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Like it or not, setting the record straight about Ron Swanson, his Parks and Recreation alter-ego, is becoming a full-time job for Nick Offerman. Last month, it was Offerman correcting Michael Flynn Jr. about Swanson’s stance on LGBTQ issues. After Flynn used an altered Swanson meme to bash June’s Pride events, Offerman quickly put him in his place: “Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb fuck. #HappyPride”

This month, Offerman told IndieWire that some people are holding up the Swanson character for all the wrong reasons, taking “their own reading of this true Libertarian who was cool with everybody.”

The misguided are saying that Swanson “had a shotgun, so he must be one of us,” Offerman said. “Like, dumb people insist that Ron Swanson would’ve voted for Trump.”

While Offerman is a fair authority on the character after playing him for seven seasons, he...

Andy Samberg fondly remembered his late Brooklyn Nine-Nine costar Andre Braugher, reflecting on their time together on the two-time Emmy-winning sitcom and how the show has endured for audiences since its conclusion in 2021.

During a recent episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler, the Saturday Night Live alum discussed seeking Poehler’s advice on taking the lead role in the Mike Schur and Dan Goor-created series about a Brooklyn-based precinct, as the writers were also behind her Parks and Recreation. Samberg said he didn’t realize how well-known and beloved the show was until a family trip to Europe a couple years ago resulted in him getting recognized everywhere.

“It’s a gift that keeps giving,” the Palm Springs star said. “Because of the Netflix part of it, everywhere I went, it was like, ‘Jake Peralta!’ I felt like I was on Friends. I was like, ‘Oh my God,...

Nick Offerman is setting the record straight on Ron Swanson.

The 55-year-old Parks & Recreation actor says people don’t understand his character on the series. According to Nick, many people believe he would have voted for Donald Trump.

In a recent interview with IndieWire, Nick shared his thoughts on what Ron really believed.

Keep reading to find out more…

“[Trump] supporters somehow say, ‘Well, he had a shotgun, so he must be one of us.’ Like, dumb people insist that Ron Swanson would’ve voted for Trump,” Nick said during the interview. He went on to say that he doesn’t bother responding to the claim and instead, leaves it up to the series’ writer.

“I take it to Mike Schur, the main creator of Ron, and he said, ‘Swanson would’ve despised Trump, because Ron loved capitalism. And Trump made the stupidest move you could make as a capitalist,...

Nick Offerman is not here for Maga and Donald Trump supporters claiming his Parks & Recreation character would’ve been one of them.

The actor played Libertarian Ron Swanson on the NBC mockumentary throughout its seven-season run.

In a new interview, the Last of Us alum revealed that although Maga supporters think Ron would’ve voted for Trump, Offerman gave examples as to why the fictional character would’ve “despised” him.

“[Trump] supporters somehow say, ‘Well, he had a shotgun, so he must be one of us.’ Like, dumb people insist that Ron Swanson would’ve voted for Trump,” Offerman said in an interview with IndieWire. “And I don’t deign to answer myself. I take it to Mike Schur, the main creator of Ron, and he said, ‘Swanson would’ve despised Trump, because Ron loved capitalism. And Trump made the stupidest move you could make as a capitalist, which is to go into public service.

There’s one aspect of the character of Ron Swanson that Nick Offerman says some Parks and Recreation fans have gotten wrong. “​​Ron Swanson, a wonderful creation from much more brilliant minds than my own, people hold up for the wrong reasons, and take their own reading of this true Libertarian who was cool with everybody,” Offerman said in an interview with IndieWire published on Friday, July 11. “And they somehow say, ‘Well, he had a shotgun, so he must be one of us.’ Like, dumb people insist that Ron Swanson would’ve voted for [Donald] Trump. And I don’t deign to answer myself.” Offerman noted that the show’s co-creator, Michael Schur, agrees. “He said, ‘Swanson would’ve despised Trump, because Ron loved capitalism. And Trump made the stupidest move you could make as a capitalist, which is to go into public service.’” Offerman said he believes Ron would think...

Nick Offerman knows that his “Parks and Recreation” character Ron Swanson would have hated Donald Trump – he just can’t seem to convince the president’s supporters of that.

During a conversation with IndieWire about his upcoming film “Sovereign,” Offerman was asked about the legacy of his beloved, libertarian “Parks and Rec” character and having to constantly debunk people on the right assuming he would side with them on issue. Although it’s something he always believed true, Offerman revealed he went to the character’s creator Mike Schur just to confirm.

“Ron Swanson, a wonderful creation from much more brilliant minds than my own, people hold up for the wrong reasons, and take their own reading of this true Libertarian who was cool with everybody,” Offerman said. “And they somehow say, ‘Well, he had a shotgun, so he must be one of us.’ Like, dumb people insist that Ron...

