Ring, ring, ring ring. May I please speak with Zoe. Oh, Hello, lamar Let's patch in Hannah. God, I forgot what it was like working with you guys. Hello, everyone, and welcome to our show, which is called Welcome to our Show. Now. Today we're interviewing writer, director, show runner lover Father, amazing surfer. Sometimes I feel like he's high, but I don't think he actually is. He's just always cool and calm. He's responsible for some of your favorite New Girl episodes, Bad in Bed, The Landlord's Secrets, Models, A Father's Love. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Josh Maltmouth. Josh, how you doing? Man? Hey, Josh good? How are you? Guys? So good? Welcome to our show. Welcome to our show, Welcome to our show. We made it easy for everyone. We just say that over and over again. Um, we're so happy to see you and hear you. Yeah. Before we get started, I do have a question. We were talking about something beforehand, and this is completely off topic. If you could, would you nurse a cat? Would you know? Okay, well, even if it were even if I had really long teeth, I mean maybe if it were like kind of like a grapes of wrath situation, and it seemed like that was like that was the only you know that that that was like a Dave Finkel story. You guys know that story, right, No, no, no for those whore failure daats writers producers, no of our exact executive producers. Yeah. I think he was sleeping somewhere and a cat tried to two suckle off him. Who did he allow it? I think I think he stopped it. I don't know how quickly he stopped it, but I'm positive that this will can now come up in the Finkel interview, this story. We're because that's a situation that's one could start by being very um philanthropic for the cat, but at the same time could then become illegal if you let it go on for two. I think also, like, guys, he didn't have cat milk in those nipples. That's what I mean. That's why it gets illegal. It's like what you're doing, man. Yeah. I remember him saying the tongue felt very rough, and we all kind of like cut him off at that point. No more details needed. O, Well, we're gon hijo Hi josh So Josh Uh was one of our awesome writers there from day one to day one million and one and wrote so many fantastic and funny episodes and we're just so excited to have him. Yeah, to talk to you, guys, it's been a minute. So Josh, let's start at the beginning. How did you start your New Girl journey? When did you first, you know, hear of the show, and how did you get involved with that story? Well? Yeah, so so that, I mean, that's sort of the chapter two, I mean chapter. The first thing was I actually read about it on UM a little website called Deadline. Deadline Hollywood heard of it, heard of it, and when the pilot was announced all our favorite website, ye big big website, guys in the in the industry, and I saw that it just sounded it sounded like a really cool project. I just watched Jake Hasten's movie and I was a fan of Zoe and Liz, and I was like, Wow, that sounds awesome. And I've never done this before. And I was thinking about this this morning before we started recording. I've never emailed my agent to be like, I really want to be on this thing, and um, I had just come off my first job, UM a show that got canceled, um, but I email my agent instead, I think I could be good on this show. Um, and he was kind of like, yeah, whatever, everybody wants to be on this show. It's like the biggest new show. Yeah right, but yeah. Fortunately I was able to get a meeting and I met with with uh, Liz and bretton Dave and I saw the pilot. And sometimes when you go and watch a pilot before a stapping meeting, it like this horribly awkward thing because you see like a really a really terrible pilot and then you have to go meet with the creators and be like this is great, I really want to work on this show. But in this case, I was the pilot was amazing, and um, I was just I was like wow. And then then I got really nervous cause I'm like why I really want this job, so um yeah. Then you know they they declined to offer me a position on the show until Dave King passed on a on a on a job, and then then I was hired. Wait, who's Dave King. He's a great he's a great writer, and he passed on New Girl. He that is what I was told by my my reps lives in in Bretton. Dave will never cop to it, but yeah, I think he took a job on Park So that worked out for King. Everybody went everybody everybody wants well. Was that a successful show, wasn't? It's interesting because their staffing meeting happy before the show was picked up. Um, that's actually yes in some cases that's that's in in in this case, it was. I think I met with them like a week before the show got picked up, but it was pretty clear that the show is gonna get picked up. This show everybody. Yeah, I think I remember meeting you, Josh. I mean I guess I like probably met like all the writers when I first came in, Like I came into the writer's room just to say, hi, bring some treats whatever, you know, as one does. And but I remember spending