Pamela Fryman

Director


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In her two-hour interview, Pamela Fryman talks about her early life, and her first jobs in television on The Mike Douglas Show, The John Davidson Show, and The New Hollywood Squares. She discusses her first television directing job, on the daytime drama Santa Barbara. She recalls advice she got from veteran television director James Burrows, and directing the comedies Friends and Cybill. She recounts her time as a director on Frasier, and details working with the cast and crew of the show. Fryman chronicles directing Just Shoot Me and Two and a Half Men, and goes in depth about her long stint as one of the sole directors of How I Met Your Mother. She sums up by giving advice to aspiring directors, and discussing career highlights and regrets. Nancy Harrington conducted the interview on May 8, 2017 in North Hollywood, CA.

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

“[As a director], be kind, be strong. Empower people. Don’t feel like you have to know everything. That’s the most important thing, because that's what I thought at the very beginning and I realized that I was wrong, and that sort of saved my life."

People Talking About ...
Highlights
Pamela Fryman on the shooting style of How I Met Your Mother, and on a typical production week
04:33
Pamela Fryman on directing Frasier
04:13
Pamela Fryman on her directing style
01:18
Pamela Fryman on the production of Santa Barbara, and on becoming a director for the show
03:25
Pamela Fryman on interning on The Mike Douglas Show
06:45
Pamela Fryman on what she loves about directing, and on fulfilling her dreams
02:06
Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On interning on The Mike Douglas Show; on her first industry job as an assistant on The John Davidson Show; on working on The New Hollywood Squares
On working on Santa Barbara, and on becoming an assistant director on that show; on the production of Santa Barbara, and on becoming a director for the show; on what she learned from directing Santa Barbara
On finding work as a director; on advice she received from James Burrows; on directing Friends and Cybill
On directing Frasier; on working with David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee on Frasier; on preparing to direct Frasier
On the cast of Frasier; on directing Frasier; on directing Just Shoot Me

Chapter 2

On becoming an executive producer on Just Shoot Me, and on her favorite episodes of the show; on directing Two and a Half Men, and on working with Chuck Lorre on the show; on working with the cast of Two and A Half Men
On directing How I Met Your Mother; on casting How I Met Your Mother; on working with the cast of How I Met Your Mother, including Neil Patrick Harris and Bob Saget
On working with the guest stars of How I Met Your Mother, and on coming into her own as a director; on being the sole director of How I Met Your Mother for its entire run; on her directing style, and on working with the crew of the show
On the few other people who have directed How I Met Your Mother, and on her input into the content of the show; on the shooting style of How I Met Your Mother, and on a typical production week; on the logistics of shooting the show
On shooting specific episodes of How I Met Your Mother; on standards and practices issues on How I Met Your Mother, and on her involvement with post-production on the show; on shooting specific episodes of the show, and on the "Pineapple Incident" episode

Chapter 3

On extending the run of How I Met Your Mother to 9 seasons, and on finding the "mother" for the show; on the end of How I Met Your Mother; on the legacy of How I Met Your Mother
On what she likes about directing pilots; on directing The Odd Couple and One Day at a Time; on how the industry has changed since she started, and on women in the industry
On how technology has impacted directing; on the enduring popularity of the sitcom, and on mentors in her career; on what she loves about directing, and on fulfilling her dreams
On career achievements and regrets; on advice to aspiring directors and producers
Shows

Cybill

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Pamela Fryman on directing Cybill
02:25

Frasier

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Pamela Fryman on directing Frasier
02:09
Pamela Fryman on working with David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee on Frasier
01:04
Pamela Fryman on preparing to direct Frasier
01:19
Pamela Fryman on the cast of Frasier
02:27
Pamela Fryman on directing Frasier
02:39
Pamela Fryman on memorable episodes of Frasier
01:34

Friends

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Pamela Fryman on directing Friends
01:10

Hollywood Squares, The

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Pamela Fryman on working on The New Hollywood Squares
01:12

How I Met Your Mother

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Pamela Fryman on directing How I Met Your Mother
04:11
Pamela Fryman on casting How I Met Your Mother
01:32
Pamela Fryman on working with the cast of How I Met Your Mother, including Neil Patrick Harris and Bob Saget
05:22
Pamela Fryman on working with the guest stars of How I Met Your Mother, and on coming into her own as a director
02:51
Pamela Fryman on being the sole director of How I Met Your Mother for its entire run
03:41
Pamela Fryman on working with the crew of How I Met Your Mother
03:34
Pamela Fryman on the few other people who have directed How I Met Your Mother, and on her input into the content of the show
04:30
Pamela Fryman on the shooting style of How I Met Your Mother, and on a typical production week
04:33
Pamela Fryman on the logistics of shooting How I Met Your Mother
02:57
Pamela Fryman on shooting specific episodes of How I Met Your Mother
04:04
Pamela Fryman on standards and practices issues on How I Met Your Mother, and on her involvement with post-production on the show
00:53
Pamela Fryman on shooting the musical episodes of How I Met Your Mother, and on the "Pineapple Incident" episode
04:13
Pamela Fryman on extending the run of How I Met Your Mother to 9 seasons, and on finding the "mother" for the show
05:29
Pamela Fryman on the final episode of How I Met Your Mother
05:30
Pamela Fryman on the legacy of How I Met Your Mother
00:47
Pamela Fryman on a proposed spin-off to How I Met Your Mother
02:53

Just Shoot Me!

