Not Skinny But Not Fat - Scrubs & Shrinking Creator Bill Lawrence and Christa Miller Talk Hollywood, Married Life, and Nepo BBs

Episode Date: February 7, 2023

What do Scrubs, Ted Lasso, Cougar Town and Apple TV’s amazing new show Shrinking have in common? They were co-created and executive produced by Bill Lawrence! Today Bill and his talented wife, actress Christa Miller who you also know from Scrubs, Cougar Town, & Shrinking join me on the pod! They get real on what it's like to be married and work on a show together, plus we talk about working with Jason Segel & Harrison Ford, what Bill did with Zach Braff’s first script he sent him and more! Produced by Dear Media This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Hey guys, it's me, Kressel Lim, co-founder and CMO of Bumo. As a busy working parent myself, I felt like there was a lack of options for parents, and I personally needed more support. So that's what we're doing here on Being Bumo. We're here to make your life easier, a little less stressful, and help you navigate through this complex thing called Parenting. So subscribe now to Being Bumo at Applepodcast.com slash Being Bumo,

or wherever you listen to podcast. Oh, got to go. See you guys soon. This is Amanda Hirsch from the Not Skinny but Not Fat podcast. You might know me from Not Skinny Bonap on Instagram where I spend my time talking about reality TV, celebrities, everything happening and pop culture. I also talk to some of our favorite celebs and reality TV stars. We talk about what's going on. Tune in every Tuesday and just feel like you're talking to go with your best friends in your living room. Okay, hi, guys.

I'm so excited about today's episode. I usually don't do intros, but I feel like I just want to do a quick intro for these two guests. So Bill Lawrence is the co-creator of, shows like Scrubs, Ted Lasso, Cougar Town, and now the amazing new show on Apple TV called Shrinking. Bill Lawrence is incredible. Every show he's ever made him obsessed with. Weirdly, he follows me on Instagram, and I remember when I found out, I was like, oh, my God, because he's, you know, so cool and makes such great TV.

And his wife, Krista Miller, who plays Jordan and Scrubs, also was in Cougar Town. Now she plays Liz and Trinking on Apple TV. also such a gem of a human. I really feel like I'm part of this family or I want to be part of this family. So they are on the podcast today, Bill Lawrence and Krista Miller talking about trinking on Apple TV but also just talking about everything like

I just wanted to know everything from him. Like what, you know, what does it even mean to produce, create like how did Ted Lassoe come about? How did Trinking come about, you know, casting his wife and these things? What is it like working together? The NEPO baby conversation. because Charlotte Lawrence, their daughter is super famous and, you know, runs in the circles.

So enjoy. I just wanted to give a little background because I think I want to talk just about drinking, but I ended up having so many questions. But honestly, like, I've been watching a lot of TV lately. Watching shrinking just reminded me I'm going to sound like Harry Stiles when he said, you know, it's like a movie. This is like a show. We like to watch Dom Reilly TV.

We like to watch like teen drama. Like, we like all that. it, but shrinking just brings it back to like quality television, amazing acting, actors like Jason Segal, Harrison Ford, and Krista Miller, and amazing new young actors that blew me away, a storyline that is just chef's kiss that has emotion, vulnerability, mental health, just everything, friendship, everything in it. I just wish I, you know, was in the writer's room, or I want to be part of it, and this is the closest I can get. So Bill Lawrence and Krista Miller, enjoy. Hi, Bill. I don't like how

you guys seem way too close too fast and I'll like it. And it's nice to me too, by the way. I know. It's so good to meet you. I need to tell Krista if you didn't yet because I'll always remember how I first, because it's such a random for Bill to follow me. Like, isn't that random? It was a little, by the way, but you know what it is? I've been doing this for a long time and most of the content and stuff that you do is usually bathes in snark rather than kindness. And it's going to sound corny, but I'm a big kindness guy.

It's kind of one of the things in my work. So I just got the, and I love Hollywood. I love all this stuff. So I got sucked in very quick. I love that. Thank you. He was so funny.

So I, before, this was like a while ago. I don't know how I was like talking about scrubs. Or I was talking maybe about like couples you didn't, you didn't know about or like, something. And yeah, I was late to the game. I was like, did you know that Krista Miller from Scrubs is married to Bill Lawrence, the creator? So I posted a picture of you too that I quickly

Googled because everything I do is like quick and ugly usually. I took like the first photo and it wasn't according to Bill his favorite photo. So I believe this is a quote. He responded to that because at the time I didn't even know. Maybe that's even how you found me. He wrote, Could you, you couldn't find a fatter picture. And I was so caught up guard that I, I lolled really hard and felt a little bad because then I realized that I didn't even look at him and it probably wasn't the most flattering photo

and I could have done better. Cute though. You looked at, see, that's what matters. You were looking at me. Yeah. Girl power. This is not a good way to start. Bill, you're fine.

But that's how it happened. And I appreciate your guys, your support and everything. It's such a cool, cool thing because I'm such a huge fan of both of your work. It's fun to watch, by the way, your thing get bigger and bigger. I'm rarely at this stage, minute, in my life and career on the ground floor of things. But just by the weird casualness with how that started, I got to kind of watch this goes from being small to being a big, like overnight almost. It must have blown you away a little bit, too.

