The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 2: Ted Danson & Michael Schur On "A Man On The Inside"

Episode Date: November 25, 2024

We know it's a football Monday, but Jeremy pointed out a Shohei Ohtani stat to Dan about his 3rd unanimous MVP Award that must be discussed. Is Chris Cote's idea for an Ohtani podcast with Nikola Jokic the best or worst idea ever? Then, Billy claims Jason Kelce may have gotten one over on his brother Travis, and the crew bullies Dan into joining the show's Listener League. Plus, friend of the show Mike Schur and his muse Ted Danson join Dan, Stu, and the Shipping Container to discuss their new show "A Man On The Inside." Schur and Danson discuss the origins of the show, their partnership in making television, how to measure success in the modern age, what they both do when shows are released, and how they pick their projects, but don't worry, we saved time for Schur to get infuriated over the Miami Heat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. At Desjardins, we speak business. We speak startup funding and comprehensive game plans. We've mastered made-to-measure growth and expansion advice, and we can talk your ear off about transferring your business when the time comes. Because at Desjardins Business we speak the same language you do, business. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us and contact Desjardins today. We'd love to talk business. This is the Dan LeBattor Show with the Stugatz Podcast.

Stugatz, Jeremy was breathing his hot baseball breath on me during the break. During football season? Yeah, but what he was doing was valuable because he's just just ramrodding a number of Shohei Otani facts at me just yelling them at me and I've told you before I feel like we are living in an age of real sports mastery and basically whatever Babe Ruth is now to you listening to this Shohei Otani is going to be 70 years from now when people talk about what was this thing that came over here and was better at baseball by leaps and bounds than anyone else playing baseball.

The stats on the MVP voting on Shohei Otani suggest a level of mastery that you will not find anywhere else in sports. Not from Jokic, not from Serena Williams, not anywhere. To put it in perspective, Babe Ruth only ever won one MVP in his career. This is Otani's third, and not only is it his third, Shohei Otani just won his third unanimous MVP

in Major League Baseball. No other athlete in any of the four major professional sports in America has ever won more than one unanimous MVP. He's done it three out of the last four years, and in that fourth year where he didn't win MVP He just happened to be second in MVP voting and fourth in Cy Young voting. How many Super Bowls has he won? I mean, it's November. We're talking about Otani. He's the greatest athlete who's ever lived He's got about 500 home runs to go before he changed the greatest athlete who's ever lived before he catches Ruth

I mean seriously stop it. You're embarrassing yourself Ruth I mean seriously stop it you're embarrassing yourself Stugots book.com tomorrow it it will have pages for all of you I do want to push back only with one athlete that I think we can compare to him Yokich did you see this play that he almost did against the Lakers the other day point play that he almost did against the Lakers the other day. 0.3 seconds left in the quarter. He's all the way across the court, the full court length. So he's like, okay, 0.3 seconds. There's not enough time for me to catch and shoot. So hey, teammate, toss it to me and I will bat the ball all the way down the court. That's crazy. And I will almost make it. It's one of the crazy, he missed it. It was an air ball, but it's still one of the more impressive things

I've ever seen in sports best basketball play ever It's pretty good. It's crazy Imagine if he made that Wow, I Surprised he did I got to be honest with you given that guy's level of mastery over everything He's doing those two guys should start a podcast Oh Tony and yokich Just two guys that we never hear from but are actually the best at least Before people did get on that one. Okay, well they were brothers. I was right

It was a little more I don't even think you got that Jason involved in the Travis podcast What do these people needs an interpreter? It was me Think about the reach. It's a terrible podcast idea. Like truly terrible. I disagree. We can't put you in charge of anything. They probably both like horse racing.

I would listen to that podcast. Oh, there he goes. Allegedly. A horse racing podcast with Shohei and Joe. I didn't say what it had to be about. I said we get those two people make a podcast. Changes everything. I mean, he's right on name value.

I mean, it's an easy sell. I mean, everything, I can't say anything around here. It's just a flat out great idea. And everyone's like, this idiot. It's not a great idea. It's a terrible idea. It's the truly bad, one of the worst you've ever had, and it's competing with a lot of others.

That is not, of all the ways. I disagree. The serial draft would have crushed. Look, does Jokic strike you as somebody who wants to be doing podcasts? And go ahead and tell me all of the entertaining interview that Otani has given you over the years. Horse racing.