time with you first on we had a promo we had to do, and I think it's just me and they had written all this stuff, but they didn't talk to the New Girl writers, and the stuff was it was like the marketing department or the like, like somebody had written it and it was like not quite tonally on brand for New Girl. So they brought you in and you were just so quickly rewriting everything to make it like right for Jess, And I was like, who is this wonder kind? Like you were so young and so like talented and smart. It's funny that you remember it that way because I remember being so nervous that I was like sweating through my clothes. I mean, I nen't really got on a set before. Well, they like sent you. You were the one they sent a set for that. Yeah, we sort we were we Zoe and I. We wrote it on the fly and it was this weird thing because it wasn't our crew really either, you know, it was all these it was kind of the promo department, um, and yeah, we and we wrote it on the fly. And yeah, I remember just being like like after I left, it was the biggest a general and rush because I never really and he's just promos, but I never been on it because the show worked on before was a multi cam that got shot. You know, it's a block and shoot, so it wasn't really like a lot of set times. So that was my first time being on a professional set and it was it was intense. Well you did such a great job. And I will say like I will say, like our marketing department was like absolutely amazing at Fox, and um we had Joe early in charge. He was just such a so great and um um. But you know, sometimes it was a brand new show and they had all the stuff written and it just wasn't quite We were like, that's not quite what we're doing. Um. And of course it was so wonderful to have you, they're representing and um rewriting all this stuff with me. Yeah. I mean that's the thing about a new show, and not just for the for the marketing department, for the writers room too. You know, you have a pilot, but you don't really know what it is yet, you know, and no exactly. I think we've watched what nine episodes now, and I think it took me till episode six or seven, I think, in my opinion to like figure out my performance. I think I like kind of had it on the pilot and then I get it. Let's walk let's walk out that with some bird shurts from a writer's perspective, Josh, because you were there from the beginning all the way to the end. Um, how was that process for you? Figuring out the characters the show where they we're going? And Yeah, I mean, I think that like, there's definitely some I mean, first of all, you know, there was a lot of vision from Liz. You know, she had a very clear sense of sort of what she wanted the feel of the show to be because it was very personal for her. Um And then I think as we got into series, there was just a lot of guests in check, you know, and like we try something and maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. I think, like you know, Berkeley Johnson pitched the thing about Winston not being able to do pranks, like it's too smaller, it's too big, and that really like helped unlock that character for us, you know, we sort of and also, I mean, it really is about spending time with you guys too, you know, I mean getting to know you guys and and letting sort of what's you know, what's funny about you kind of come out through the character and in a natural way, and like and you know, that's just that's just a process. You know, it just takes time. And I think sometimes you you you know, you find it really fast and other times it takes it takes a minute. But and also you know, characters change and the relationships change between the characters. I mean, it's all you're you know, you're definitely on kind of a ride, like in a way, you're kind of watching it with the audience, you know, and experiencing it in the same way. Yeah, and you guys, you know, walk us through that process of being in the room. Now. I for us as as actors. You know, there are a few of us. So we come, we come to work and we we we bounce off of each other, we hang out, we have fun, you know, we go home, we we text, we kick it. This little this little group. UM in the writer's room, there are there are a lot more of you. UM. Tell us about that process, about partnering off with different writers, how you come up with a story? Yeah, do you rather be by yourself doing it? Do you rather be with the group doing it? You know, it was it was a uniquely close group, you know. I mean, I'm still close with a lot of the writers. I think. You know, Liz Brand Dave did a really good job of hiring people who they kind of wanted to hire a young staff because they wanted people who were at the same life phase as the characters in the show, you know, and they wanted people to be bringing stories from their life into the writer's room. But yeah, I mean we we hung out all the time. I mean we would work until nine or ten and then we'd go out to dinner together, you know, and we do that a few times a week. I mean I was and it