I mean you know how that like overnight thing is like it's not really I know it's not really over yeah I know it's not really hard yeah it's really hard yeah but it's one of those things where yeah it caught it it it maybe got like quicker but I have to tell you I'm the type of person that it kind of freaks me out when it like things grow that's why I stay up TikTok because like that's where you really like it just scares me it just feels like Too much. So I like a kind of gradual, gradual vibe. But anyway, I'm so excited, you guys, on my show today, I have Bill Lawrence and Krista Miller. Bill is the creator and executive producers on shows like Cougartown, Scrubs, Ted Lasso, and now shrinking on Apple TV, which I'm obsessed

with, Krista Miller, actress and music supervisor, hello, like add that to the title, so everybody knows, on shows like Scrubs, Cougar Town, and Shrinking, which you. you are so amazing in i was telling christ before you joined bill that like from the trailer with you guys jumping down i didn't know like what the roles are going to be i didn't know who was going to play who i mean i knew that jason seagull will play the therapist but i wasn't sure what your role will be and i love how big of a part you have in the show and how you're the nagged neighbor bill did you get any info from christa i rl i was always wondering i was like is he like where Where does character come from?

I do a joke that's not fair because I often say that my wife is like the character. She plays only slightly meaner in real life. And she gets madamex is not true. It's not true. Look, the thing that, and I guess I'll talk about it quick

because I told Christ I'd come clean. On the show, she plays a new empty nester who's not dealing with it well, with her kids splitting. And you know that I'm a super proud dad and crazy about my kids. We only have one kid left. The scam is I'm the one

falling apart. Chris is fine about it. I'm losing my jankies. These kids are all splitting. It's crushing me. So I stole that from myself and made her play it. So at least she's got,

maybe she has some inspiration for it. I've been very pathetic about it. Wait, so Charlotte left the house already? Charlotte, yeah, Charlotte lives in her own place. Yeah, but I told her like this weekend, I had her, I coaxed her over on Thursday with a yummy dinner and then I kept her here. I like put I took a lot all of my sweatpants and cozy t-shirts and put them in her room again like I put made all her room with all clothes in it.

Oh like a trap. I trapped her. And then in the morning made bagels and got all her favorite foods in the morning. And then she was like, oh, it's fun here and people do my wash and blah. And then she didn't lead to last night. And I think she's coming back over today. So I'll get. her in chunks. And my son goes to college in New York and I'm from New York. So it's just an excuse for me to go to New York way more often than I usually do. So I have no problem with the kids going. I'm falling apart about it. I want them to live with us forever and need us forever and not have any lives except to be at our house. That's what I want. No, that's so cute. Both of you are such doting parents. It's so sweet. I just posted Charlotte recently after I was

talking about the Nepo baby conversation, which I'm sure you hear about. And then I watched her on Haley Bebers, who's in my bathroom, and she's so cool. And she had the most perfect answer. I think I've seen this far about it. What did she say? I don't think Haley even asked her. She said, like, that's what I've been wanting, you know, these Hollywood kids to say. She said it.

She said, like, she said she's so grateful for the opportunities that she gets and she works really hard. And she, by the thing's because she said, I'm aware that I get operational. opportunities that other people would kill for. And I'm super grateful for. And I have to say like the directors on set of the show she did in Shrinking and also Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie who did Trinkings opening song, he said, when Charlotte's here, I've never had a young person come in and work so hard

and be so lovely to everyone. And on Bad Monkey, they were saying, too, she knows her lines backwards and forwards. she's such a hard worker she's other and I thought you know she goes the extra mile to kind of show up and be great yeah and she was telling the story about playing for ed sheer when she was when she was a little oh my god that that's incredible but really she seems like such a mature like such a cool cool girl he's the best you'd go crazy for her if you had her on because she's the best I know okay so tell her tell her I will tell her that I'm cool We'll make you and your guy go to her next concert if it's early enough.

Does she come to, does she do shows in New York? Yeah, she goes, the last one we played there, we were all, she did the Bowery Ballroom there. It's awesome. Oh, that's so cool. No, she has such a good voice. And what about, are your, both of your sons not into the entertainment industry at all? I got one son. Well, you go with Henry.

I've got with, well, Will's at NYU, he's way in sports and studying sports management and stuff. They're a great kid. And we have one kid left. Who I think might be president, right? I mean, he might, he kind of owns the room. He might be president. I don't know. He's the mayor of the town we live in in California.

No, not for real. He's one of those kids. We're going to want this for your own kid. He is very, we're aware of how Hollywood is, but it's funny story. So we had to go to the premiere of shrinking and he's never been to a premiere before. We don't take our kids to that stuff. But he was very excited. So he said, Mom and Charlotte have this stylist.

I'm going to, for the first time ever, have a stylist pick out and outfit. And we were both like, we, what are you going to wear? He's like, don't worry about it. And I will send you a picture of the suit he chose. It was, it's one of the, I can't describe it. It's white. It's white. And then with pink flowers all over it.