Over the years, tell me, think about what those stats are that Jeremy's giving you. However big a star this human being is in America, he deserves to be a bigger one. The cultural barriers make it so that we are not celebrating as a country one who isn't our own being a good deal better than everyone and a thing that nobody's ever allowed to be a good deal better than everyone at. He should have chose football. It's true. Yeah. Thank you. It's true.

Pretty crazy that two of the last five American League MVPs play for the Dodgers right? Is it? Two of the last five American League and technically two of the last five National League because Ohtani's done both. I'm with Stugatz on this. It's too much baseball for a football Monday. I'm sorry, it's my fault.

And Billy, since you mentioned the Kelseys. Pretty awesome, right? Billy thinks that Jason has gotten one over on Travis. Has he not? I think he has. Here's the thing, here's my thinking, and I was thinking about this since you got some surprise that you're not on board on this too, right?

Well, I haven't heard it yet. So like obviously, the Kelsey name has a certain pull at the moment. Of course. And a lot of it is tied to Taylor Swift, and they had a very successful podcast as it was, but obviously Taylor Effect helped with that situation. And that's gonna last as long as that lasts.

And I think Jason realizes this may not last forever, so he got out of football. Meanwhile, Travis is still there, and he's playing football. Now Jason has a new late night show that he got, they have the podcast, he has his gig on ESPN, he's getting all these jobs, but the jobs are at a certain point gonna dry up while Travis

is still playing football, and now that Jason's making all these connections, now as the jobs become available, oh, I gotta get a Kelsey, oh, I have Jason's number, oh, Jason's a cool guy, I talked to Jason, oh yeah, Jason's, and Jason's just gonna keep getting all these jobs while Travis might be, some are saying, let me get ahead of this right now again. You're not saying it.

I'm not saying this. This is again another thing you're not saying. I'm 100% not saying this. I do not want you to pin this on me. I know the way that you work and you're gonna say, Billy said. No, I'm not saying that Travis Kelce's washed. I'm not saying that people have made such an accusation

though and said his best years are behind him. So, it seems like Jason made the prudent decision and he retired when he could've maybe played another year or so and he started the next phase and he's getting all of the jobs that you would think Travis would get and no, Travis is just doing really smarter than a fifth grader right now he's taking the jobs that he can take in the offseason where Jason's here pac-maning it up eating all the ghosts taking all the jobs. Are there going to

be limits on the amount of jobs that Kelsey's can get because there weren't limits on commercials they can get I would assume that Travis will have whatever job you think I've got it wrong to say that if Travis wants to be doing what weren't limits on commercials they can get. I would assume that Travis will have whatever job. You think I've got it wrong to say that if Travis wants to be doing what Gronk is or if Travis wanted to be doing what Tony Gonzalez did, that he could have whatever job he wants. They just invent another seat at another table for him?

Not if he breaks our sweet baby angel's heart. If that doesn't end well with Taylor, those jobs are gonna go away. He's gonna be persona non grata. And you need to get the jobs now while you're persona grata. It has to end well with Taylor. It has to end well with Taylor

or that's all gonna, he's gonna become a villain if they break up. Like an actual villain. You have his broadcasting jobs dependent on his relationship? You don't? I don't. Not NFL broadcasting jobs. What about this? You don't? I don't, no. Not NFL broadcasting jobs.

What about this? Let me go down a scenario. What if it ends, but it ends with nice statements and it's actually a good breakup, but it doesn't? You do not know how Taylor Swift breakups go. That is true. Travis Kelce has the level of fame that he has now and he does not need any more to get all these jobs

that you're speaking of. I don't think he needs his relationship for anything as it relates to whatever future jobs. You cannot be the reason to break her heart. Her in particular. You can't be the reason. Now if she did something to him, perhaps, but if he did something to her, forget it. You break her heart, you're not playing as well. Guess who's gonna go back to talking to Stugatza Tahoe? You guys are of the belief that if he has a breakup in which he dumps her and hurts her feelings, or worse, gets caught in some sort of betrayal

or immortality, no, you're saying an S-E-Mending. You're saying, not saying anything. I didn't say any of that. Again, I got out in front of this. A, messy ending or an S emending is what I was gonna call it How do you have this ending? I don't care how it ends I'm just telling you that I don't think it has anything to do with what jobs are gonna be available to him He doesn't get to be Michael Strahan in broadcasting unless he stays with Taylor Swift. Otherwise he's an NFL broadcaster. And he'll have plenty of great moments as an NFL broadcaster,

but he doesn't get to be a beloved American broadcaster or host or all of those things if he ends up in a messy breakup with Taylor Swift. You do not understand the fan base of the Swifties if you think that's possible. Hey Kelsey, you want to be stray hand or you want to be grunk on Fox? Okay, well the jobs that Jason Kelsey is getting

are not the transcendent ones, they're the ones in sports. Those are different jobs. He's accusing Jason of stealing up all the jobs Travis wants and Jason's not getting the, he's getting the greatest of the football jobs. He's not getting the greatest of the all-encompassing, I get the housewives, I get morning television, I get, I'm God bless America, good morning America.