really it was like, I don't know, like a summer camp slash grad school feeling for me. You know, like this incredible you know, closeness and camaraderie with these people, but also you're producing this wonderful thing, so welcome. SHO gotta say every time you were on set, and for folks out there and listener town. When you're shooting a show, writers are on set, especially the ones who who wrote that particular episode, uh to kind of I guess guide the guide the ship, you know what I mean. We have like a different director every week sometimes and and it ends up becoming that the writers are or more like the the directors. And whenever, whenever you were on set, I gotta say that because things happen on set sometimes too, you know, disagreements or whether it may be um, something goes wrong with a proper or whatever the case may be, and you know, people can get a little chaotic sometimes on set sets can be very stressful. You were always very very chilled out. And that's the one thing I do remember about you, is it it never felt like there was an issue. There could have been issues that I that I would have never known if I looked at your face. Is that where you had a jazz that's because he had a jazz the environment jazz, yeah, jazz. The surfing. Yeah, it's a lot of jazz. Um a little John Coltrane. You're like, man, yeah, I don't know. I I think I just you know, it's a single surf. It's surfing. It's surfing, right, It's it's that the surfing could have played a role for sure too. I think that it was just it's a single camset, you know, like there's no audience there, you know, we have time to just take a breath and um find it and figure out kind of what we want to do. And yeah, it's funny you mentioned the like prop my one of my one of the experiences I had to being on set was that a proper person would come over and had several great ones throughout the years, and they would show me two props and like do you want Zoe, like holding this thing or this thing, and I would pick one and they look at me like wrong choice. This was a test for this job. We had the best props department. They were so incredible. I have to say, like like case in point that I think it was like one of the first episodes where I had a talking stick and then they made the tiny talking stick and I was like, I can't even believe how amazing. Yeah, so, Josh, I have to tell you so what I was like earlier, maybe not early on. It was actually several seasons in and I was talking to Liz and I was like, well, you know, she was like, yeah, you know, every writer you know was, you know, good at different things. So it's kind of like figuring out who writes you know, who best and everything. And then I was like, so, who writes Jess best? And I was gonna guess it was gonna be like one of the female writers, and She's like, Josh Malmott, Josh Mallmott is the best Jess writer. So I want to know how did you how did you connect with the character of Jess so well that you became the master of writing was out there? This is je Josh Malmoth is is Jessica Day. Yeah, I don't know. So that's a very kind kind thing of less to say, and I'm sure she's very upset that I know that now. But yeah, I don't know, like it I think that, M Yeah, I'm not sure. I think I really, Um, I think I I think that knee writer, like especially in a comedy writer, probably on some level feels like they were, you know, an outsider of some kind growing up, you know, and that's why we sort of turned to comedy, you know, as a way to like like not you know, like have people hang out with us and not, you know, I want to exclude us from things. And so yeah, I think that I always tried to look at just from that perspective, almost like a scientist, trying to figure out like these guys and what you know, you know, what made them tick and how to sort of survive in their ecosystem. Um. I don't know, though. I think it's just the thing about writing a sitcom is like, you know, every character exists in relation to the other characters, you know, and it's those dynamics and those relationships that are really important, you know. So it also might have been that I just really enjoyed, you know, writing Jess and how she interacted with c C and and and you know Winston and and I think I think I always really I loved it was always when I sat down to write like a scene with two people, especially that I was like, oh, this is really fun, Like now I really need to get into what this what their dynamic is. The two persons scenes were always my favorite ones to play too, because when we had like a million people in the room, I was always it's chaotic. You can the way even the way you shoot it, you can cross shoot it, you can improvide. Yeah, well in the style I feel like the style of New Girl. And one of the reasons it was so good was like Liz wasn't afraid to go there with two characters, like let them really start to get into it and not just like you know, yelling at each other, insulting each other, but like digging out what's weird about each other, you know, and really