Emmys: Behind-the-Scenes Photos From THR's Comedy Showrunner Roundtable

Comedy Showrunners

Clockwise, from left: Bruce Helford (FX's Anger Management), Greg Daniels (NBC's The Office), Mike Schur (NBC's Parks and Recreation), Steve Molaro (CBS' The Big Bang Theory), Matthew Carnahan (Showtime's House of Lies) and Liz Meriwether (Fox's New Girl).

Hilarity Ensues

The showrunners were photographed April 24 at Milk Studios in Hollywood. (Grooming by Jhizet Panosian for La Mer at Crosby Carter Management and Su Han.)

Mike Schur

"Game of Thrones, in a walk," Mike Schur (NBC's Parks and Recreation) says of the show he would executive produce and/or write for if given the chance. "I have read enough of the books, and I’m a big enough nerd, I feel like I could step in there and screw that one up instead."

Matthew Carnahan

"Comedies are much voicier than they used to be. There is more of a sense of the person at the helm of the show, which I like," says Matthew Carnahan (Showtime's House of Lies).

Matthew Carnahan

Is the comedy genre heading toward the more dramatic? "I don’t know," says Matthew Carnahan. "I think the last dramedy to win an Emmy was Ally McBeal, and that was a while ago, and it was an hour format. But that’s not so much my concern. I see what my son watches. He’s 15, and he likes funny, he likes jokes. I don’t know if there’s a trend toward dramedy."

Greg Daniels

"I didn’t know if I was going to like that we had an end date, but I would recommend it. … death with dignity," says Greg Daniels of doing the series finale of The Office on his own terms.

Liz Meriwether

"We’re totally kicking ass on DVR. I just want to make that clear, we’re doing, like, Dallas numbers," says Liz Meriwether of New Girl’s ratings with the DVR lift factored in.

Greg Daniels

What’s the funniest or most absurd note you’ve gotten in the past year? "We would bleep things, and then they’d go, 'Come on, guys, stop bleeping.' But the bleeping’s good, right? You’re supposed to like the bleeping because it means that they didn’t swear," says Greg Daniels.

Greg Daniels

"The networks would have a problem with the character saying the word 'F-bomb,'” says Greg Daniels.

Greg Daniels

NBC's The Office aired its series finale in May.

Steve Molaro

"I think if we acted on a large number of tweets that were sent to me, Sheldon and Penny would have sex every week," says Steve Molaro of The Big Bang Theory’s social media interest.

Bruce Helford

"We shoot two shows a week. We’re on the air for 90 weeks in a row, so I have to deliver the episodes consistently. We’re only off for holidays, so it’s the opposite of the cable model," Bruce Helford says of Anger Management's 10/90 model.

Big Challenges

Lionsgate keeps turning to veteran showrunners to run these 10/90 projects, like Anger Management, but each time they seem to be people who haven’t done a lot of recent TV work. Why is that? Says Bruce Helford (left): "It’s organizational skills or their kids are now in college and they want to come back. In my case, my kid was off to college, and I was like, OK, let’s try a challenge, I know this will be a challenge.' At one point, I did 100 episodes in one season when I had four shows going."

Choices, Choices

“When I was a kid, I watched Empty Nest,” Mike Schur (center) admitted during the roundtable. “If I were 11 now, I wouldn’t know that empty Nest existed because every baseball game is available to me on TV. There are 45 cartoons on my computer, on-demand, any moment I want.”

Emotions on Display

"Don’t you think there is more emphasis on the emotional side of all comedies that are on the air right now? There’s more emotional stuff [on TV] than I remember when I was growing up," says Liz Meriwether (center).

About THR’s Emmy Roundtable Series

This is the third in The Hollywood Reporter’s annual series of exclusive discussions with the year’s most compelling television talents. As awards season unfolds, look for roundtables with drama actors, comedy actors, reality talent and comedy actresses and more exclusive content on THR.com.