And he's getting those if he breaks up with Taylor Swift? No, he's not. And now the sports jobs are drying up as well. I think we may be running into a situation where he's looking for a job. You've had a number of different voices today that have been whispered or spoken through your teeth, and I don't know which one this is.

How so? Well, I think that Travis Kelce will get the jobs that he wants and he's got the amount of fame now that he needs to get those jobs. Now though, now, but he's playing too long. He needs to retire if he wants these jobs and Jason's the one that realized this. Fame is a fleeting thing, Dan.

He just wants you super balls. It's a fleeting thing and a cruel mistress and you need to play it right. Both of those things. I thought your listener league was the cruel mistresseting thing, Dan. He just wants you super balls. It's a fleeting thing and a cruel mistress. And you need to play it right. Both of those things. I thought your listener league was the cruel mistress. Oh, that. That listener league. I think you know what happened here.

I think you know it didn't go swimmingly for your boy, and that's why you're bringing it up this week. Every time I do decent, you seem to forget about it. But this week, you know, old Billy didn't do so hot, so you said, don't you tell us about your listener league this week. you know, oh Billy, didn't do so hot, so you said, don't you tell us about your listening this week. Yeah, because you know I didn't do well. You go to dkng.co slash smirnoff if you want to participate.

It's presented by Smirnoff, the world's number one vodka. Please drink responsibly. Ah, Dan, it was looking like it was gonna be a really bad week. 506 people competed with us this week. 505 people competed against me. And it was looking like it was gonna be a very, us this week. 505 people competed against me. And it was looking like it was gonna be a very, very bad week. But no, I persevered.

I had a late push in the four o'clock window and I moved all the way up to 485th out of the 506th. After what was looking like a very bad week. Had a late push. Moved up at 485. You said it was your week. I did say it was my week and you can accuse me of stealing this because I broke this news

just two guts earlier this week. I've been a good coach. I've said all the right things I felt like leading up to this week and I'm not gonna do that anymore. It's my players fault, okay? They're the ones that didn't score any points. They're the ones that SUCKED this week. No need for all of that.

Wasn't me. They're the ones that weren't doing well. I try, I pick the guys that I think are gonna go out there, all I can do is have faith in my guys. Am I gonna be accused of having too much faith in them? Yeah, yeah, that's the problem. And I'm not gonna apologize for that. I'm not gonna say I shouldn't have faith in my guys. I have faith in them.

Every week I have faith in different guys, and every week they let me down. It's gonna be a long Thanksgiving, a long, cold Thanksgiving, because we're gonna talk about it. This isn't gonna be those awkward Thanksgivings where everybody's sitting at the table, there's the elephant in the room,

no one's talking to each other, everybody knows there's tension, no. It's gonna be there, right next to the fixings. We're gonna be talking about all of our issues at Thanksgiving, and we're gonna get back on track for next week. Fixings? Yeah.

Next to the stuffing. Next to all of it. A bowl? Yeah. Next to the stuffing. Next to all of it. A bowl of tension. Next to the mashed potatoes. Next to the mac and cheese. Right. Next to the stuffing. Do people associate Fixings with Thanksgiving?

I feel like Fixings are more buffets. I think Fixings, is that a phrase? This is the holiday for Fixings. Thank you. Is it? Mike gets it. It's the Superbowl for Fixings. Uh-huh.

And it's gonna be there on the forefront We're gonna talk about it DK ng dot co slash mirnaf if you want to talk about I'm sorry I'm coming our fix ins are side dishes or fix in sort of things that you would take from a salad bar It's my dishes I'm seeing fixings that are foods that are traditionally served with a main dish such as vegetables sauces salads Okay Fixin's fix is what I'm gonna be doing to my roster if these guys don't start shaping up because they're gonna be shipping out I really don't want to hear any more about your list with us

yeah try it out come on awful I didn't think it's so fun and this is low-key the segment that we put these concepts over and make it seem like something that's super fun You know it is super fun to be in I had a late push for you know what for Thanksgiving Billy. I will be in this phone. I will be You make it sound amazing Open right now. That's what you say. No. No I'm joining to Wow It's a Christmas mirror me three on Thanksgiving come on come on right now that's what you say you know I'm joining to Wow look at this a Christmas mirror on Thanksgiving Dan sure