And his, he has blonde hair. And then tell him what you did into the, I had to make an opening speech. And I made him stand up. He stood up and took a bow in the audience. I said the trademark of my, My entire family is completely unearned conference. I mean, that is for his first premiere to wear something like to stand out so much.

It was so cartoony that Harrison Ford kept asking him what made him choose it. What did he say? He's like, dude, you got to go big. Oh, my God. Wow. Wow. Wait, did he ask you what you think, Krista? No, not me.

Maybe Krista. Listen, the real story is that, and so my stylist said, I found this Trees Van Notton suit on sale. And I was like, sale sounds good. And then I said, Henry's going to go nuts. And I texted him at school. And he was like, do we have that? Like, please can we have that? And so, yeah.

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thirdlove.com slash not skinny. That's 20% off your first order today at third love.com slash not skinny. I want to know more about you guys, about how you met before, before we saw you on Scrubs. I know that all happened around the same time, right? You got married in 1999, Scrubs was like 2001. You had Charlotte around that, like all of it was pretty quick. Krista was the lead of a show called the Drew Carey show. And I was doing a show.

The first show I created was called Spin City. And because of that, we're both on ABC world. That's back when everybody watched the three networks that we're on. And we had to be at all these same events over and over and over. And I think, I hope, for one of the reasons we're married and going to slam myself, as Krista was one of the first women that I became friends with before I ever dated. Because she was always dating somebody else. The meanest thing, and this is true, you're not allowed to story boss, Krista.

So she finally, right? So she was doing Judy Carey Shesman, Spin City, and I kept calling her, because she's always dating actors. I'm like, you guys, you should date a comedy writer. Enough with the other boy actress and stuff. And she called me once finally, and she goes, I've finally come around, and I've decided to date a comedy writer. And I thought it was me, Amanda. And she's like, I think you know him. And I'm like, I bet I do.

She said some guy's name I know I'm so annoying I'm like what Is that bullshit Wait but did you really start dating a comedy writer Yes She did

But the reason Just so you know The reason that we're married Is he made the mistake Of making me Forbidden fruit Because we talked all the time With your friends

And Krista called me up one day She's like Hey my boyfriend Says I can't call you And talk all the time and I literally hung up the phone I'm like, oh, I got this. Well, that's a better story

though than you being her first comedy writer. Yeah. Yeah, I know. It still sucked. I feel like it's I mean, it's kind of, did you ever use that as info for anything? Because it's a really good... I just pretty solid. I haven't bastardized our own dating life too much

except for... I did once because the true, the only the other only reason I'm with Thursday, I had proxide blonde hair in 90. and I dressed horribly. It looked like Guy Fieti. It was really bad. And the night, my longest adult relationship,

one of my producing partners, is a six-foot-seven gay black man named Randall Winston. I always say that because he's incredibly sartorial and classy. And the night I met Krista in New York at the Mercer Kitchen, there was a big function for all these ABC TV shows. That day, Randall had taken me out. And he said, you're so poorly dressed.

We're going to get you your first suit. and change your hair and you're going to look like an adult for once. And that was the night I met Crystal. She walked in and I did, tell it, excuse me, I'll tell you two sexy things that Bill did. I walked, I was dating a tiny actor at the time. And he.

Tiny in size or tiny in size. Okay. We had size. He could have written around on her shoulder. Well, no. I think that he would have been a little heavy. Wait, can you tell me who it is? His name was, he wasn't tiny.

He was my height. His name was Grant Shod. He was on Murphy Brown. They're always tiny, right? That's what we hear about Hollywood actors. Anyway, anyway, he was in some sort of fight with ABC and he had gone to the upprints with me and we had to go to this party that my friend Jamie Tarsis was throwing at the Mercia Hotel.

And then the last minute, he's like, I'm not going. And I had to go by myself. And I remember it was raining and it was late and I didn't want to go. And I walked in, and Alan Ruck who was on Spin Cities had come say how to my cast. And I walked over. and there's handsome. And I was also getting ready to break up with Grant. And Bill stood up in this cute suit and so handsome.

I was like, oh, my God, there are other formidable handsome guys in this world. But I will say the sexy thing that Bill did. So when I broke up with the other comedy writer, I was walking around New York. And I remembered that Bill's apartment was near the Mercer Hotel at the time. And I passed by it. And I thought, I should call that handsome Bill Lawrence. And I called him up and he wasn't there. And he didn't return my call.

And that was like on a Saturday. And then I was like, you blew it. You know, you blew it with the guy because that was the guy. I saw him and I was like, that's the guy. I'm not ready for the guy yet because I had just come out, but that's the guy. And I was bummed. And then Tuesday I was back at home in Los Angeles and Bill called me up. And he said, hey, I'm returning your phone call.

I said, yeah, I was walking by your apartment. And thought of you. He goes, well, you better be single. And I said, I am. And he goes, I'm going to fly out Saturday and take you to dinner. That is sexy. Very sexy. Not bad, right?

