I'm a rule follower. But there is also a part of me, clearly, that doesn't follow them.

A "showrunner" as a position is a relatively new thing. It used to be the executive producer. That's not true anymore. Now it's evolved into this model where people look to showrunners and say, that guy is that show. It's just become a lot more interesting to know the showrunner and to get a sense of that person.

I'm always looking for what's something that Bradley Whitford's character can say that is completely outrageous and completely wrong, but in a double-reverse way is actually totally right. I don't really like where there's a story and you lay a few jokes on top of it.

One of the things that I have always been interested in is the actual experience of people in their lives as opposed to what we think their experience should be.

Everybody should have a television show. Let's all get television shows!

I really gravitate to the comedy of tonal contrasts. I hope that doesn't sound insufferably pretentious. What I mean is people having reactions to things that seem inappropriate, or being happy in an apparently unhappy situation.

You don't want to be slavishly doing the same thing over and over again that everybody else has done, but at the same time, you're conscious of, "This is important. I owe something to my ten year old self right now. I need to respect that." I need for that kid who is obsessively reading comic books, I need there to be something rewarding for him where he's like, I didn't waste my time. I know what this is.