like picking at it in a way that always made for really surprising, interesting scenes. Um yeah, I I was somebody linked me to the The Models episode. Um and the two great scenes you know, one with you and you and Hannah where you guys really get into it with the models, and then you're up on the the I did want to ask you because I've never asked you about being on that spinning platform. You're so funny. Um yeah, well so so the dangerous but I was on it and then the d there were some dangerous parts where Monica might stunt double. I have to give credit to her. She's absolutely awesome and I've worked with her for a long time and she was such a great study of character, like she's like, you know, she's very special. So she she she held me out in the parts where it was going to be unsafe for me to be up there. But oh my god, it was one of the most fun things ever to play that scene. Like the physical comedy of that scene was so much fun. And I loved doing that. And the fact that we had like we actually had a car responsor, like didn't we have a because they were like for further, go further. I remember, further go further. We had to slip a commercial into it, Yeah, yeah, a couple of times. That was our first one though, right, it was our first one, and I think a couple of people were confused at the time. I was like no, no, no, this is fantastic. We actually are. It's like a car show, like within a car show, but another um episode. We just watched Bad in Bed, which is so good, Like, oh my god, that was such a fun episode. That was just No one right that that's the one you submitted for the Emmys. It wasn't that one. It was actually I made a mistake. It was actually Models. I knew it was a Josh Mammas episode that I submitted for Emmys, but it was Models that I submitted because I think because somebody was like, like, oh, it's nice to have an episode with a lot of physical comedy in addition to like the you know, yeah, that was that was really I mean, that was the crazy experience of shooting. That was when you and and Justin were doing those scenes, Zoe, I was like, are we going to be able to air this? Like this is the craziest thing I've ever seen? And it was so funny and weird and it really like you and you embraced it with Augusto that I really respect the voices, the character voices, Josh, you ever make uh make weird voices, you know when you're doing based on truth? Ever? Ever ever happened. I wish I could take credit for that, but that's all Liz. It's all is the Jimmy Store voice stuff. So what did you Because that was your first ever episode you wrote, so I'm sure that felt like a lot of pressure to perform and produced a great episode Season one of the show nine episodes in. So what were you given? Um? And then we walk away? And then what did you bring back that then landed in the show. You know, it's trying to remember what that process was like. I mean, I think he was actually pretty pretty typical, and that we came up with the story um in the room, you know, in the writer's room, and we spent a few weeks breaking it out, UM. And I feel like for that episode, we really had a clear sense of what we wanted to do, right Like Paul Genslinger, I believe was justin characters, justin Long still on my phone as Paul Genslinger, by the way, or no, I might have just changed back to justin Long because I was like, this is ridiculous. It's been a decade of Ginslinger. I wonder how often he gets Cancelinger people yelling Genslinger are Now we'll find out we'll find out. Yeah, after the pandemic whenever, like so many people were like bands watching the show. Yeah, Um, yeah, we knew we wanted you know her too, you kind of take the next step with with Paul. So we had a clear sense that we wanted to do in that episode. And then and then yeah, we came to the story and I think I wrote, you know, there's all these steps. You know, we write a story area, which is sort of a condensed outline, which we send to the network, and then we get notes on that. Then we read an outline and we get notes on that, and throughout that process we're getting notes from a lot of people and we're making revisions and you know, a new girl. The outlines were really long. In some cases, they were like fourteen or fifteen pages. Um, it's super detailed. And mean, you guys, if you guys get hands on one and be interesting, I think you'd be surprised at how much is in there. I wouldn't be surprised. I've seen some of those. Yeah, we would get all backs that were like two underpages on that sounds true about Yeah, and who do you think was generating all that material? I mean, you guy I would sweet sit in rooms and just pitch jokes for hours and hours and hours. Um. And you know, it was a great training, you know. I mean besides just you know, generating good content for the show, it was a great way to learn how to how to write jokes. But but yeah, and then yeah, and then I wrote the draft and uh, you know, and then we all kind of worked on it together. Um. I don't know, you know, I think that like Liz had the idea