Not bad. The downside was I was no longer, I no longer had my wardrobe consultant. And I showed up in like a really blousey shirt and slick back hair and a sweater vest. It was very bad. It wasn't good. Well, it's been, how long are you married then? 23 years that's like in Hollywood

that's like a gazillion I know it's like 140 years it's really like 140 years and especially because you guys work together so much so what is it like so Bill I want you to tell me for me and also for anyone else dummy what does it mean

to be a co-creator of a show and what does it mean to be an executive producer of a show sure all right well look in TV the most fun thing in television and you know a lot of the people that do it whether it's Shonda Rhymes or J.J. Abrams or

whatever. The cool thing is, if you're a showrunner, which is an executive producer and creator, you get to be the show runner to be doing it for a long time. And the reason so many, I think, people much cooler and more time than me, gravitate to television is unlike movies, that means that you are the head writer, you cast the show,

you edit the show. You direct the show. If you direct the show if you want to, if you don't want to, you go down and tell the directors why you get working partnerships and say, hey, I envision this scene differently or this has to be like this. You get to essentially make all of the creative decisions on the show, and generally it's a gig that if you try to do it all yourself, you go bat shit crazy and burnout. If you learn, as I did, to empower other really crazy talented people, then you can live in a world that you just do the things that you love. For me, I love

being the head writer. I love editing. I love being on set when they shoot it. But when it comes to wardrobe and production design and music and other stuff, I defer to people better at it to me. But it's a great, so much fun job. So you're on, so not only do you write it with other people also, right? Yeah, as a right staff of 10 or 12.

You're also there on set. So, Krista, when you work together, like, is he telling you what to do? Yeah, but you know what? Here's the thing. So at work, Bill is so smart, dynamic. This is going to be bad for me. No, I feel like it's going to be good. I'm like, wow, this is not for you.

Because he said at work. I think it's going to end badly when we get you. At work, Bill is smart, dynamic, sexy, knows where things are, knows where people are supposed to be, knows what people do, knows everyone's names, knows everything. And so funny, genius, I'm going to say. I've said such a pleasure to work with Bill.

I don't say anything. I'm just one of the other actors there, and I love watching Bill work. And thank God we worked together because at home, he's so dumb and annoying. Doesn't know where anything is. Wow, I do feel like that's good. Doesn't know he follows me around the house.

Like, he doesn't know how to turn the air conditioning on. Be like, it's so hot. Like, turn the air conditioning on. Like, so dumb. And so thank God. I also want to be around you too much, which is I'm learning and getting better. I'm working. It's too busy to want to be around me.

I'm just treated like just like a staff at work. I would work Krista in a baby Bjorn, but like facing me if I could. Really? At home. Wait, he's needy? Yeah. Can I just say that I feel like that's such a good solution? It's the best. For a long marriage, because if it was just home bill,

maybe we wouldn't be here today. No, it's too much. You're not wrong. It's a joke, but it's true. I'm literally one of the only husbands in the world with a strong dynamic wife who a couple days a week gets to tell her what to say, how to say it, to change something I think is wrong. To me, it's like a gift, and it makes the reality of my life at home go down a little easier.

Wow. No, that is crazy, though. I'm trying to imagine. I feel like it is good for a marriage because it's kind of like role play almost. And he's so good at what he does. He's so great at it. He also does a lovely thing at work. Like he just doesn't have you.

And I work with other people that don't have this. He has no ego. Like if you say, can I try this? He says, sure. Like once we get it in the can, and if you're, if you, the way you did it is better, which it rarely is. Bill's way is usually better, but he'll say, if it is better, he'll say, that was better, you're right at work. And also to see every, to see him move around with all the actors and help them and come up with jokes, he comes up with jokes on the spot. That's why all the actors love Bill to be on set, because he will come up with the most hilarious

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but with like a, you could tell, like, meant well underneath the bitchiness. Oh, I miss Scrubs. Why did it have to end? Can you wait? Why have to end? Grubbs reboot, Bill. No, there was a billion years. I got, we wrote 100 and, I think almost 200 episodes that show.

We just had to, I just had to do something else. It was so fun that we, by the way, but it's interesting, everybody's like, you know, reboot it. I think most shows like this, if you're not making a money grab and we're not, they reboot so you get to hang out with old friends, but we still hang out with that whole crowd anyway. Zach directed, some of, Zach directed, some of Shrinking, directed some of Ted Lassow, You still see Donald and Sarah and Johnny C all the time. Neil Flynn. Neil Flynn, Judy, we're still close with everybody.

So how did it happen that, so Jordan, so Jordan was like a cameo and then became a regular. Was it because the people loved her so much? There's a combination. We would have done it right away, but Krista was under contract still with the Drew Carey show because they almost overlapped. And that was, people don't remember, that was a huge, that had nothing to do with me, but that was a huge show back in. Oh, I used to, I used to watch it.

