and best friends. And we love a good cheating and backstabbing story.

So this is a series where our guests reveal their most shocking cheating stories. Join us as we learn how to avoid getting our hearts broken or our backs slashed. Listen to Cheaters and Backstabbers on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

I'm Angie Martinez. Check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians, actors in the world. We go beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between. This life right here, just finding myself, just relaxation, just not feeling stressed, just not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things.

that feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly.

Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell, if you've come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to our show. I actually remember because your brother was a friend of mine in middle and high school. I remember reading an article about you in the L.A. Times after you directed Zero Effect. Yes. And then my mom had clipped it out and she was like,

look, that's John Casson's brother. And I remember reading the article and you were like, what, 23 or something?

When you directed that movie? Yeah, something like that. You were a baby. Yeah, I was really young. And I love that movie so much. Oh, thank you. So good. I just saw it again for the first time in a really long time. And I was really young, which seemed...

Crazy to other people then, but didn't seem crazy to me. And now in retrospect, I think about it and it seems kind of crazy. Like it's hard to believe sort of, you know? Yeah. And it's also...

been a while now which is also sort of shocking and that's why I'm telling you the 10-year anniversary of the debut of New Girl was just like what how is that even possible but I can't believe it it's partly because it continued for so long I mean New Girl is the only show it was at the

prior to new girl, I'd never been on a show that had made it to a second season. And then, and I'd been on some shows that I love, you know, one season, yeah. 18 episodes. And, um, and I had worked on undeclared with Judd as well, which was, I mean, it was, and that was another like very short, um, life, you know, uh,

working with Judd and Paul on Freaks, there was like this sort of definitive moment for all of us, but it was only 18 episodes. So when we, I remember when we got to episode 19 of New Girl and it was clear that it was like, you know, people were watching and we were going to get to do, we were going to at least get to keep going for a while. And,

I remember thinking like, oh, wow, this is what it's like to make it to the end of an actual network season and know that you're coming back for another one. And it was exciting. And, you know, so we got to have the experience continue for a bunch of years, which I guess is maybe why it's so exciting.

shocking that it's been that long since it started it's also so interesting because that show usually after a show is done and off the air um and then maybe it lives in reruns but that's like belongs to a certain era but now with streaming so many people yeah well i think it's a brand new show on netflix that's just started yeah that's what i was gonna ask you guys is

Have you, you must just out in the world have encountered this sort of thing that seems to have happened in the last couple of years, people discovering the show for the first time, like that Netflix. I just feel like there's been this whole new generation. I keep hearing about my friends, kids and teenagers and stuff. Have you, can you feel it out there? Yeah. Yeah, definitely. It was almost like,

You know, there was like a second where there was like a kind of a little bit of a lull. And then all of a sudden it was like people coming up, especially when things open back up from the, you know, a little bit opening back up from the pandemic and everything. And all of a sudden, all the people who binge watched New Girl. Yeah.

Coming out of the woodwork. And it's kind of been nice to hear from everybody because it's really such an affectionate fan base of this show. Usually it's people coming up saying like, oh, these feel like my friends or I watch it with my friends or my partner or, you know, Jess is like me or I get all kinds of things, but it's almost always just like very personal.

kind and affectionate and not entitled it's just like such a just nice group of people who like this show so it's really and it's interesting too because a lot of people come up to me now and they and they know the show they clearly binge the show but and when i say maybe uh i've gotten this maybe 10 or 15 times where someone goes you're on that show it's jess

And they remember the song and they remember it's Jess and they just binge the whole thing without looking at the name of the show. That's the other thing that also is different is in the first run of our show, you'd have to wait week to week and then wait all summer for a new season. And now you meet people and they're just like, I just watched all of New Girl this weekend. I'm like, that's...

seven hours of television and so they know it intimately in such it's a very different experience so i would assume binge seven plus and it's just totally because it's this big body of work right i mean it's like and you know i was i was um

you know, more present in the first couple of years. I mean, I was, I was very present in the first couple of years. And then I started working on other things simultaneously and I would be, there would be periods where I would be away making a movie and then I'd come back, which was, you know, like this, it was like a,

home base kind of for me in those later years, I wasn't there day in, day out. You were always watching the edits and stuff. I was always watching the edits. I was always around. I was just not always every day. We missed your presence. I was always a stone's throw away. But, you know, I remember...

