Helming two of the highest-rating sitcoms in America, he’s got to be doing something right.
The exec producer told Esquire some handy hints…
Think about the plots carefully:
‘Stories should be about these characters trying to make it through the day.’
‘The obstacles in [their] path – that’s where the comedy comes from. You can start any story with the seven deadly sins. We all fall prey to those.’
Humour should come from the stories and not vice versa:
‘If you start with a joke, it never can rise above glib.’
Say no to pop culture references:
'Remember the Newt Gingrich jokes on Murphy Brown? You can feel the dust blowing off of them.'
Don’t let your actors improvise:
'We do 24 shows a year and actors are going to ad-lib their way to success? I don't think so.'
...and always use a live audience, not a laughter track:
‘I didn’t use one on Roseanne 20 years ago, and I’m not doing it now.
‘I have a live audience that comes in to watch the show. If they don’t laugh, in the silence you can hear your career going by. We rewrite the material on the spot or cut it.
‘If it’s not funny in front of 200 human beings, it’s probably not funny at home.’
Lorre’s latest sitcom venture Mike & Molly stars Bill Gardell and Melissa McCarthy (Samantha Who?) as two lost overweight souls who find each other at Overeaters Anonymous.
Copyright : Comedy Central UK