Where is he? Where is Drew? He's hosting the prices right. That's what he's doing with his life now. I used to watch that and whose line is it anyway. Yeah. And so he was, and so he, she was still, Krista was a regular on two shows that were on,

they were on dueling networks because Scrubs was on NBC and Drew Carey was on ABC, but Scrubs was owned by Disney slash ABC. So they let her do a bunch of episodes until the Drew Carey show ended. Oh, cool. Do you miss that character, Krista? Oh my God, it was so much fun because it was so outrageous. I mean, I was so wicked and broad and ridiculous.

You know, that show was fun that you could be so broad and be nuts. They had fantasy sequences that you're, I mean, the most, but also because everyone on Scrubs is really close friends of ours. Yeah, I know. I saw you, Bill, give a talk with Zach, and you guys told this story that I can't believe is true, but that before you kind of discovered his talents at directing and writing that he sent he gave you a script

and he found it the next day in the parking lot with like tire marks over it that's a true story so how did that happen was it like you threw it out the window oh look nutty professor no i was always kind of i just barely stayed on i'm not that organized and scrubs we shot in a desert hospital in l.a that's now a bunch of condos off of riverside and so in a real hospital? Real deserted, creepy hospital. By the way, the first year of that show, people with actual injuries would show up

because there's nurses and doctors roaming around, and it was an operating hospital until two months before we started. And so they'd show up and want stitches or whatever, and this is no bullshit. If someone was bleeding and it looked great and it would look good on camera, as long as they weren't going to die, we'd be like, you want to hang around.

You're going to be in the opening of this show because we're starting down here. you'd have blood on your face and stuff. So, yeah, this is a real hospital. Wow, who's that location supervisor that found that, like, gem of a, wow. Yeah, it was cool. And by the way, the dressing rooms were all patient's rooms and all the actors and actresses had what were on one floor, the writers were on another floor, everybody's in the same

book. It was creepy and deserted, but we had a blast. But my car was in the parking lot. Zach gave it to me at the end of a day. I said, I can't wait to read it. I put it on the roof of my car. put my stuff in the car I drove home

he finished work and when he came out his script was sitting in a puddle with tire tracks all over it and never felt worse I feel like such a small well now you can feel good

because like if he was like nothing today you'd be like I ruined but he's doing pretty well and you are you're constantly working together which is so cute I saw that he said that he runs everything by you and you like getting his input I also loved Garden State

and that he also directed some episodes of Scrubs Yeah. Well, look, I mean, not to tie this on to the stuff we're talking about, but it's been the Nepo baby thing has been so interesting to me. I feel guilty if I ever subject to my daughter to anything because I love herself. But the truth is, one of the gifts of TV and getting to do this, I'm so lucky to get to do this for a living, I go out of my way to do it with people I would want to hang out with anyways. I used to get shit for it because you'd see the same, all the actors and actresses from Spin City were in Scrubs. All the actors and actresses from Scrubs were in Cougat.

All the people, I just, if I like someone and like being around in many ways, add a gift is they're super talented. Why wouldn't you go, oh, I have to be somewhere, hold up for seven months. I'd rather do it with Zach or Busy Phillips or your wife. You know what I mean? It's just so fun. Yeah. I don't know if it's you who said this.

I heard somebody say this in an interview or podcast. The entertainment industry is super hard. that's true, but it really is an industry that, like, everyone can kind of try. You know what I mean? Like, there is room for so many different kinds of people doing different kinds of stuff. So as much as it's like super competitive and like all this shit, literally, especially with today with like social media, like you can kind of start something out of like nothing. So even though there is this like Nepo baby discussion, which I know, by the way, like when

I talk about it, like my followers are over it. Like, everyone's over the conversation. It's like, enough, especially because there's so much talent. It, like, doesn't even matter anymore. It's just, for me, it's more, like, interesting to find out, like, oh, I didn't know that so-and-so was so-and-so's parents. You know, there's that side of it.

Well, what you're talking about is more interesting, too, because if you look at the good side of Hollywood, which is a weird sentence to say, because one of the reasons I gravitated to what you do here is that understandably, there's always a lot of, crappy negative stories about toxic behavior and people doing stuff that you can't believe it when you read it. But the other side of the coin that people don't get to hear about a lot

that plays into this is something cool Jason Sedakas did on Ted Lassau was there was a show that we knew at the beginning that it was going to be a lot about mentorship. And we made all the writers and different crew members and different people that do everything on that show come in and one of the questions we asked was, hey, tell us about someone who helped you out and helped you get your feet wet in the industry

and the cool thing was everybody had a story of kindness from somebody that helped them get things going small or in a big way and that's one of the cool sides of Hollywood especially when there's no like you said you can do anything but there's no necessarily direct line to doing anything

I mean I guarantee that there's people in your wake that were it not for them things probably would have still happened because you're talented but maybe not at the same pace maybe not the same way that's just part of the cool things with this town Speaking of Ted Lasso, did you know was going to become this culty show, like when it started? No, you know, it's funny.

It's the weirdest thing with these shows is anybody through the history of time that's like, hey, I'm going to make a hit. That never works. It's always a disaster. You're always trying to copy something else. Jason and Joe and Brendan and I, the group of creators, we just knew that we were at a place in our lives working on something that was full of optimist. and hope would be kind of refreshing and the fact that we didn't know it all to work out. I used to jokingly call

my production company Noble Failure Productions because if you can make something that you can show your friends and family without being embarrassed, that's all you can really hope for. Yeah, and I mean Ted Lassow, people, so many Halloween costumes as Ted Lassow, people are demanding more seasons.