Nick Offerman said in an interview with IndieWire while promoting his film “Sovereignty” that only “dumb people” think Ron Swanson, his beloved “Parks and Recreation” character, is a Donald Trump supporter. Offerman played Ron on all seven seasons of the NBC sitcom, which ran for 126 episodes between 2009 and 2015. The actor said that Maga supporters think Ron “must be one of us” just because he has a shotgun or something.

“Dumb people insist that Ron Swanson would’ve voted for Trump. And I don’t deign to answer myself,” Offerman said. “I take it to Mike Schur, the main creator of Ron, and he said, ‘Swanson would’ve despised Trump, because Ron loved capitalism. And Trump made the stupidest move you could make as a capitalist, which is to go into public service.'”

“He would think he’s an absolute idiot,” Offerman continued about Ron’s thoughts on Trump. “He...

Sitcoms have long been a comfort for many, with their quirky characters, humorous storylines, and offering a sense of connection with the world unfolding on their TV screens. However, despite their charm and bright energy, one aspect of these sitcoms continued to irk the audience: the canned laughter.

Since the beginning, laugh tracks have become an integral part of sitcoms. However, not everyone is overly fond of them. Many find it distracting and even frustrating, ruining the experience of some of the biggest hits like The Big Bang Theory. However, over time, creators and the industry have begun to rely more on comedic timing, hilarious acting, and spot-on humor rather than soundtracks, proving that a well-written and smart sitcom never needs to rely on built-in laughter.

1. The Office (2005 – 2013)

The Office (US) redefined the look and feel of sitcoms with its mockumentary-style narration. And one of the many steps it took...

The 2025 Humanitas Prize nominations have been announced, once again honoring television and film writers who masterfully explore the depth of the human experience. This year’s awards will be presented at a Sept. 7 ceremony in Hollywood hosted by actress and comedian Fortune Feimster.

On the TV side, drama nominees include Emmy contenders The Pitt, The Last of Us, The Handmaid's Tale, and Brilliant Minds. Comedy contenders include The Studio, The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, A Man on the Inside, and Clean Slate. Limited series being honored include Dying for Sex, Interior Chinatown, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, and Say Nothing.

In the film categories, last year's Oscar contenders Conclave, Nickel Boys, and Sing Sing will battle it out for Best Drama Feature, while Dìdi (弟弟), My Old Ass, and A Real Pain compete in comedy. Inside Out 2, Out of My Mind, and The Wild Robot are nominated for Best Family Feature.

The Humanitas org has revealed nominations for this year’s Humanitas Prizes, which will reveal winners at Avalon Hollywood on Sept. 7, hosted by actress/writer/comedian Fortune Feimster. Among the nominees on the TV side are “The Pitt,” “The Last of Us” and “The Studio,” while film nods include “Inside Out 2” and “The Nickel Boys.”

Also announced on Wednesday: Gina Prince-Bythewood will join Mara Brock Akil in presenting Lena Waithe with one of Humanitas’ top honors, the Voice for Change Award. As Variety first revealed in May, Waithe was chosen for this year’s prize because it “honors those who have created or championed visionary and courageous storytelling.”

A nonprofit that seeks to “honor and empower writers of film and television exploring the human experience,” Humanitas last year honored projects including “Hacks,” “Fellow Travelers,” “Black Cake” and Ava DuVernay‘s “Origin.”

The Humanitas Prizes are for film and television...

Before Jackée Harry ever hit Days of Our Lives, she starred in hit TV comedies like 227 and Sister, Sister. And since entering the soap world, she has continued to appear in projects outside the daytime universe. Now comes word that she’s joining the cast of a successful Netflix comedy starring Ted Danson. Here’s what we know…

Jackée Joins Man on the Inside

Deadline was the first to report that Harry will guest star in the second season of Netflix’s A Man on the Inside. The comedy stars Ted Danson, who plays “a retired man who gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad from a Pi and becomes a mole in a secret investigation.”

The details of Harry’s character are being kept under wraps. However, Deadline states that the actress could potentially return should the show get renewed for a third season.

“Days of our Lives” star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price-Carver) will appear as a guest star on the Netflix comedy “A Man on the Inside,” starring Ted Danson (“Cheers”), when it returns for Season 2 later this year on the streaming service.

While details on the character she’ll be playing are being kept under wraps, Deadline, which first reported the news, says that Harry could return for more episodes should the show be renewed for a third season.

Based on the documentary “The Mole Agent,” which received an Oscar nomination in 2021 for Best Documentary Feature, the series follows retiree Charles (Danson), who gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad from a Pi and becomes a mole in a secret investigation.

