About
“Don’t confuse working in television with watching television. Working in television is really hard…you’ve got to love it more than anything. If you love it more than anything, you’re on the right path.”
In his three-hour interview, Kevin Bright discusses his childhood in New York City, and his father, Vaudeville comedian turned talent manager, Jackie Bright. He talks about attending Emerson College, and, after graduation, working for producers Joseph and Gilbert Cate and producing David Copperfield specials. Bright shares stories of producing the syndicated series Madame’s Place and cable comedy specials, before working on the pilot of In Living Color. He talks about his work on Dream On, where he met Marta Kauffman and David Crane, with whom he created Friends. For Friends, he describes the pitching and development of the show, casting, shooting the pilot and the famous opening credits, directing episodes, and ending the show after ten seasons. He touches on Veronica’s Closet, Jesse, and the Friends spin-off, Joey and concludes by sharing his greatest career achievements and regrets, advice to aspiring television professionals, and why he decided to return to Emerson College, serving as the founding director of Emerson College Los Angeles. Jenni Matz conducted the interview in partnership with the American Comedy Archives at Emerson College on March 29, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA.
Highlights
Kevin Bright on attending Emerson College
Kevin Bright on the opening credits of Friends, how the theme song was written, and the song's popularity
Kevin Bright on his favorite Friends episodes he directed
Kevin Bright on his work as supervising producer on the pilot of In Living Color
Kevin Bright on why Friends was so successful
Kevin Bright on his proudest career achievements
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on attending Emerson College; on his first jobs out of college
On working for producers Joseph and Gilbert Cates; on producing David Copperfield specials; on moving to Los Angeles and associate producing Madame's Place
On producing cable comedy specials in the 1980s; on working with comedians
On working on the pilot of In Living Color; on Dream On; on working with Marta Kauffman and David Crane on Dream On and becoming partners with them
On Bright/Kauffman/Crane making a deal with Warner Bros.; on the challenges they had developing shows for networks after working at HBO; on the legacy of Dream On
Chapter 2
On pitching Friends to the networks; on casting Friends; on how Friends responded to 9/11
On the amount of drama that was included in Friends; on the Friends theme song
On the role of music on Friends; on the title sequence of Friends; on network input on Friends
On Friends becoming a hit; on his role on the show; on directing
On his favorite Friends episodes he directed; on Friends' Emmy wins; on the decision to have a tenth and final season of Friends
Chapter 3
On the finale of Friends; on Friends streaming on Netflix
On Veronica's Closet and Jesse; on Joey
On being the Founding Director of Emerson College Los Angeles; on the best advice he's received; on how the television industry has changed
On the documentary he made about his father; on advice to aspiring television professionals; on his proudest career achievements and regrets; on then-current projects; on how he would like to be remembered
Shows
Dream On
Kevin Bright on how John Landis came to create Dream On, based on a directive from Sid Sheinberg and with the vision of Marta Kauffman and David Crane
Kevin Bright on meeting and working with Marta Kauffman and David Crane on Dream On
Kevin Bright on the legacy of Dream On
Kevin Bright on why Dream On came to an end
Kevin Bright on directing episodes of Dream On and Friends
Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)
Kevin Bright on winning an Emmy for his work on the pilot of In Living Color
Kevin Bright on Friends' Emmy wins, and the fact that it didn't win any until the show's eighth season
Friends
Kevin Bright on he, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane selling Friends to NBC
Kevin Bright on the casting of Friends
Kevin Bright on how Friends responded to 9/11
Kevin Bright on how somewhat dramatic storylines were included on Friends
Kevin Bright on James Burrows directing the pilot of Friends
