In order to appeal to a wider audience on network in order to survive, generally your characters need to be, at a base level, a little bit more likable.

I was never that kid who grew up in New York and was always at the arthouse watching important films. I was the kid who grew up in the Midwest where there weren't any art films, and I watched TV. And that was really the medium that affected me and that I fell in love with.

I'm perfectly happy to color within the network lines when I have to.

One of the tricky things about running a TV show is that you just never know how good the guest stars you cast on a weekly basis, how good they're going to be in the episode. Sometimes they surprise you in good ways and sometimes they surprise you in disappointing ways.

Obviously there are different standards and practices that are allowed on cable versus network. You just have to embrace what your network is going to allow.

To this day, nothing makes me happier than finding a TV show I really love.

I always think it's better to take your time and go through a lot of ideas - and dismiss a lot of ideas - before figuring out where to land. It's a good way to care for your audience, too. If you spend hours and hours and days and weeks coming up with the ending, then there's a chance the fans won't figure it out on their own.