Per Deadline, Season 2 of the show will follow an anthology format with Charles tackling a new case each season. In Season 2, he’ll go undercover at a college as a guest lecturer,...

Exclusive: Emmy winner Jackée Harry (227) is set for a guest-starring role on Season 2 of Netflix’s comedy A Man on the Inside, starring Ted Danson.

Created by Mike Schur, A Man on the Inside centers on Charles (Danson), a retired man who gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad from a Pi and becomes a mole in a secret investigation.

Harry’s role is being kept under wraps. She could potentially return in Season 3.

The series is taking on an anthology format, with Charles tackling a new case each season. In Season 1, he went undercover at a retirement home. Season 2 will see him sleuthing at a liberal arts college, sources said.

The new destination was telegraphed at the end of Season 1 when Charles, a retired college engineering professor, started offering his services as a guest lecturer.

A Man on the Inside is based on The Mole Agent,...

Steve Carell may have bid adieu to his Dunder Mifflin days, but The Office’s legacy keeps finding clever ways to seep into his post-Scranton career- even in an unrelated movie like Crazy, Stupid, Love. Now streaming on Netflix, the 2011 ensemble rom-com features a rather unanticipated Easter egg that only hardcore fans of The Office would recognize.

It’s not forced, it’s not loud, or chaotic (unlike Dunder Mifflin’s unruly office dynamics). It’s a blink-and-miss reference that proves, once and for all, Carell can never truly escape his Michael Scott legacy, and maybe that’s not the worst thing.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.’s Sly The Office Gag

In a hilarious scene from Crazy, Stupid, Love., sharp-eyed fans noticed a familiar phrase quietly woven into Emily Weaver’s (Julianne Moore) office nameplate. The designation on it read: Associate to the Vice President (via IMDb Trivia). Now, that may...

It's been a meme for years -- don't get too attached to that new streaming series you discovered, because it likely won't be back for another season. Netflix has been the worst perpetrator, building a reputation for two-season shows that rarely last longer (look no further than the cancellation of "Warrior Nun"). However, over the years, other streaming platforms have earned similarly grim reputations. How many "Star Wars" shows never got sophomore orders? HBO Max subscribers, I'm pouring one out for "Scavengers Reign." Even the streamers backed by more robust business models -- the ones that typically let big shows run longer -- have hit the problem. "My lady Jane" fans, I see you. "Schmigadoon"? Gone too soon. 

It certainly feels like streaming is a less concrete venue for scripted television than traditional, linear TV used to be, and the data backs that up. But why? Why is it so...

In the modern era of streaming services dominating the television landscape, it can be difficult to find something to watch. This is especially true if you're not one to keep up with great shows as they're airing, as many of the best binge-worthy TV shows to watch can become buried in endless libraries of content, both new and old. With Apple TV+ ruling the cultural moment with shows like "Severance" and "The Studio," you may have forgotten a time not too long ago when all the best shows were on Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon Prime Video might be a go-to streaming service when you're looking for the latest theatrical release that's hit digital, but there are also plenty of underrated TV shows on Prime Video you've probably never seen. Additionally, shows from Amazon Prime Video have also swept at the Emmys and racked up some of the highest budgets in modern-day TV.

Rainn Wilson says The Office entered “a little bit chaotic” phase once Steve Carell walked away in 2011, recalling on the June 19 episode of Josh Peck and Ben Soffer’s Good Guys podcast that writers and actors scrambled to recalibrate a show suddenly without its “comic engine.” The Dwight Schrute actor stressed the turmoil was expected—Carell’s film résumé was exploding—yet still forced the team to hunt for a new tone and de-facto lead during seasons 8 and 9.

Viewers noticed. Average U.S. live audiences slipped from about 7.3 million in Carell’s final run to 5.3 million the following year, according to Nielsen figures compiled by fan archivists. Critics were mixed, and Wilson now concedes the storytelling “struggle” persisted despite headline-grabbing guest bosses like Will Ferrell and James Spader.

Not everyone agrees the post-Michael era faltered. Jenna Fischer recently told listeners of her Office Ladies podcast that the series “stayed strong the whole time,...

2005 to 2012 was very much a golden era for "Saturday Night Live", and a big part of that can be credited to Andy Samberg. He and his "Lonely Island" crew, made up of Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, brought the show into the digital age. They made digital shorts a cornerstone of modern "SNL," and they've cursed the new "Please Don't Destroy" trio to forever live in their shadow.

While Samberg was most famous for his digital material, he still showed up constantly in live sketches throughout his tenure. My personal favorite is his Larry the Goose, a "Weekend Update" recurring character who doesn't think the Miracle on the Hudson in 2009 was a miracle at all:

But despite Samberg being such an important cast member during his seven seasons on the show, in 2012 he officially called it quits. He departed at the end of season 37, a year after his fellow "Lonely...