Kevin Bright on the opening credits of Friends (which almost didn't come to be) and how the theme song was written
Kevin Bright on the role of music on Friends, and the fact that they used the "real" version of popular songs, not covers
Kevin Bright on the opening credits of Friends, which featured the cast playing in a fountain
Kevin Bright on network input on Friends
Kevin Bright on Friends becoming a hit in its first season
Kevin Bright on how the instant success of Friends affected the cast and creators
Kevin Bright on his role on Friends during a typical week on the show
Kevin Bright on directing episodes of Dream On and Friends
Kevin Bright on his favorite Friends episodes he directed
Kevin Bright on his father appearing on two episodes of Friends
Kevin Bright on Friends' Emmy wins, and the fact that it didn't win any until the show's eighth season
Kevin Bright on the decision to have a tenth and final season of Friends
Kevin Bright on the finale of Friends, which he directed
Kevin Bright on why Friends was so successful
Kevin Bright on the legacy of Friends
Kevin Bright on Friends streaming on Netflix and its popularity with young people
Kevin Bright on the Friends spin-off, Joey
In Living Color
Kevin Bright on his work as supervising producer on the pilot of In Living Color
Kevin Bright on his involvement in the casting of In Living Color
Kevin Bright on winning an Emmy for his work on the pilot of In Living Color and not being asked back to work on the show after the pilot
Jesse
Kevin Bright on Veronica's Closet and Jesse
Joey
Kevin Bright on the Friends spin-off, Joey
Madame's Place
Kevin Bright on how he talked his way into a job on Madame's Place
Kevin Bright on associate producing Madame's Place, which was a syndicated show and had to shoot on an extremely rushed schedule
Veronica's Closet
Kevin Bright on Veronica's Closet and Jesse
Topics
9/11
Kevin Bright on how Friends responded to 9/11
Advice
Kevin Bright on the hardest thing to teach about directing and producing for comedy
Kevin Bright on the best advice he's received about comedy and show business
Kevin Bright on advice to aspiring television professionals
Censorship / Standards & Practices
Kevin Bright on an objection from executive Don Ohlmeyer to "Monica" sleeping with her date on the first episode of Friends
Classic TV Series Episodes
Kevin Bright on the finale of Friends
Comedy
Kevin Bright on the finale of Friends
Creative Influences and Inspiration
Kevin Bright on how his father, a former Vaudeville comedian, brought comedy into their home when Bright was a child
Kevin Bright on his love of television as a child, and how that sowed the seeds for his career
Kevin Bright on attending Emerson College
Emmy Awards
Kevin Bright on winning an Emmy for his work on the pilot of In Living Color
Kevin Bright on Friends' Emmy wins, and the fact that it didn't win any until the show's eighth season
Fame and Celebrity
Kevin Bright on how the instant success of Friends affected the cast and creators
First Big Break
Kevin Bright on his first job after graduating from Emerson College
Historic Events and Social Change
Kevin Bright on how Friends responded to 9/11
New Media
Kevin Bright on Friends streaming on Netflix and its popularity with young people
Overcoming Adversity
Kevin Bright on Bright/Kauffman/Crane developing shows for Warner Bros., and the challenge of networks wanting Dream On for network (which was impossible)
Pivotal Career Moments
Kevin Bright on how his father, a former Vaudeville comedian, brought comedy into their home when Bright was a child
Kevin Bright on his love of television as a child, and how that sowed the seeds for his career
Kevin Bright on attending Emerson College
Kevin Bright on Bright/Kauffman/Crane developing shows for Warner Bros., and the challenge of networks wanting Dream On for network (which was impossible)
Kevin Bright on his first job after graduating from Emerson College
Pop Culture
Kevin Bright on the opening credits of Friends, how the theme song was written, and the song's popularity
Kevin Bright on how the instant success of Friends affected the cast and creators
Kevin Bright on the finale of Friends
Television Industry
Kevin Bright on producing cable comedy specials in the 1980s and how the cable environment allowed him to create a niche for himself as a new kind of producer