Like getting to the end of those last couple of seasons, like the last couple of seasons were simultaneous to the Jumanji, the first Jumanji. And I was away for a big part of that. And I remember I'd still watch the episodes that come out. And it was just like, I remember thinking these characters have gone through

so many places. These writers have come up with so many stories and you know, every episode as an A story, B story and a C story, there's 150 of them or whatever it is. I mean, that's hundreds of story ideas. And to get to those hundreds of story ideas, there's hundreds that they've discarded, right? Like it's always because it's never the first idea. It's always like, you know, what's the best version of this?

So for everybody involved, it's just this massive, you know, seven year body of work. And to think when I, when you hear now from these, like, I've had a bunch of my friends have said, you know, my teenager in the last two weeks, watch the entire series or that kind of thing. And you just go like, that's so great. Like it's still completely alive for these kids and like for a new and for older people too. And that like,

it still feels really like relevant and on and the performances are just as good now as they were then. And the writing is just as good now as it was then. So it's like, I love it. I just love that it, that during this crazy couple of years we've all had, that's been a,

source of you know some entertainment for some people it's great I wonder too if you're watching like binge watching a show that took seven eight years to shoot and you watch it in the weekend is it just like a flip book of aging

That's what it feels like. It must be so strange. It's seven years of watching these actors who you don't really fully address time in sitcoms. I had two pregnancies on the show. Babies were born. There are two seasons where I was just like, why is Jess always holding her laundry basket? Yeah. Yeah.

So many things happened. And it feels like what's interesting is nobody who's binged the show ever says or comments on that at all. It just feels like this comforting group of friends that they can always just put on and it feels really good, which always feels really nice.

Nice to hear. Was that intentional that, that you kind of made that like that, that the show was kind of evergreen, you know, it, it, no, it didn't feel dated. I mean, except when you see Jake Johnson or Nick Miller's phone, it's which was outdated. Even then. Right. Yeah. Yeah. But was that, was it sort of intentional to keep it kind of evergreen?

I guess so. I mean, you know, I think we were there was sometimes again, you'd have to ask Liz and Brett and Dave. I think there's a little bit of a, you know, being you're there's always a little bit of a question in your head about like how topical like are the references going to seem like two years from now? Are these references going to just seem really like.

Two years ago, or is it, you know, like there can be sometimes an awareness of that kind of thing, but no, I don't remember thinking about it that way. Exactly. I think you're just trying to make it really funny. And it's still, if, if, if in the places where we were successful in that, it's like, it still is, you know, and it's dense. The other thing with new girl that is just like, I think a sort of under, under,

like almost like a technical detail of it is it's just so dense with comedy and stuff. Like each episode is so packed in some ways more than, than probably more than any other show I've ever worked on, just in terms of like sheer kind of amount of stuff in each 21 and a half minutes, you know? And so it kind of like, you can watch them,

repeatedly, you know, and discover something new. I've always said that we've got, there's so much comedy in it and there's so much stuff that we didn't use. So many alts that you could create an entire seven...

This is my pitch, and it'll happen if you pitch it. Just have someone go in and recut every episode and just switch the jokes. And just change the jokes. Add the things that didn't work and just have the alternate new girl. Whenever they were adding, remember they added extra episodes to some seasons and we were shooting a crazy amount of episodes? And I was like, guys, just...

Take some of that stuff that we saw already and cut a new episode. Yeah. Here's the big question. Fox was like, no. We don't like it. We want actually a new one. We want a new one. I feel like one of the number one questions that we also get asked is if we will ever do a reunion. And who knows if we will. But yeah.

If we ever did one, would you direct it? Of course. I mean, if you know, there would be it's totally like, can you imagine such a thing? I think, you know, it's if you guys and Liz were doing that, I would love nothing more. So it's so much fun. Great. Okay. You got to get her.

That's why we created this entire podcast to put people on the spot. Just one by one, get people enlisted. Exactly. Yeah. And they're like, darn it. I said I would do it on that podcast. It's on record. It's on record. It's basically like signing a contract. Sending this to the lawyers. Jake, what is next for you? What is next in your life?