With 94 submissions, this year's Best Comedy Writing category at the Emmys will have six finalists when the nominations are announced July 15.

As expected, there are many single submissions from many of these front-runners, with no series entering more than two installments. But what may come as a surprise is the number of writers credited for scripting each episode — The Studio, for instance, has five writers for its entry. This, of course, does not matter in terms of voting, as writers are not listed on the ballot, but it’s an interesting side note to see how many scribes it takes to make people laugh.

This is a category that often defies conventional wisdom. Voters often gravitate towards shows that are less represented, such as last year when the branch nominated two canceled programs over others that were nominated for Best Comedy Series.

While there are often surprises here, this year the reigning champion,...

"Abbott Elementary" is one of the biggest comedies currently on TV, but it's far from the most unique show. Created by and starring comedian Quinta Brunson, it's a mockumentary sitcom documenting the lives of an eclectic group of teachers at the titular West Philadelphian elementary school, with the main characters of "Abbott Elementary" including eager-to-please Janine (Brunson), old-fashioned Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), substitute Gregory (Tyler James Williams), and incompetent principal Ava (Janelle James). 

If you're already ahead on the fact that "Abbott Elementary" is must-watch TV, then you're probably already aware of some of these other similar sitcoms. Whether it's because they're also set at schools, are also in the mockumentary format, or includes characters that are also charming and wholesome, many of these shows are spiritual predecessors to "Abbott." If you've seen the ABC show but not these, add these shows like "Abbott Elementary" to your watchlist as soon as possible,...

Apple TV+’s ad campaign that featured Martin Herlihy, a Saturday Night Live cast member, has been pulled merely a day after it first released. The campaign was supposed to be a noteworthy collaboration between Apple TV+ and SNL talent, the first of many.

It was made live on select digital channels, but was suddenly removed without a notice or official reasons given by SNL or Apple TV+. This seems to have fuelled speculations across channels. Let’s have a look at what we know.

SNL star Martin Herlihy’s ad was taken down just one day after its release

Martin Herlihy, who is a part of the comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy, had recently collaborated on a brand video for Apple TV+. The premiere of the ad was done quietly, which seemed likely to be a prequel for a content release or some kind of streaming event.

Martin Herlihy...

Rashida Jones is known as a powerhouse creator in the Hollywood industry. She has acted in several iconic, Emmy-nominated series and projects, including The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Silo. This Emmy season, she wowed audiences with one of the best performances of her career in the science-fiction anthology series Black Mirror. Jones played a lead in the episode “Common People”; however, her acting in this role is anything but ordinary.

Despite this impressive body of work, Jones has never won an Emmy and has only received one nomination for producing the Netflix documentary Hot Girls Wanted in 2015. However, as a creator, Jones has reached some impressive heights. In 2018, the documentary about her father, iconic music producer Quincy Jones, titled Quincy, which she codirected with Alan Hicks, won a Grammy for Best Music Film. In 2024, her short documentary Swim Lesson was shortlisted for the Oscars.

Jones’s connection to Black Mirror...

If you’re a fan of thriller shows, Sunny on Apple TV+, with a 90% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, is something you cannot miss. The show stars Rashida Jones in the role of Suzie Sakamoto, who is a grieving mother. The show has a futuristic setting and is set in Kyoto, Japan.

It is a blend of dark comedy sci-fi and And unexpected surge of emotional depth. The show first debuted in July 2024 and had a run of 10 episodes. Even though the show ended on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger, the channel decided to pull the plug on it and not renew it for a second season.

Sunny is a high-octane thriller wrapped in AI intrigue

There were strong reviews and honest enthusiasm by the fans for the first season of the show, and it left us thinking what could have been if you had overlooked the show. This is your cue to watch it.

We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2025 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 12 to June 23, with the official Emmy nominations announced Tuesday, July 15. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 18 and ends the night of August 27. The 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 14, and air live on CBS at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.

The State of the Race

There are a couple categories that are brutal this year because they lost one nomination slot, and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is one of them. Funny enough, the whole reason the category had six nomination slots last year was because there was a tie. That is not something contenders can count on, though it is...

I'm not breaking new ground when I say that Adam Scott is excellent on "Severance." This isn't a hot take; it's decidedly room-temperature. Technically, Scott plays two characters on Dan Erickson's twisted take on a "workplace comedy," even though they are the same person: Mark Scout, a miserable man who lost his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman) in a tragic car accident, and to deal with his overwhelming grief, who takes a job at Lumon Industries that offers a procedure called "severance" that splits his consciousness into two distinct parts. When he leaves work, he's stuck being plain old Mark Scout, but at work, on the "severed" floor, he's Mark S., a willing acolyte of Lumon who has no idea that he ever had a wife, let alone lost one.