Kevin Bright on Bright/Kauffman/Crane developing shows for Warner Bros., and the challenge of networks wanting Dream On for network (which was impossible)
Kevin Bright on an objection from executive Don Ohlmeyer to "Monica" sleeping with her date on the first episode of Friends
Kevin Bright on Friends streaming on Netflix and its popularity with young people
Kevin Bright on being the Founding Director of Emerson College Los Angeles
Kevin Bright on the hardest thing to teach about directing and producing for comedy
Kevin Bright on the best advice he's received about comedy and show business
Kevin Bright on how the industry has changed throughout the course of his career
Kevin Bright on advice to aspiring television professionals
TV Theme Songs
Kevin Bright on the opening credits of Friends, how the theme song was written, and the song's popularity
Professions
Directors
Kevin Bright on directing comedy
Kevin Bright on working with actors when he is directing
Producers
Kevin Bright on the difference between being a production manager and a producer
Kevin Bright on producing cable comedy specials in the 1980s and how the cable environment allowed him to create a niche for himself as a new kind of producer
Kevin Bright on working with comedians as a producer
Genres
Comedy Series
Kevin Bright on Madame's Place
Kevin Bright on Dream On
Kevin Bright on the legacy of Dream On and why it came to an end
Kevin Bright on Friends
Kevin Bright on Friends (Part 2)
Kevin Bright on Veronica's Closet and Jesse
Kevin Bright on the Friends spin-off, Joey
Late Night
Kevin Bright on his work on the pilot of In Living Color
People
Jennifer Aniston
Kevin Bright on Jennifer Aniston being cast on Friends
James Burrows
Kevin Bright on James Burrows directing the pilot of Friends
Joseph Cates
Kevin Bright on working for producers Joseph and Gilbert Cates
Gilbert Cates
Kevin Bright on working for producers Joseph and Gilbert Cates
David Copperfield
Kevin Bright on producing specials for David Copperfield (who he originally met while working for producers Joseph and Gilbert Cates)
Courteney Cox
Kevin Bright on Courteney Cox being cast on Friends
David Crane
Kevin Bright on how John Landis came to create Dream On, based on a directive from Sid Sheinberg and with the vision of Marta Kauffman and David Crane
Kevin Bright on meeting and working with Marta Kauffman and David Crane on Dream On, and how they decided to become partners
Kevin Bright on Bright/Kauffman/Crane making a development deal with Warner Bros. and Les Moonves
Kevin Bright on casting Friends with Marta Kauffman (who was more involved in the process than David Crane)
Kevin Bright on his professional break from Marta Kauffman and David Crane after the end of Friends
Marta Kauffman
Kevin Bright on how John Landis came to create Dream On, based on a directive from Sid Sheinberg and with the vision of Marta Kauffman and David Crane
Kevin Bright on meeting and working with Marta Kauffman and David Crane on Dream On, and how they decided to become partners
Kevin Bright on Bright/Kauffman/Crane making a development deal with Warner Bros. and Les Moonves
Kevin Bright on casting Friends with Marta Kauffman (who was more involved in the process than David Crane)
Kevin Bright on his professional break from Marta Kauffman and David Crane after the end of Friends
Lisa Kudrow
Kevin Bright on Lisa Kudrow being cast on Friends
John Landis
Kevin Bright on how John Landis came to create Dream On, based on a directive from Sid Sheinberg and with the vision of Marta Kauffman and David Crane
Matt LeBlanc
Kevin Bright on the Friends spin-off, Joey, starring Matt LeBlanc
Leslie Moonves
Kevin Bright on Bright/Kauffman/Crane making a development deal with Warner Bros. and Les Moonves
Don Ohlmeyer
Kevin Bright on executive Don Ohlmeyer not liking the title sequence of Friends
Matthew Perry
Kevin Bright on Matthew Perry being cast on Friends
David Schwimmer
Kevin Bright on David Schwimmer being cast on Friends: "David was the first one cast on the show"
Sid Sheinberg
Kevin Bright on how John Landis came to create Dream On, based on a directive from Sid Sheinberg and with the vision of Marta Kauffman and David Crane
Keenen Ivory Wayans
Kevin Bright on his involvement in the pilot of In Living Color and how Keenen Ivory Wayans pitched the show as "a black Saturday Night Live"
Kevin Bright on why Keenen Ivory Wayans let him go as supervising producer after the pilot of In Living Color