Dory's it Dan thank you smearing get get his phone DK ng dot co slash mirror get his phone all set up right now it's so fun Dan what's your code Dan it's like don't even think of it like fantasy don't even think of it like fantasy sports or football cuz I know that's how, don't even think of it like fantasy, don't even think of it like fantasy, sports or football, because I know that's how you think about it, think of it like this, one of your favorite things, budgeting, think of it like monies, you know what I mean? You get your 50 thou, and then you have to kind of

put a team together with the 50 thou, but everybody's worth a different amount of monies, and then you have to figure out how to manage those monies to get the winning pieces, boom, boom, boom, boom. I got railroaded there. It's a math problem. By just the conversation in general, and so it may have sounded like I was saying

that the listener league itself sounded awful. That is not what I meant. What I meant is Billy yammering about finishing 485th. Kick saving. After a late push. I surged to 485. To have more of that in my life next week is not something I would sign up for. He's afraid. You're afraid. He's afraid of mev. Another voice. Chicken. You're a chicken. That's what it is. Alright, I'm in! He's in! I'll play the game!

You will not call me a chicken! In front of the nation! I will not be called a chicken! Yes! We did it! Woohoo! That's only the one o'clock in four Not if you call me a chicken!

What? When you cross the line of intimidating me by pre-oppressuring me by calling me a chicken That is when I show you guys and I spite you guys by

joining a listener league that I hate because Billy's in it talking all the time. I don't hate the listener league because the listeners are in it. We got it. I hate it because I've got to listen to Billy. Yes. I've been at 485th at a late push. I got first sir sir you should have seen what I did in the four o'clock window. Well, Billy wants you in so badly. So why don't you negotiate with him? Like perhaps if you do the league this week, Billy won't talk about it next week or he already committed.

He's just in to prove he's not chicken. Okay. All right. Yeah, that's the most important thing. I think we can all agree. I'll show you America, you think I'm a woke chicken? I'm not, I'm just woke, but I'm not a chicken. Oh man, I hope you win it. I will play this with you and I wanted to move off of the listener league for a moment, Stugats, because I don't know if you have seen on Max,

Colin Farrell is there hiding in plain sight. I am not somebody who likes the dark night and its derivatives. I don't dislike it, it's just not something that grabs my attention, but Colin Farrell getting in makeup for three hours a day so that he could be totally unrecognizable as the Penguin. Not want to ever do a role like that again because for the length that we're here working on air roughly, Colin Farrell was spending

that day in makeup for that long in getting into a costume that even once you're in it had to be fairly unpleasant to drag around with you every day. I mean, don't sell us short, Dan. I often spend three hours in makeup before these shows. Yeah. The mask that he's wearing makes it so that you would simply not recognize in any way

that this is Colin Farrell. It's not a fat suit. It's just layered on makeup that make him unrecognizable. And it's not something I would do for a part. Like, if I was at his pace, at his point in his profession, this is not a task I would wanna undertake. It wouldn't be worth the work to me. But everybody would see this and be like,

well, that show's not gonna be very good, right? I mean, the Batman, you know Batman had kind of a split audience. Everyone kind of respects the new vision on it, but it was actually released quite a while ago. This series comes out, and you're skeptical, but you're like, I'll give it a try, because Colin Farrell, it won't fail because of his level of commitment.

No matter what, he will be committed. And you watch it, and haven't watched the entire series, I will concede it's formulaic, I will concede maybe sometimes it's overacted, I will concede maybe sometimes it's overwritten. And it's still awesome. It's great, it's fine, follow a formula. You wanna be the Sopranos in a comic book world? Be that.

The music's great, the performances are great, they get you to care through and it's not just I would say that the Penguin is not the most interesting character in this show. He's probably like third. Ron-say? They found a lot of great material here and they showed that in this entire Gotham world, there's so much meat on that bone and it actually makes me think that Batman's asleep at the wheel because there's a whole sorts of all sorts of evil criminal underwording that's happening

here but he doesn't step in one bit. Mike Ryan as we celebrate our 20th anniversary here I want you to appreciate that once again I heard Roy laugh through a soundproof glass because Stu Gotts just barked. He disoriented you as you talked about the penguin by simply shouting Ron Say at you because that was Ron Say's nickname when he was a third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers

in the 1980s. Early 80s. I have to be honest, I'm bummed that you set it up so well because I just wanted to talk about Evgeny Malkin. And you would have just been, the Penguins taking over pop culture everywhere I see. Everyone's talking about this Penguin. Evgeny Malkin has bounced back.