As his innie (Mark S.) and outie (Mark Scout), Scott delivers one of his very best performances; in the show's critically adored sophomore season,...

The minute fans hear “found footage,” they jump to the big names of the genre — The Blair Witch Projectcomes to mind. Now, a new film has emerged that will challenge what a found footage film can do: Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project. A mockumentary, the film challenges our ideas of what a found footage film is and, as director Max Tzannes told Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, this one switches genres and becomes something entirely unique. But you can see for yourself when the film has a limited theatrical release on June 20. Collider is thrilled to bring you a preview of the film and an exclusive sneak peek below.

Nemiroff spoke with Tzannes prior to the film’s release. After its brief theatrical release, audiences can watch Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project digitally in North America on June 24 and in the UK on June 30. "It's...

Ted Dansonand The Good Placecreator Mike Schur teamed up again for the Netflix series A Man on the Insideand fans praised Season 1. When a retired professor named Charles (Danson) gets hired to investigate a retirement home, not everything goes to plan, but he does find a new lease on life. Part of that new lease for Season 2 is going to be a new love interest for Charlie, played by Danson's real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen. And while on a recent episode of his podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Danson spoke about working with Steenburgen again.

“It's just magical,” the former star of Cheerssaid of Steenburgen. “We're falling in love. The story evolves, but I'm just head over heels. My character is in love with her, and to sit there on camera and look into your wife's eyes — and we're nauseatingly in love in private life — and just disappear into her...

Exclusive: Luna Sofía Miranda, who most recently starred in multi Oscar winner Anora, has boarded the coming-of-age sex comedy Youthful Pleasures along with Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Drama Desk nominee Brendan George (A Eulogy for Roman), Emily Adams and John Filmanowicz.

The Rex Provost directed and written movie was shot in Vermont and New York and reps his feature directorial debut. The feature is a follow up to Provost’s short of the same name, which was honored as an inaugural Proof Film Festival selection in 2023. George, Adams, and Filmanowicz are also reprising their roles in the feature.

Youthful Pleasures follows four estranged childhood companions who attempt to recreate a perfect weekend from their past while waiting for their friend who spends too much time self-indulging in himself (to put it politely) in his grandmother’s home.

Provost is an award-winning writer and director based in Brooklyn, NY.

Happy endings aren’t as easy to pull off as they seem. Storytellers can’t just give the audience what they want and call it a day; they have to make sure their characters earn the uplift; they have to show the work they’ve done to get there; they have to build significance into those final moments so everyone can share in the good vibes.

Just look at “A Man on the Inside.” At the start of the first season, Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson) is a grieving widower who’s so lonely he comes out of retirement to take on a new job as a spy for a private investigator. Charles is just looking to fill the days, perhaps by doing a little good, but mainly because the gig sounds fun and exciting — two qualities missing from his quiet, empty house. Before, he was an engineering professor. Now, he...

For nearly a decade, The Office graced the television screens, captivating fans with its dry humor, quirky characters, and one of the most iconic bosses in sitcom history, Michael Scott. When The Office reached its 2013 finale, fans were eager to see how the series would conclude the stories of its unforgettable characters. The most unexpected moment was Michael’s return, who had quietly left Dunder Mifflin at the end of season 7.

His character evolved from a bumbling regional manager to a man who, in his own clumsy way, found love and a sense of personal growth. He returned for the show’s 2013 series finale, and it was a satisfying moment for many fans. However, the original plan of his return threatened to undo all that progress, even Steve Carell agrees.

Michael Scott’s big return in The Office finale would have been a disaster Steve Carell’s Michael Scott in...

If you somehow missed "The Good Place," an existential afterlife comedy from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "Parks and Recreation" creator Michael Schur, I implore you to fix that immediately. The series premiered in September of 2016 and introduced audiences to Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper), Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil), and "Jianyu," whose real name is Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto in arguably his best role). When these four humans die on Earth, they end up in an afterlife that they're told is the "Good Place" by the specific "heavenly" neighborhood's architect, Michael (Ted Danson). Michael, who's flanked by his not-a-robot, not-a-girl assistant Janet (D'Arcy Carden), guides Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason through this seemingly idyllic celestial neighborhood, until a twist late in the show's first season reveals something absolutely enormous. Also, there is a Bad Place, and Michael says the core four do not want to end up there.