it was funny that I was writing it because she had the very funny idea that Jess buys this extremely complicated piece of lingerie and doesn't really know how to where it. Um. And I remember asking just a lot of detailed questions about like, well, what are we talking about, because I don't have a lot of experience with this, and she's like, it's like a it's like it's like a spider web. I'm like, okay, okay, that doesn't help me a lot, but I'll do my best. But yeah, you know, did you do a Google search or go out in the field to do research. I may have done some some googling. Did it change your algorithm in your disturbing for a while I'm like, don't, don't go. I want to mess with my my algorithm. Boulevard for a few blocks and we'll say. Still to this day, I get leather, strappy laundrete um. But yeah, I I you know, in the experience of producing the episode was yeah, I mean it was surreal, you know. I mean we were, um, we shot a lot of location. I remember on that show we were you know, with Max. We were out like in the valley. Um, I don't say the value. Don't don't say the valley like that. You said the way you said the valley and the looks like it's a hervey. Yeah, the valley. I live in the valley. There was a tone here in the town. I think some some people might be sensitive, but I'm not gonna. Valley is a beautiful place, Okay. I mean I like the valley. I love the valley. I love to live in the valley. I haven't seen grass in a while, but that is okay, Okay, there's grass in the valley. Okay. You might not have seen the ocean in a while. I have not. I have not, but I have a pool and you've seen that probably as water has dried out. It's very hot in the valley. When you write an episode and then you bring it to all of us to do a table read in front of the studio and the network before you shoot, how is your first table read hearing the cast read your do you ever feel like ruined it right? Did we screw it up? I remember thinking that with a play I wrote in high school and then the actors who are my friends read it, and I was like, they ruined every joke wrong? They didn't and then try rarely rarely, I mean, you guys were so good, and you know, I mean, my my sort of overall philosophy about making TV shows is that it's you guys, you know. I mean, you're the thing. You're what makes it all work, and our job as writers is really just to try to, you know, platform you and put you in position to do your best work and kind of get out of the way, you know. Um. So I think more often than not, it's not so much like if something didn't land, it wasn't oh lamore and completely messed that up. It was um which may have been the case, but our thinking was never never not you maybe season one, season two, but I think it was more like, what did we not do right to like, you know, put you know what. It was more it was always more reflected. It was like, what didn't we do right to like make that joke work? You know what can we you know? Fix um? So yeah, the weird thing about a table read is that you like, you know one, like everybody tells you, especially when you're a new writer. Everyone's like, don't worry, the network knows that we work on all of these This isn't a reflection on you. And then you're up there and the network's looking at you, and you're like, of course, this is a reflection on me. Yeah. For for people who don't know like how a table read works, I'm just gonna give a little background you. Basically, every week on a TV show, most comedies, some dramas, some dramas don't have them just because it's not as necessary, but to kind of test out your jokes some stuff, you have a table read where all the actors come together with the new, brand new script and you know, everyone's there, all the writers and the director and the net at work and the studio and it's a whole lot of people and everyone watches it like it's a little play reading and um, and then the actors leave go back to set, and then the writers and the director have to go through a bunch of it's often a cold read too. Yeah. Usually we've never seen the script before and it's really set up for success. Can be great. I think sometimes for me, if it's written for me, it's sometimes better if it's cold read, because it's like it's super fresh. But if it if it's somehow misses the market can be very bad. Yeah. So I hear that that my um that my character was called no notes Winston? Um? Is that true? Is that after? You not going to just say it right now? Yea. And of course the Winston story where he can't put together a puzzle perfect not change anything, that's that is you know, I mean they've never read anything better. There's there's so few people on the show though that we're there from day one all the way to the finale. What was the evolution of the show like for you? And I'm sure in the writer's room you became kind of like the O G Well. Um, in fact, I wasn't there till then I did. I was there all th season five and then I you know, part of ways with the show. Oh, I don't know why. I thought you were there till the end. I