However, they need some blue line help. That defense is a terrible situation. Well, if you insist on talking about hockey, how about we talk of Ovechkin wanting all of Gretzky's goal records? This is going to be tough now. I wanted to have the excited conversation about look what's happening. He's on pace for 68 goals.

He's actually going to break one of the games on breakable records and do it in fewer games than Wayne Gretzky did. Alexander Ovechkin was the story in the NHL. I've wanted to talk about it so long that in the middle of me wanting to talk about it, he has a broken leg and is out six weeks. So we might not get it this year, which is a huge bummer. We missed our window.

Roy, how is it possible that he would be improving past his prime as a gold scorer injured or not. Well the Capitals are better, that's why. Yup, big time, they do not have blue line help. They've got guys that are willing to feed him the rock in front of the net. He is, credit to him, everybody was having a go at him for his off-season training habits, but you know what I've never seen before, and yeah you can laugh at all these pictures of Ovechkin looking the way that he does running on the beach and playing

pickleball. I had never actually seen him go through an offseason training regimen that wasn't celebrating a Stanley Cup championship. So this dude has actually put in more work and it shows in his play. I love the offseason that they had the Capitals even throughout this injury. Panthers have a tough game against the Capitals tonight. They look like a playoff team, and it was really cool to see Ovechkin with his old man game actually rekindle that goal scoring form.

Unbelievable that he was on pace to break it in fewer games than Wayne Gretzky. And now it's probably ripped away from us in more of a next year conversation. How did we manage, when gods came in here talking of football and saying, what a day to talk hockey, baseball, and Ron say, and Ron say in one segment, don't forget that coffee table, man.

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By the way, everything I say on air or you know on TV or something is a message to me. It's not how I really am. It's like maybe if I listen to myself I might be that. So take it with a grain of salt. What are we talking about? Me? His favorite subject. Your favorite subject. Oh he loves it so much. Actually we're talking about the way you talk about him is what we were talking about mike sure intended answer with us a man on the inside is the number one show on netflix in the united states as we speak variety calls it charming hilarious

rolling stone alan sepp and wall says dancer remains one of the most graceful versatile and game comic performers the television has ever been lucky enough to have and the hollywood reporter says that if anything characterizes Mike sure's worldview It's a generosity of spirit. Both of these men are disgusting. They're disgustingly positive. They make charming charming television and It it makes me nauseated to see them have what happiness the number one show on Netflix It bothers me that Mike Schur has yet another success

in his arsenal of successes. It's annoying. Great to see you too, Dan. How you doing? How did you? By the way, we did lose a lot of viewers just then. Just now? How did you rope dance into another one

of your failed projects? He owes me a lot of money, and he doesn't have any, so he's slowly paying off his debt to me by appearing in TV shows that I make. That's kind of true, by the way. Why are you still grinding, Ted? Why are you still? It's such a great question.

If you told me back when he was Sam Malone doing Cheers that he'd still be going at it and well in two thousand twenty five i would have left you out of the room what are you doing dad i'm uh... uh... it makes me so happy to go through studio gates and work with crews and actors and writers i mean that's the nauseating answer the other one is i spend everything I make so

How does this work with you sure when you open a project like this do you have nerves How do you measure success on something like this? Obviously you're birthing something you guys have been working very hard on over the last. I don't know what more than a year, right? Oh Yeah, almost two years all told I don't have nerves because I can't control it anymore. I have nerves while I'm making it and writing it and shooting it and editing it. But once it's over, it's sort of, I get into this kind of stoic place of like, well, it's out of my hands now. So, you know, you drop it and you see what happens. It's also very different from the old system. The old system was it was airing once a week. And so you could track this sort of week to week, are people sticking around?

Are they, did they drop out after the first episode? Are they still watching in the fourth episode? Now you just don't know, it's a black box. So you just kind of hope for the best and you get these little snapshots that say, oh, you know, it's number one in these countries or it's top 10 in these countries but it's hard to know how to interpret it and it's hard to understand what that really means so I just kind of throw out

my hands and say like well I hope people like it and you know I guess so far so good is what we would say you know that we'll we'll know a lot more in about a month when they kind of come back to us with a full picture of how it's performing until then. Okay see that's an example of the adult in the room. I pop champagne corks, I buy something and and then in debt again. So you measure success differently though right? That's uh you get to operate Ted in the safe safer space of I make it and then I can let go of it. I'm also at the kids table. I mean, that's what actors are.