The Office found worldwide fame and critical acclaim for being an iconic piece of television, which ran for 8 years. Mike Schur, who is credited with being the writer for The Office, went on to create bigger and better projects like The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

However, Mike Schur also served as one of the writers of Saturday Night Live, and after The Office had found worldwide acclaim, a parody sketch of the American show was created and shared on YouTube. The sketch had American stars portraying famous characters from The Office, but the only thing was that they were speaking Japanese and eating ramen!

Mike Schur hated The Office SNL Parody

Saturday Night Live has been running on television since 1975, and they frequently do parodies of famous pop culture events and shows that have been gaining the attention of the world.

Mike Schur is the creator of shows like...

While the US version of The Office is practically adapted from the UK version starring Ricky Gervais, the two titular characters, Michael Scott and David Brent, couldn’t be more different. And it was all part of Steve Carell’s plan, as the actor refused to binge-watch The Office UK before stepping into Michael Scott’s squeaky shoes.

Unlike the British version that gave us Ricky Gervais as the awkward and arrogant David Brent, Carell took a different route. Steve Carell made Michael Scott not just clueless, but oddly lovable—a boss you’d roll your eyes at but secretly miss when he’s gone. And it was all possible because Carell intentionally avoided watching Gervais and instead took his advice.

Steve Carell refused to watch The Office UK before his Michael Scott auditions

Steve Carell is no Toby Flenderson—he doesn’t follow the rules just because they exist.

In The Good Place, Mike Schur and his writing team managed to do something truly rare in sitcom history, make philosophy hilarious, ethics emotional, and even bad writing brilliantly funny. But in one standout episode, namely, A Chip Driver Mystery, the show went from clever to genius.

When the character Brent, a self-absorbed, entitled dude with all the worst traits of mediocre confidence, pens a painfully cliche detective novel, the satire hits peak brilliance.

The scene is a perfect roast of how certain men write women in fiction. It’s awkward, exaggerated, and somehow still feels too real. Schur doesn’t only poke fun, he exposes the weirdly persistent tropes that plague female characters in male-authored stories, and turns Brent’s oblivious sexism into one of the sharpest moments in the show that is very rarely seen on TV.

This is how The Good Place roasts how men write women,...

Parks and Rec might never have become the beloved sitcom it is today if not for a gutsy move made behind the scenes. At the center of it all was Mike Schur, a figure known for crafting smart and heartfelt comedies like The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place.

Just as the show was getting off the ground, Schur and his co-creator Greg Daniels made one crucial decision during the show’s development that could’ve cost them everything. They sacrificed nearly half a season’s episodes just to sign one actor. And maybe that’s why the beloved sitcom became a comedy classic with Amy Poehler as the lead.

Mike Schur risked Parks and Rec to land Amy Poehler Mike Schur in the Amy Poehler podcast | Credit: Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast/YouTube

On a recent episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Amy Poehler and Michael Schur...

Skip Intro with Krista Smith is an award-winning show, bringing you dynamic conversations with the exceptional people behind your favorite shows, films, specials, and documentaries on Netflix.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Ted Danson has appeared as a regular in more television shows than any other actor to date — from classics like Cheers and Becker, to more recent hits like The Good Place and A Man on the Inside.

Danson shares what drew him most to A Man on the Inside, his deep appreciation for writer-director Michael Schur, and what continues to inspire him to work at age 77.

The actor also reveals how he's dealt with his relationship to fame over the years and his long commitment to ocean conservation work.

Video episodes available on Still Watching Netflix YouTube Channel.

Rashida Jones is no stranger to the Black Mirror universe. From co-writing...

Not only does Nick Offerman not have any time or patience for homophobia, but he also wants viewers to know that Ron Swanson, his conservative “Parks and Recreation” character, doesn’t either.

Michael Flynn Jr., a self-described “patriot” and the son of retired United States Army lieutenant general and former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, tweeted Monday an edited Gif of Swanson throwing a Pride flag into a dumpster with the caption, “Just wanted to post how I feel about ‘pride’ month.”

The tweet drew a sharp response from Offerman himself, who coldly reminded Flynn, “Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb f—k. #HappyPride”

Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb fuck. #HappyPride https://t.co/mSlELkUvDY

— Nick Offerman (@Nick_Offerman) June 2, 2025

In “Parks and Recreation,” Swanson is a staunch but sensible conservative who occasionally gets in political disagreements with his progressive coworker,...

The 85th Annual Peabody Awards offered a night where truth was the headliner, courage was the theme, and storytelling wasn’t just celebrated—it was revered.

Roy Wood Jr., host of the American adaptation of Have I Got News for You on CNN, emceed this year's award show, held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on June 1. "This is a little different from [hosting] the White House Correspondents' Dinner or the Writers Guild Awards,” Wood told Gold Derby before the show. “These people here tonight have told very serious stories about very serious things. I have a degree in journalism, so a night like this is just special to me on a lot of levels."