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Pamela Fryman on directing Just Shoot Me
04:03
Pamela Fryman on becoming an executive producer on Just Shoot Me, and on her favorite episodes of the show
01:30

Mike Douglas Show, The

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Pamela Fryman on interning on The Mike Douglas Show, and on moving to Los Angeles
06:45

One Day at a Time (2017-20)

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Pamela Fryman on directing One Day at a Time, and on working with Norman Lear
04:26
Pamela Fryman on working with the cast of One Day at a Time, and on rebooting the show
02:47

Santa Barbara

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Pamela Fryman on working on Santa Barbara, and on becoming an assistant director on that show
03:30
Pamela Fryman on the production of Santa Barbara, and on becoming a director for the show
03:25
Pamela Fryman on what she learned from directing Santa Barbara
01:47

Two and a Half Men

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Pamela Fryman on directing Two and a Half Men, and on working with Chuck Lorre on the show
01:41
Pamela Fryman on working with the cast of Two and a Half Men
01:18
Topics

Advice

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Pamela Fryman on advice to aspiring directors and producers
01:23

Creative Influences and Inspiration

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Pamela Fryman on the enduring popularity of the sitcom, and on mentors in her career
01:15

Historic Events and Social Change

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Pamela Fryman on how the industry has changed since she started, and on women in the industry
03:49

Pivotal Career Moments

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Pamela Fryman on the enduring popularity of the sitcom, and on mentors in her career
01:15

Representation on Television

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Pamela Fryman on how the industry has changed since she started, and on women in the industry
03:49

Television Industry

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Pamela Fryman on how the industry has changed since she started, and on women in the industry
03:49
Pamela Fryman on advice to aspiring directors and producers
01:23

Women

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Pamela Fryman on how the industry has changed since she started, and on women in the industry
03:49
Professions

Directors

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Pamela Fryman on the style of directing soap operas
01:49
Pamela Fryman on finding work as a director
03:03
Pamela Fryman on her directing style
01:18
Pamela Fryman on what she likes about directing pilots
02:13
Pamela Fryman on how technology has impacted directing
00:47
Pamela Fryman on what she loves about directing, and on fulfilling her dreams
02:06
Pamela Fryman on advice to aspiring directors and producers
01:23
Genres

Comedy Series

View Genre
Pamela Fryman on directing Friends and Cybill
03:35
Pamela Fryman on directing Frasier
11:13
Pamela Fryman on directing Just Shoot Me
04:03
Pamela Fryman on directing Just Shoot Me and Two and a Half Men
04:30
Pamela Fryman on directing How I Met Your Mother
43:54
Pamela Fryman on the enduring popularity of the sitcom, and on mentors in her career
01:15
Pamela Fryman on directing How I Met Your Mother (Part 2)
14:41
Pamela Fryman on directing the One Day at a Time reboot
07:14

Daytime/Primetime Serials

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Pamela Fryman on directing Santa Barbara
10:32

Game Shows

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Pamela Fryman on working on The New Hollywood Squares
01:12

Talk Shows

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Pamela Fryman on working on The Mike Douglas Show and The John Davidson Show
08:41
People

David Angell

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Pamela Fryman on working with David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee on Frasier
01:04

James Burrows

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Pamela Fryman on advice she got from James Burrows for directing Cafe Americain
03:37

Peter Casey

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Pamela Fryman on working with David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee on Frasier
01:04

John Davidson

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Pamela Fryman on her first industry job as an assistant on The John Davidson Show
01:56

Mike Douglas

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Pamela Fryman on interning on The Mike Douglas Show
06:45

Kelsey Grammer

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Pamela Fryman on the cast of Frasier, including Kelsey Grammer
02:27

Neil Patrick Harris

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Pamela Fryman on working with the cast of How I Met Your Mother, including Neil Patrick Harris and Bob Saget
05:22

Norman Lear

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Pamela Fryman on working with Norman Lear on the One Day at a Time reboot
00:54

David Lee

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Pamela Fryman on working with David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee on Frasier
01:04

Chuck Lorre

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Pamela Fryman on directing Two and a Half Men, and on working with Chuck Lorre on the show
01:41

Bob Saget

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Pamela Fryman on working with the cast of How I Met Your Mother, including Neil Patrick Harris and Bob Saget
05:22

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