Mike has to deal with the real world and with people who are dealing with big money. I don't, I'm at the kids table and they treat me as such and I get a lot of kind of freebies as a result. Mike, I guess it's no different than a movie that's like 90 minutes or two hours, right? But is it weird that you spend two years of your life working on this project and then someone like me

just sits down for three and a half hours and knocks it out and then I'm done with it? It is very much like a movie, which is obviously not how TV used to be. This is like, I had this thought at some point when I was finishing the last episode of like been thinking about this and working on

it for two years. And when I'm done, someone will be able to watch the entirety of our work on one flight from L.A. to Chicago. And that is not what TV used to be. TV used to be this thing that slowly unfolded over

22, 24 weeks from September to May. And now it's everything is sort of being herded toward the movie model. And I, I, you know, look, I, it's amazing that we still get to do this. So I'm not complaining, but it's just an, it's the thing that TV used to have over movies was that you like watch characters slowly grow and change over months and months and months and years and years and years it's sort of not like that anymore and it a little bit bums me out like I feel like that was the advantage TV had over movies from a storytelling perspective and it's sort

of disappearing but again you know it's I'm not complaining it's a great job I'm happy I get to do it still. Ted when he frames it that way though does it make it impossible for you to have this character resonate the way that sam malone did because it's an audience growing old with a television show as opposed to watching it on a plane flight i i suppose just because of the weight of eleven years and twenty 22 episodes a year that's to some degree true but we are we're making movies we're not making TV shows the way they

used to be so the movie the story is way more important than anything else you know and so no I kind of like this to be honest. I really do. You guys tackled with some of Mike's projects, you're tackling the spiritual, you're tackling mortality in this when you're going into a nursing home. I imagine we're playing some here with age, Mike. Are you trying to summon a character? Are you trying to take us to a place closer

to where Ted Danson is working undercover in a retirement home around people who are in their 80s? Yeah, that's what the documentary is about, which is, you know, was our North Star when we were making it into a series. It's about aging and to some degree mortality and memory problems and tricky adult relationships and stuff. So yeah, that's very explicitly the point of the documentary. And I wanted to do it in part, not just because the documentary is great and you should all watch it if you haven't already,

it's called The Mole Agent. That's from Chile and it's great. But I've had this off for a while that like, this country is extremely bad about talking about those subjects. Like we just we don't, we don't really discuss them. Aging is seen as something that's like, embarrassing or shameful or that we need to walk on eggshells around. And I've said this many times, but like that aging is like the good outcome. Like that's the, that's the, the better of two possible outcomes is that you get old

And I just am curious as to why we're so bad about talking about it and confronting it and just dealing with it openly and honestly and so I liked that the documentary was discussing those ideas even tangentially because I feel like they're things that we should be better at talking about and that's very much the heart of the show and the Point of making it. Why are we bad at that Ted? I yeah, I don't know. I mean I myself I Watch myself. I hear of a friend passing or somebody and I go Okay, what did they do wrong? Oh, I see I see you know, it's almost so I can avoid it. I Don't know. When you get to be my age,

you are grateful that you got here and you realize you still have some, I mean, here's the thing that I took away from being in this. It's like you still get to play right up until you're dead and you should not like prepare for death. It's coming, but just, you know, be an inspiration to those behind you, the younger folks, and say, listen, you don't have an expiration date on your creativity and your, you know, what you can contribute to the world. You still have something to give so

that's one of the reasons why i really love doing this it's a true celebration of life mike what did you think of jimmy butler's 33 point performance against the mavericks yesterday in their overtime victory oh shut up i'm glad you asked me about this um i have several thoughts about miami sports number one congrats on beating the Lucolis Mavericks at home and overtime. Huge win for you guys. They were 2-0 against OKC in Denver, so. Huge, huge win. Great job by Tyler Hero, 8-4-25 from the field. Also, great job by the Dolphins beating the worst football team