The Peabody Awards touched on everything from the personal trauma of transitioning (Will & Harper) to the institutional failures behind the Pulse nightclub shooting (Pulse: The Untold Story). From war zones in Gaza to privatized prison walls, the...

Mike Schur has built his career around stories that are really hilarious. From the small-town parks department in Parks and Recreation to the moral mayhem of the afterlife in The Good Place. Following that, he’s turned his lens towards a quieter, often overlooked chapter of life, that is, old age.

His Netflix series, A Man on the Inside, trades punchlines for poignancy without losing any of the charm fans expected. Set in a retirement community, it’s a deeply human story about rediscovery, old age, and relationships. It quietly highlights everything that’s gone wrong with modern television.

Mike Schur’s Netflix show A Man on the Inside tackles aging and loneliness Ted Danson as Charles in A Man on the Inside Credit: Netflix

A Man on the Inside, which premiered in 2024, stars Ted Danson as Charles, a lonely widower and retired professor who is recruited to go undercover...

After announcing its full list of winners last month, the Peabody Awards celebrated those honorees in person Sunday night with a ceremony hosted by Roy Wood Jr. in Los Angeles.

The comedian kicked things off inside the Beverly Wilshire by joking, “Last year’s host was Kumail Nanjiani, so that is back-to-back years with a minority host. The Peabodys standing up for diversity, how about that? Which means in a few months, the White House will cut their funding and so they’ll have John Mulaney, that’s on y’all.”

The event honored 34 winners across entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s

and youth, public service, and interactive and immersive programming, with a focus on storytelling that reflects the social issues and emerging voices of today. Baby Reindeer, Ripley, Shogun and Will & Harper were among the recognized Hollywood projects.

“We’re celebrating the fact that everyone in this...

Of all the brilliant pieces television writer Mike Schur has crafted to date, The Good Place is widely regarded by many as one of the best—and rightly so. Not only did it explore some of the most unexpected themes, but amidst the comedy, it also perfectly infused the moral compass that should be instilled in every human being.

That being said, when it came to his perspective on his favorite episode from the show, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. This is because Schur’s favorite wasn’t the ‘flashiest’ or most visually appealing episode from the series, but rather one that perfectly emphasized the way that ethics and morality truly work.

Mike Schur’s favorite episode from The Good Place explains true ethics and morality Season 2 Finale of The Good Place. | Credits: Netflix.

Of course, being the brainbox behind the show, it’s only understandable...

"Parks and Recreation" was originally envisioned as a spin-off of "The Office," but Greg Daniels and Michael Schur's political sitcom ultimately became its own beautiful thing, and the rest is history. Thanks to the series' ability to charm viewers, real people celebrate holidays like Galentine's Day and Treat Yo Self Day, proving that its cultural impact is real. Not only that, but the success of "Parks and Recreation" prepared Chris Pratt for "Guardians of the Galaxy," and the other cast members have enjoyed further success in their own right. That said, fans of the show would love to see them reunite — but don't expect to see them in a show called "Philly Justice."

If you've heard of "Philly Justice" and assumed it's a planned spin-off of "Parks and Recreation," it's because an in-joke by the cast of Daniels and Schur's sitcom has taken on a life of its own.

In the golden era of streaming, it’s easy to miss out on television gems that never really got their due. One such overlooked gem is Angie Tribeca. Created by the comedy legend Steve Carell along with his wife, Nancy Carellan, the show is an unruly parody of crime dramas. The show premiered in 2016: it starred Rashida Jones as a deadpan cop navigating an exaggerated world of clichés, crime, and chaos.

Angie Tribeca stands as one of the most critically acclaimed police drama comedies of its time- yet, surprisingly, remains immensely underwatched by the mainstream audience. While shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine have mastered the witty and warm sitcom format, Angie Tribeca dared to push boundaries with surrealism, slapstick, and satirical genius. Think of it as the grown-up, zany cousin of B99.

Steve Carell’s Angie Tribeca is a riotous parody

Right from its pilot, Angie Tribeca makes one thing...

The rituals of pitching, the magic of casting and the joy of working with mature actors were among the subjects tackled in a panel session featuring five showrunners who steer high-wattage series for Netflix.

Mara Brock Akil (“Forever”), Mindy Kaling (“Running Point”), Molly Smith Metzler (“Sirens”), Eric Newman and Michael Schur (“A Man on the Inside”) gathered May 20 at Netflix’s Tudum Theater in Hollywood to talk shop and compare notes. The session was moderated by Peter Friedlander, Netflix’s head of scripted series for the U.S. and Canada.

The event came on a momentous day for Akil, as it fell on her birthday, and at a heady time for Schur, who celebrated the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last week.

