Christopher Lloyd

Writer / Show Creator

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, Christopher Lloyd talks about writing for such series as The Golden Girls and Frasier, and creating the show Modern Family. He discusses the camera technique used on Modern Family, as well as the casting of the show. He also discusses the storytelling on Golden Girls and why it was a groundbreaking show. Beth Cochran conducted the interview on June 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"You say okay, [only] 10% of the audience is going to get this, but it's still going to be worth it because it's so clever. And you put it in front of the audience and 60% of the audience get it. So that became the culture of [Frasier]- that you can write things that are a little bit more elevated. It was a very funny show and a smart show and those things don't exist simultaneously that often."

People Talking About ...

Christopher Lloyd

Highlights

Christopher Lloyd on the "stolen camera" style of Modern Family and how the show is scripted

Christopher Lloyd on the highly intellectual aspect of a show like Frasier and why it worked to take that risk; on giving credit to the intelligence of your audience; a "10%" joke

04:11

Christopher Lloyd on the storytelling on The Golden Girls and the six-scene format

01:58

Christopher Lloyd on his advice to aspiring writers: get life experiences

00:39

Christopher Lloyd on casting Modern Family; Ed O'Neill, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet; casting the kids

Christopher Lloyd on why The Golden Girls was a ground-breaking show and its influence on future sitcoms

02:59

Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On his early years and influences; on his father the television writer David Lloyd

On his college education, beginning to write and reading scripts for HBO;

On the filming of the Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" which his father, David Lloyd wrote; his first writing job on The Golden Girls; the writing process; the cast and characters on The Golden Girls; why the show was ground-breaking and lessons he learned from it.

On the show Down Home; meeting his wife who is also a writer; on Wings and what he learned writing on that show

On working on Frasier as both writer and producer; on the highly intellectual aspect of a show like Frasier and why it worked to take that risk; on giving credit to the intelligence of your audience; a "10%" joke; the writing process

Chapter 2

On Frasier and the character of "Niles" played by David Hyde Pierce; his favorite episodes; on winning an Emmy for Best Series for Frasier; on the relationship between the characters Niles and Daphne; working with John Mahoney; on guest-appearances from Cheers characters such as Ted Danson; on the relationships between various characters on the show

On deciding to leave Frasier after seven seasons; on developing Bram and Alice; on returning to Frasier to write the final season and final episode; on the writer David Angell; on the legacy of Frasier and shows he worked on after it was off air

On meeting Steven Levitan and forming a writing partnership, starting with Back To You; working with Ty Burrell and Fred Willard; on creating the show Modern Family with Steven Levitan

Chapter 3

On Modern Family and its style of looking into the camera without explaining it as a documentary; on ad-libbing; on casting the show; on the pilot; on working with Steven Levitan; on his favorite episodes to-date; on coming up with story ideas; on celebrity guest-stars

On the Modern Family production schedule; on what's coming up in Season Two

On the state of network television; on standards and practices; on the effect of the internet on his career as a tv writer; on his proudest achievement; on his dad's influence on him; on

Shows

Frasier

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Christopher Lloyd on Frasier and how it was to be different than Cheers; working with Kelsey Grammer; on taking risks by making both brothers psychiatrists

09:11

Christopher Lloyd on the highly intellectual aspect of a show like Frasier and why it worked to take that risk; on giving credit to the intelligence of your audience; a "10%" joke

04:11

Christopher Lloyd on the writing process on Frasier; trying not to sacrifice storytelling for a good joke

01:44

On Frasier and the character of "Niles" played by David Hyde Pierce; why we never saw "Maris"

Christopher Lloyd on his favorite Frasier episodes

Christopher Lloyd on winning an Emmy for Frasier for Best Series

On the romance between "Niles" and "Daphne" on Frasier and how it developed

Christopher Lloyd on characters from Cheers making guest-appearances on Frasier; on guest-actors lending their voices to Frasier's radio show

Christopher Lloyd on the relationship between Frasier and his father and how it evolved

Christopher Lloyd on Frasier's love interests

Christopher Lloyd on returning to Frasier for the last season

02:57

Christopher Lloyd on the difficulty of writing the final episode of Frasier; shooting the final episode; working with Kelsey Grammer

09:39

Christopher Lloyd on the legacy of Frasier;

01:07

Golden Girls, The

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Christopher Lloyd on his first writing job on The Golden Girls and how he got the job; the writing process on that show; coming up with story ideas

Christopher Lloyd on some of the racier topics dealt with on The Golden Girls: sex, interracial dating, etc