I have literally ever seen in my life. It's definitely, I would take a lot from that victory if I were you guys. I would be very confident in your team I don't think they're gonna have any problems playing anybody else under any circumstances I think you guys are headed for the playoffs Ted just left. He's so tired of this Can I say I would like to say something real quick to all of the teams who have to play the Miami Heat starting now I want to say something real quick to all of the teams who have to play the Miami Heat starting now. If the game is tied or the Heat are down by one and there's like four seconds left and they're running an inbounds play,

maybe don't D up really closely at mid-court. Maybe let them inbound the ball so they can't sneak behind you and get an easy layup at the rim. This is the second time this has happened in two weeks. What is wrong? What happens to teams when they play the Miami Heat? What where does their coaching go? Where how why do they all forget how to play basketball? I don't understand. I'm so happy You got to see this side of Mike sure that you've never seen unhinged and enraged about everything look at it No, not everything Miami. He's more passionate about this than he is the opening of your show Miami. Miami sports. He hates the Miami Heat. He's more passionate about this than he is the opening of your show. By far. If you want to see something even worse, ask him something about the Yankees or compliment them and watch what happens. Do you know anything about baseball, Ted? Do you like baseball? I like it and no I don't. What? Wait a second. Time out, time out. This is the kind of baseball I'm willing to talk about. Sam Malone, who played a former Red Sox pitcher, does not like baseball?

No. Like it, don't know anything about it. Doesn't know about baseball. What? Didn't you have a coach who taught you about baseball when you were on cheers? No. Sorry, but that great photo of Carl Jastremski yes it was a doubleheader against the angels it was in between and they had lost the first game and

they they made him pose with these two actors that no one had heard of and he was so pissed off I've never seen anyone Getting in the way of everything Mike how I this is for both of you, but first for you Mike How do you pick your projects? How do you pick what you're going to invest two years of obsessive compulsive thinking over? I? going to invest two years of obsessive compulsive thinking over? I don't know I mean this just this was a situation where my longtime producing partner Morgan Sackett sent me an email and said have you seen that documentary The Mole Agent we should remake that as a series and and write it for TED and it was just sort of instantly a good idea like we had been working on Field of Dreams for a long time and it was becoming clear

that that was not gonna actually get made. And we were sort of floating a little bit and then he had a really good idea and I thought, yeah, that's right. And I don't know why I thought that or how I felt so strongly about it, but I think at some level, it's just what hits you on a gut level

or what makes you feel like, oh yeah, yeah, I can see that. And, you know, but they're all different. The Good Place was just a series of thoughts that have been swirling around in my head for years that it sort of coalesced into an idea. And, you know, Brooklyn Nine-Nine came from me and my friend Dan just like actively working on what would make a good show. So it's not one thing or one place.

It's just you get a feeling, you have a lot of ideas and then one of them starts to kind of glow a little bit or like feel more real than the other ones. And then you pursue that and you see if there's a show in it. It's not, there's no magic formula, I don't think. It's just what interests you about the world at that moment. Ted, could you feel this written for you?

Yes. Yes. at that moment. Ted, could you feel this written for you? Yes, yes and I knew it would be because Mike knows me, cares for me, and knows what I'm good at, what I'm not so good at, and yeah it felt it felt perfect. You know, if I were at the beginning of my career and had the stupidity to think that writers like Mike are a dime or dozen, you know, what I would do with the rest of my life, it would be kind of up for grabs. But now that I know the truth, I just want to work with Mike forever, Mike. Mike, I want to work with you forever.

Because he is so purposeful and what he chooses to do. I'm kind of answering the question you asked Mike, you know, I want to be part of something that reflects the human condition. It can be silly. It can be Poignant it can be scary whatever but it needs to be a thoughtful Presentation of here's life. Here we are kind of thing. And that's Mike. What is the most appreciative thing that you can say having now worked on a couple of these creative projects where he is, you know, your career has been an amazing one, but the fruit that you get here at the end of this is fairly magical to watch in a Hollywood that's crumbling as actors are struggling to find

all sorts of work everywhere. Let's hope it kind of builds back up. But yeah, it is a true blessing. I mean, first, the good place. You know, all of a sudden I have 14, 15-year-olds, you know, young kids coming up because they devoured the good place. They devoured it two or three times.

They can quote things. And, you know, to have that all of a sudden be part of my life was just truly amazing. And now the response that we're getting from this, just from friends who write in and are saying all the things that I think Mike and all of us hoped would happen, which is somebody lost their husband a year ago and hasn't been able to get out and is saying, thank you, you've given me the encouragement and the inspiration to get out again.

It's everything we wanted. Yes, it's sweet, kind, and up, and not cynical, but man, it's making people feel good. And that's such a joy to be part of. It is strange that you guys can have that as your brand now. It's not exactly a syrupy time everywhere, the ability to make sweet things that make people think but are also kind. Ted, I wanted to ask you the same question I asked Mike, how do you measure success with these projects? I just want to throw in, I am playing Adolf Hitler in a musical, sorry.