Can you give us anything on how many more seasons we're going to get? Yeah, look, the truth. And I think it's a cool thing because we can all say it without beating around the bush. Jason Sedakis is not only the star and co-creator, he is Ted Lassau. And I'd be remiss if I didn't tell people of like,

it's a lot to have a life and a family and transplant that to London where you're not only starring in the show, but writing it year-round, it's a lot. So to me, when you see people hedge, it's not because anybody knows, and isn't telling. It's because out of respect to what it

means to his life, when he decides we will all lean into the curve and make that happen, whatever works best for him. So how did that even start you creating the show together? Is it like somebody wrote it and then you reach out and you're like, hey, do you want to do this? Usually, there's a different kind of experience for me

because usually when I create a show with somebody, it's like Brett and I were in London and we started bouncing around ideas at pubs and came up with shrinking and then dialed Jason Siegel and we all wrote it together. Ted Lassau, I went to try and put Jason in a different project of mine, so I always found him really funny and talented.

And a dude that I think unless you're a super fan, you don't realize like, oh, gosh, you can be romantic comedy, he can be funny, he can be silly, he's a dramatic actor. And I pitched him a show I wanted to do, and he dug it, but it wasn't for him. And he said, I've been trying to turn this character, Ted Lassow, that he had done a goofy kind of sketch-like S&L commercial for merely years before.

and he goes, I want to turn it into a show, but I want it to be deep and emotional and kind of have the emotional undercurrent that you do in scrubs and do that stuff. So I went and looked at it and we all partnered up and knocked out a script, but he is without a doubt the voice of that show. Wow.

You know, he's really, really good. That's so cool. And Krista, you said that you do music supervising. You did some for scrubs, right? And also for Ted Lasso and for shrinking as well because you said you had to watch yourself. And Cougar Town. So tell me about that.

What is that? Is that literally you find the music that it suits the scene? Yes. I have a partner, too, and we have a composer. But, I mean, it's lucky because Bill and I have the same taste of music, and I know what Bill likes. Can I give you the pop prop, though, because my wife was the coolest. And I love still back in Nels in New York and a DJ

when she was a kid in ways that I only wished I was that cool. And she grew up with her uncle, was a producer. on SNL going to like the S&L rehearsals and seeing those bands so it's been part of her life forever oh wow that's that so music has been like in the blood in your fam yeah my mom was a supermodel and she was very young she had me just when she is like a week turned 20 and so she used to play all this cool music in the house and we we just had cool music playing all the time and I've always been into music and so I started doing it for scrubs

that pilot Bill wasn't getting the songs that he wanted and I said, what about this? And then he's like, oh my God, I love that. And I was like, what about that? I remember it was the replacements, I think. It was attitude. And then another song. And then he said, oh, will you do them?

Then he kept asking me and then I just did the music. And then that was the days that back then it wasn't common. TV shows, Grace Anatomy started doing it too and Shauna killed it too. It just was a time that everybody started going like, oh, man, there can be a reciprocal relationship between music and television if you do these kind of cool needle drops

where like one of the things that drove scrubs early on... What is needle drop? You said that word before, Chris. A needle drop is like when you're doing a TV show, if it's score, it's something that your composer writes. If it's a needle drop, it's still an old term for back when there were records, like the network would say,

hey, you know what might be good in this section? is a cool needle drop meaning a cool song someone wrote ideally placed the whole thing is cut to you know what I mean and you I think we all remember some of those like if you go back and see there's a John Hughes movie it's a thousand

years old called she's having a baby it's the best use of a needle drop and it's a Kate Bush song right yeah you guys would be really good at charades together like the fact that you like I thought of the same example that's crazy though because that's like I'm just equating it

to let's say making a reel on Instagram and you have to choose a song and you have to choose like what part of the song and that's so hard and it's for like 30 seconds. So you have to do that for like every show and there's some parts without music and so you have to decide kind of

where there's... Is there going to be a score? Is it going to be a song? Whose song? Your music budget is this. You can either afford this one song by the Rolling Stones or these three songs by bands we've never heard of but what really changed in television and it was cool, and it still exists today

because the radio, TV is the new radio, is that you can break a young artist. The story Christ didn't tell you, and he'd tell you, is we didn't have a huge music budget on Cougartown. And the reason Ed Shearan appeared in our daughter's life was Krista had friends in London that sent her songs by this kind of unknown singer, and we were at a restaurant, we put one of them in Cougar Town, before he was,

before Ed Shearing was Ed Shearing. It was a great song. And then Chris and I were eating at a restaurant and he walked up, red hair, and said, are you, Krista Miller and Bill Lawrence? He said, yeah. And he said, I was literally sleeping on Friends' couches, busker. And that check from that show came at such a good time. You know what I mean?