“I did not, in all honesty, know that writers were eligible. So when I got that call, I assumed it was a prank of some kind,...

Rainn Wilson should not have picked up directing. If he hadn’t, his legacy as Dwight Schrute wouldn’t have sustained such a grievous injury as that of directing the worst-rated episode in The Office.

Since the episode takes place during season 8 of the show, Steve Carell was missed heavily as Michael Scott in that episode. The iconic actor wasn’t there to handle the shenanigans that occurred in the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and as a result, episode 19 of season 8 of The Office is hailed as the worst-rated episode from the show.

Rainn Wilson’s spotless legacy took a hit in The Office

It was 2005 when the first episode of The Office premiered, starring Steve Carell in the iconic role of Michael Scott. Alongside Scott, Rain Wilson portrayed the role of Dwight Schrute, assistant *to* the regional manager in the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

As the series grew, Dwight...

Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in ‘Hacks’ season 4 (Photograph by Courtesy of Max)

Was there ever any doubt that Max would renew Hacks for season five as long as Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder were game? Max (soon to be HBO Max again) made it official, confirming the critically acclaimed, award-winning series will be returning for a fifth season. The announcement came just one day prior to season four’s finale.

“Like Deborah Vance herself, Hacks only gets bolder, sharper, and more iconic with time. We’re beyond thrilled to keep the laughter rolling with Jen, Paul, Lucia, our extraordinary cast and crew, and our partners at Max,” stated Erin Underhill, President of Universal Television.

Six-time Emmy winner Jean Smart stars as Deborah Vance and Critics Choice Award winner Hannah Einbinder stars as Ava. The season four cast also includes Emmy winner Paul W. Downs, SAG Award nominee Megan Stalter,...

For a show built on small-town charm and scrappy ambition, Parks and Rec rarely missed a step. It was a clever and optimistic representation of public service and the everyday people who make things happen. But every great sitcom has a turning point, where things quietly start to slip.

With Parks and Rec, it didn’t come in a big, dramatic moment or during a flashy episode. Somewhere between laughs and an absurd hall meeting, it made quite a shift so subtle that most viewers didn’t catch it at first. This one choice steadily pulled the series away from what made it great. And, it all began in the Season 3 finale.

The moment when Parks and Rec lost its way Amy Poehler and Adam Scott in the Parks and Rec season 3 finale episode | Credit: NBC

At first glance, Li’l Sebastian appears to be peak Parks and Recreation, driven...

Running for a successful 9 seasons, The Office has long been regarded as one of the best sitcoms of its time. Now, the workplace comedy universe surrounding the paper company is set to expand further with the upcoming spinoff series titled The Paper. And with this continued expansion, perhaps it’s also time for NBC to reconsider another canceled spinoff.

Before The Paper, there were already plans for a different spinoff centered around the Schrute family farm, with Rainn Wilson set to reprise his role as Dwight Schrute. The project, known as The Farm, was ultimately canceled by NBC before it could move forward.

The Office star Rainn Wilson nearly got his own series

Amid the successful run of The Office, reports revealed plans for a spinoff that would have taken viewers from the familiar Dunder Mifflin office to the frequently visited Schrute family farm.

Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute | Credit: NBC

Paul Lieberstein,...

Max has renewed the multi-Emmy-winning comedy series Hacks for a fifth season ahead of the season four finale, debuting this Thursday, May 29, at 6:00 p.m. Pt/9:00 p.m. Et. Over the course of its run, the series has garnered 48 Emmy nominations, including a season three win for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Hacks has been a top-five series on Max (soon to be called HBO Max) since its season four debut in the U.S. and a top 10 series globally. Season four has been pacing as the series’ best season yet, achieving both domestic and global week-over-week growth every week so far this season.

“Yes! More! We congratulate Hacks’ singularly talented cast and crew and our great partners at Universal Television,” said Sarah Aubrey, Head of Max Original Programming. The show’s studio is Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Erin Underhill, President of Universal Television, added: “Like Deborah Vance herself,...

Hacks is entering the record books at Max.

The streamer has renewed the series for a fifth season, which will make Hacks the longest-running live-action show in Max’s (admittedly not very long) history. Series creators and showrunnners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky announced the renewal Tuesday evening at an Emmy FYC screening in Los Angeles.

The pickup for the Emmy-winning comedy from Universal Television comes two days before its fourth season finale. The current season has seen Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) realize her dream of hosting a late-night talk show — though with more strings attached than she would like — with Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) as her head writer.

Hacks premiered in May 2021, when the streaming service where it runs was known as HBO Max. It has continued since the platform changed its name to Max in April 2023 — and with the renewal, season five will stream on...