Odd thing to throw in, I fall into every actor trap, no demand, so it's wonderful to have the response that we're getting. The results still matter to me in a way that probably is more than it should. But it is true that what you really get to take away is, you know, the crew that Mike brings with them, the camera operators, the sound operators, everyone who wants to work with Mike over and over and over again. You know, you get to have that

experience of family. That's important. That's success. You get to work with actors success to me, and the results are lovely. Mike, you're working with your friends at this point, correct? The making, your characters and some of the actors that you've worked with are sprinkled all over the show, yes? Yeah, absolutely. Stephanie Beatriz, who is in Brooklyn 99, is in the show and she's great. And Eugene Cordero, who was in The Good Place, has a role in a lot. We have this little repertory company now, which is really fun. And we have these parts that are that need to be filled. And we have this stable of actors that we can just contact and say, like, hey, do you want to come do this for a couple episodes?

And it's great. It's lovely to have that and also to work with a bunch of people we've never worked with before. I mean, so many of the cast who populate their retirement community that Ted's character lives in are people I'd never met before. Sally Struthers and John Goetz and Stephen McKinley Henderson who you might not

know that name but if you looked at a picture of him you'd be like oh that guy I love that guy. And there's just a whole host of actors who have Susan Rutan who was in LA Law at the same time that Ted was on Cheers back in the 80s on NBC and they're great they're so good and that was a really fun part of it. Sally Struthers by by the way, has like 25 of the greatest stories you've ever heard. Like there was a bunch of people, a bunch of people were talking backstage or like off set at some point. And the subject of Elvis came up. I don't know, Ted, do you remember how it came up?

I don't remember. I don't remember how it came up, but it was. Oh, yeah, we went out for like two years. She dated Elvis She straight-up dated Elvis and like the early 70s like before all in the family and everyone was like you dated Elvis like what? There's a gap or like, you know, you're in a half or whatever That was really a wonderful part of the show was just everyone sitting around telling stories telling old war stories of shows They'd been in her plays they'd done and stuff. We would- Whenever she'd tell a story about Elvis,

she wouldn't say Elvis, she'd say, and I'd say to E, she'd call me E. Yeah, that's what she'd call me E, yeah. Well, if you're dating them, I mean. Yeah. That is tremendous. And her boyfriend. A man on the inside is on Netflix

and it's number one as we speak. I will let you guys go on this note, whether it's the good place or this, Mike sure tends to tackle the hardest things. You wrote a book during the pandemic about all of philosophers' philosophies. When you make something like this, where are you trying to meet people spiritually?

I don't know that I think about it in that specific way. I think that I'm trying at some level to raise and discuss a bunch of subjects that seem relevant and interesting and important at this moment in time. And hopefully they connect. But you don't, I don't think of it as like,'s it's not a calculated thing it's not a it's not a it's not a math problem I'm just trying to do a show that discusses some aspect of life that I think is worth discussing that's all and I'll leave you on this note do you feel upset that you took where at 15 when McCain was right there and when it went at 16 because I think that could have really made the heat into a more interesting team this year

and he was sitting right there for you and yet yet you made the wrong choice I don't know if you feel good about that or I don't know what do you think Jeremy I plead the fifth you know word very telling you're a coward you're a coward where is gonna be a dynamic five next to BAM when he's a four Don't you worry about it Mike sure long term? You took precious to chew a right before I don't want to talk about it For those that don't know Ted dancing was a former college basketball star so Ted we play a game around here It's called shop for Your Life. Okay?

Can I just correct you real quick? That'd be high school. Yeah, okay. As far as college, I walked onto the court at Stanford at freshman ball and turned right around and went home and became an actor. But go on. That's a heady play. But you like basketball, you don't like baseball. That's still... He didn't say he didn't like baseball. He doesn't know baseball. It's going to take me a day to get over this. He hates it. He. He hates it. He doesn't like it. God almighty, listen to somebody. So college basketball, okay, you played high school basketball, but a shot for your life, okay? You need to choose

one of these two guys to hit a three-pointer, okay? If it goes in, you're living. You know what a life shot is. I'm just making sure Ted understands. We all know what it is. Shot for your life. So we established a shot for your life. Here are your two choices, okay? Steph Curry or Larry Bird? Wow, okay. I'm gonna have to because he's of my ilk age. Larry Bird. Yeah!

As much as I used to love to hate him, he was the guy who would do the impossible thing to beat the Lakers at the last second. Yeah, you're alive. Congratulations What a go when you gave me this question. It was Larry Bird or JJ Reddick. Well See you later guys congratulations on the success of the show a man on the inside on Netflix. Thank you