And it was such a big deal for me. And by the way, and that's a hard cut to him, given our daughter her first guitar and to her kind of finding those inspiring voices in music. So it's a really cool reciprocal relationship that you can, yeah, you can play a song that everybody's like, oh, I love that song. I'm glad it's being used here, but you can also do stuff for people that

no one's hurt. It's really neat. That is really cool. You're making me think of like when Netflix shows, like selling Sunset, use really bad music that costs like three cents. You know what I mean? Yes. Like that you're like, what is that song? Like none of them you've ever heard

before and they're super poppy. By the way, you'll see a show like Stranger Things. And if you did the research and cared, you'd be like, oh, my gosh, three different musical acts were popped by that TV show. Wow. You know what I mean? Or the biggest one, the biggest recent one was 10 reasons why. Was it, Krista? No, on Stranger Things, they put Kay Bush again, who I love.

And they put running up that hill and then, like, relaunched her career. Like, oh, Kate Bush had a number one song again after 30 years. Wow, that's, yeah. So it is kind of like parallel to like going viral on TikTok, like a song. that's that's good that makes me happy that that still happens and like linear i always fight for bands that are just starting because i feel like music has given me so much and if i can help launch someone's career and we've done it so many times that it makes me it just makes me feel happy so you love that work like you because you're i love it and you're doing that

and yeah so if you had to choose one christia acting but i love it's so much. Yeah. I mean, especially for Bill, because Bill also gives me a lot of autonomy to do it. I mean,

I don't know if I'd like working for someone else. Now I'm going to pay attention more to the music because I feel like it's one of those things where, you know, there are points where you'll be like, oh my God,

I love the music on the show. But it just sort of like is so soothing that it becomes one with what's happening. But now I'm going to be like, good song choice, Krista. Thank you. Also,

but like keep your eyes peeled for, Like, when you hear a new hit song, I would say one out of three times nowadays, it popped first because it was on a TV show and then people went nuts online for it. Oh my God. That's just how it happens. I love that. I love that. I'm going to shazam the hell out of the soundtrack now. Okay.

Let's talk about shrinking on Apple TV because somehow we've blown past this interview. And I have so much more to ask, but let's get to this show that I literally am obsessed with. I told Krista before you came on, like, I got. the whole show and I'm pacing myself because it's just so good and I don't want to be done with it. It's just everything. I feel like it's sentimental. It's dramatic a little bit. It's emotional. Lukita Maxwell like obsessed. Obsessed. What is that? How is she so? She is. She's like I told you also Chris, I'm watching so many shows and it's like she really has it. Like that thing where she could play a young, a little bitchy teenager, but that face.

It's just like you love it and like she's not annoying. She's just perfect. By the way, cool and authentic. And it's an authentic kid. By the way, that's the most fun for me is streaming television is so weird because it's star-based nowadays in a lot of ways. But that you get to combine, look, she'll tell you when you meet her, for her to show up at work and suddenly be doing most of her scenes with Harrison Ford is hysterical.

It's so cool. So what Harrison Ford down? from the get? Was he like, yeah, I'm in. Yeah, I wasn't ready for,

I knew him a little bit. And my big piece of advice I've been given everybody lately because I'm not that smart about things usually. It took me forever to get over the embarrassment of people saying no,

you know what I mean? I'm finally over it. So I called up Harrison. I'm like, hey, man, you read the script and think about it. And he read it. And I wasn't prepared for anything

but I know he called me when I was working in Miami. He's like, hey, is Harrison? I'm not in the first one a lot. Will I be in the second one a lot? if I do it, and I immediately panicked. I'm like, dude, it'll be whatever you want, man.

It'll be the HR show. Wait, but he is in the first one. I was, again, from the trailer, I didn't know how much we were going to see of Krista, how much we're going to see of Harrison. And it's so nice that they're such big parts of the show, and it all works so well. So it seems like everybody, like, was Lukita's character,

the only main character that had to audition? It was the main two auditioned characters were Lukita, she's a young actress and just get her career going and the young black kid plays Sean 10. He's also very good. When I start Googling the actors that's when you know they're good because I googled him. I was like, did I see him in anything else? He's just so good. It's just such a good show. I told my mom. Like I'm telling

everybody, somebody, I never do this. Somebody posted on Instagram this guy from The Bachelor yesterday. I was like, what show should I watch? I'm like shrinking on Apple TV. Like I commented like a loser. Anyway, it's such a good show. It's literally literally for everyone and part of the premise where Jason Siegel's character is a therapist that starts changing his tune

and telling people what to do is my actual dream for a therapist to do. Right? So that's what I'm at. Did that come from like everyone wishes their therapist would just fucking tell them what to do? That's my strength. You know what's interesting?

Really? Give me his number. I'll let Chris talk about it because there's two things. But Chris, I get to say one thing because you have to tell the truth the documentary so much school. So it's wish fulfillment, but what's fascinating too is like, we did the research on this and there is,

you know, it's so funny because everybody has two cents and I get it. But like someone's like a therapist would never have somebody suffering from PTSD go fight in MMA. I'm like, yeah, that's from an HBO real sports documentary piece. The therapist did it. Do you know what I mean?