What are you working on? What's next? You know, I've got a bunch of like bunch of stuff kind of percolating and we'll see what actually happens first. I've spent a lot of this year working on the Doogie Kamealoha MD on Disney Plus, which just started. Back in Hawaii. Doogie Howser. Yep. We're back in Hawaii and I was we were there. I did the pilot for that and then

Melvin who works with me and I, you know, were some of the people who produced that series. So I was working on that sort of

first half of this year. And, um, is that Aaron? Is Aaron working on that? We have some new girls. We had Aaron on it. Awesome producers. Wonderful. And, um, Courtney Kane created it, who had worked with, uh, Melvin and I on another show on fresh off the boat, which is a different show that we were doing sort of simultaneous to new girl. And, um, uh, you know, fantastic cast actually Max Greenfield, uh,

Oh, great. May or may not stroll through at some point. Watch closely. You may spot them. Yeah. So, so we, I've been working on that. And then since then been sort of have a couple of different series that we're developing and a couple of different movies that we're developing and we'll see which,

what happens next, but, you know, trying to, trying to figure it out. And, um, project roulette with, yeah, a little bit. Exactly. There's always a little, always a little Jumanji happening in one corner. And, uh,

As long as it's in Hawaii and the birds are digital. Yeah, you have to keep at least 50% of your work in Hawaii. Yeah, well, that's what's funny because I was in Hawaii a lot on the first movie. I was there for months and we were mostly in the sort of jungle locations on Oahu.

It's really hard to get to. It's just it's gorgeous, but it's very physical and you're kind of, you know, sweaty and getting eaten by bugs and you're in this beautiful place. We're doing all this good, but it was just like really intense. I loved it, of course, but it's intense. And then we came back for Doogie and it was like we're at people's houses on the beach and.

It's just like beautiful. This is what you're saying. You go to the beach, not the jungle. This is really chill. Yeah.

We love shooting there. That was cool. It's amazing. I highly recommend it. So Jake, we do this thing in our interviews called Nick's box. There we go. Okay. So in this segment, we crawl into the back of Nick's closet and pull out the memories that the cash and crew of new girl have kept hidden for years. So Jake Kasdan, what's your favorite memory from your time working on new girl? You can only pick one.

And the ones you don't pick are dog shit. That's what you said. It's almost like... It can be a standout memory, embarrassing. It can be something. Anything. It's funny because it's such a big chunk of a life. It's hard to even separate out anecdotally like that. You know, it...

my primary, it's not real specific, but my strongest association with it, I think, is just being on that set, that first, like what it felt like to be shooting that show in that first season, like in the pilot in the first season, when it just had this like kind of

There was just something like completely electric about it. And it, and it stayed that way. I was going to say that exact word. I'm like, Oh my God. Yeah. And it must be true. There was just something like, like, it's not funny, but it is true. It was just like, it was like this sort of, there was something buzzy about the whole thing of like, can you believe we're doing this? It's hard to put a finger on why it just felt like. Completely alive and exciting. And it was like,

you know, nerve wracking. It was a little bit of a high wire act and we were always kind of like catching up. But my primary association was like, this is just the coolest place to be working and like, you know, alive and fun. And then, you know, it was intense as well, but it was just that, that is my

strongest kind of like sensory association with it was this wild experience that remained. It's just that it was brand new the first season and it was like, you know, surprising kind of. It was so fun. Yes, indeed. And we'll see you at the table read for the reunion. You're locked in now. Hopefully before, hopefully before. If not before. Thank you, Jay Kasdan. Thanks guys.

And that was our interview with Jake Kazdin. We love him so much and we're so grateful that he's our friend and he joined us for the show. You've been listening to Welcome to Our Show, a New Girl Recap podcast. Welcome to Our Show is a production of iHeartRadio hosted by Zooey Deschanel, Lamorne Morris, and Hannah Simone. Our executive producer is Joelle Monique. Our

Our engineer and editor is Daniel Goodman. The Welcome to Our Show theme song was written by Zooey Deschanel, performed and produced by Zooey Deschanel and Pierre Derrida. Follow us on Instagram at WelcomeToOurShowPod. If you have a question you'd like us to answer, you can email us at WelcomeToOurShowPodcast at gmail.com. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and share far and wide. Thanks for listening. We'll hear you next week. Welcome to Our Show.

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Hey, y'all. Thanks for watching.

Dr. Joy here. I invite you to join me every Wednesday on the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, a weekly chat about mental health and personal development, where my expert guests and I discuss the unique challenges and triumphs faced by Black women through the lens of self-care, pop culture, and building the best version of you. So if you're looking for more ways to incorporate wellness into your life, listen to the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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