So like we did all the research and there's a documentary right now on Netflix. Krista, you can go ahead and take it. So my shrink, Jonah Hill made a documentary about my shrink. Oh, you see,

watch it. I see Phil Stutz. My shrink is nuts. And the first time I saw Stutz, 23 years ago, I was like, I've been doing this. It goes,

well, stop fucking doing that. That's going to, and I'm going to tell you how. I'm going to tell you how to stop doing it. And so a lot of what Phil believes is inspired into this show. I mean, Phil, Bill, I can say this because Phil has gone on,

went on docs. Jack Shepard's podcast and said, I can retire because Harrison Ford is playing me. Yeah, so the interesting thing is we interviewed a ton of therapists and we're lay people and it's fun to learn and there's tons of different schools of cognitive behavioral therapy but one of those principles that we're exaggerating for comedy that he says in that documentary is

I want people to feel a sense of hope that I can make some kind of change in the first 15 minutes of being in there. And he's like, because I feel like you give people that kind of optimism and hope right away and they can get down to doing the work and maybe really kind of helped themselves. So we found that part fascinating. That's so true. Because if you're just like, and how does that make you feel, you leave really defeated. But if a professional makes you feel like there's some hope in getting better.

So what was it like working with Jason Seagull? Like Bill is obviously like really into him. Krista, was it fun playing with him? I'm obsessed with Jason Siegel. Yeah. I'm madly in love with him, obsessed with him, want to be with him 24-7, love Jason Siegel so much.

He calls me fucker, and I call him fucker, and I love him. The worst part of this show. Wait, the one thing about Jason Seagull, which I think is so funny. And I think it's because he showed his large penis

in his movie, and so every girl knows that. Wait, wait, Sarah Marshall? Sarah Marshall has full frontal nudity. Oh my God, I need to go back in Zoom. Yeah, I got to Zoom that.

So all of my friends are, have such a crush on him. Any, they're like, oh, my God, I want to. I'm like, I know because it's the peanut. I know it. So does he have BDE? Yeah. Really? There's the bummer.

Here's the bummer. Every male actor on this show, including the gay character slash gay actor has this overt, lovable sexuality that all of our friends talk about is whether or not they wish it's never about me and then it's always whether or not they wish they were hooking up with Harrison Ford Jason Siegel Michael Yuri Luke Tenney you know what I mean it's a they're all they're all so good and it just looked like and they're well they're accessible too like right right Harrison Ford has BD too oh for shizzle oh my God he's so sexy oh my God he's so even like the fact that it's like unfair that he's literally playing a character with

Parkinson's and we're telling we're saying yes BDE is wild BDE and sexy and you know what I say Bill every day I'm like you're lucky I'm friends with Colista because I'd be so on that oh my god they're still together that is wild yes a great double wow damn I'm almost as jealous of this cast as like I was having FOMO about the white lotus cast like you guys just seem like such a fun cast to shoot with. That show is so good, by the way. You were as obsessed as we were in our house. What's your show now? I'm digging on the last of us right now. Well, shrinking. I'm trying to finish out, Jenny and Georgia because it's like all the rage with the young people's. Yeah, those are my two right now.

Love Island is coming back. Do you guys watch reality TV at all in your home? With some big fikes, my wife and daughter watch it constantly, and that's how they know your stuff. It's just because you can keep it on and, like, still check emails and clear your inbox. And then Bill will come in and go what and below deck why is that person doing this why is like why are they doing why are they so badly behaved why are you watching this and i'm like get out get out ruining i know for your for shrinking you're not on your phone no you get the other shows you're you're more on your phone than you are actually watching you can do 27 things but yes

just so you know they're huge fans what was it the one that broke me the one that broke me my friend Nikki Glazer hosted what was that oh F Boy Island

yeah you watch that we couldn't get after he broke I was broken with it too but it's so shocking that you love Island he won't

he can't even but Charlotte started us she'll have it on in a room and then I'll cuddle go in cuddle with her and bring my computer and no it's

I mean, you need a good balance. You need a good balance of really good TV and then really kind of mindless fuckery. But you guys, I won't take any more of your time. You're both amazing. Shrinking is out on Apple TV. Two first episodes are out. And by now they're going to be like four or five episodes

that I could do the math. But I'm, it's so good. Everybody go watch it. You will not regret it. And thank you both for coming on my show. Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to do it. And I hope I get to see you.

again in real life can i be your nepo internet yes okay nepo internet friend you know we're fans because we don't do a lot of stuff together and we both found ourselves coincidentally kind of following you on instant doing all this stuff so it was fun to do it makes me so happy i wish i saw you guys in person when you were here but i'll take a zoom next time next time we're gonna go we're gonna go up we'll see you next time okay thank you guys so much. Bye. Bye. Thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of Not Skinny but Not Fat. Follow me on Instagram at Not Skinny but Not Fat. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any episodes. Rate the podcast that you love so much on Apple Podcast

and write a little review. If you tell me you did, I'll give you a big virtual smoocharoo. Thank you guys so much for listening and I'll see you next Tuesday. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.