remember you there till the end. Me too, because when he left, the show really died. I mean we did seven seasons, so you didn't come back. I was the last six because seven was kind of a little mini mini and I wasn't. I wasn't there for six either, um, which was really sad. I mean, not not being never was really hard. I think I just felt like it was time. You knows a lot of episode you know, it's a lot of episodes. Um. Yeah, but yeah, I don't know the evolution of the show it. You know, somebody told me once, maybe Steve Hemmingson or another writer said that, you know, you started doing comedy and you know you end up you end up doing soap opera on long running shows, you know. And I think that, like, you know, there is some truth to that in any in any sitcom where there's you know, romantic relationships, they'll start to take up more and more of the story. Um. But I felt like that was really, you know, really good for us. I felt like I gave a show a lot of momentum and when we really got you know, locked into um, you know, Nick and Jess and Schmitt and c c uh sorry lamarn Um. I think the combo of the serialized element and the episodic like that is kind of paramount to you know, the modern day sitcom. I think that combination was a really nice one for this It was and I felt like that we had we struck a good balance on the show, like we still had a lot of space to do really really silly stuff. Um. But there you know, you still kind of had that momentum. Um. Yeah, I was thinking the other day about that episode where and I completely forgotten about it until Um, I was thinking about the show for for to do the podcast. Um, the episode where Jess makes out with Schmidt's dad and oh my god, great Peter Gallagher the show that was so she wouldn't stop talking about that for months. Untrue, That is untrue. But I was like so excited to work with Peter gallery. He was absolutely amazing. But um, but I'm pretty sure I was pregnant. I was pregnant a lot of this show. So, um, I'm pretty sure I was pregnant or had a baby like with me. So the last four years were like a blurb of baby children. Um for me. But um, yeah, I love Peter gallerher and that that was a super hilarious episode. Was I worry to Go Pro or something where go Pro? And Smit's dad tries to kiss me, and I'm like, I have a camera. I don't know why I don't remember the episode because I I have to go back on your head the fans out there, I have no memory, and I have to we have to go back and watch it, like five seasons. Pick something out. I think it was wedding planning. Oh trust you? He didn't trust you. That's right, So he made you wear a camera on your head. Oh that's right. She went didn't trust me. Joel remembers more than any of us because she's watched the show more than any Well, you end up making out with his dad, Then that seems like I didn't end up making out with him. He tries to make out with me. That on him, He makes a move on me. Yeah, I trying to like, I was trying I love the O C. And I was trying to have like that Sandy Cohen moment with Peter Gallagher and he's just looking at me like, son, I'm an actor. You understand that I'm not that man, maybe you could just give me some fatherly advice, just just for a second, just says Peter Gallagher's like the time we had Rob running on the show and um from all in the family. He used to always get called meathead. And I don't know why I decided to improvise that call him meat head. And when I say I don't know it, it's not thought. He wasn't okay with it, because that reaction would have made me feel at least a little bit better if he were just upset about it. He looked at me. He looked at me as if to say it was his amateur hour. Yeah, he felt sorry for you. It's really didn't really pull that withet like pity. It was forty years ago. You don't think. I don't think I've got a few things since then. Well, you guys were so you guys were so good on your feet. I mean we would throw lines at you guys, and you would have to figure out how to turn them into jokes. How did you How did you do that? Like? Was that was that difficult? I mean I love it, honestly, Like it was really fun because there were so many ways that I think that the process of making the show, which it was. Was it times chaotic um, but there were so many ways that it kind of kept everything fresh. And like, if you're just seeing line that are written and only those lines, it's hard to sometimes keep things fresh and funny. And so those you know times when you guys would just throw stuff at us, it allowed us to have like this really spontaneous processing and then just a really like quick kind of improvisational energy. And then we also had a lot of improvisation on this show. So it was like all that combined made for many ways to get to a fresh, fun result, and so I loved it. I was like, I mean, I was like in heaven that we could we had all these different ways of keeping it. Really, for me, it was it was based especially because our actors on the show are all improvisers. We we we goof off in between takes. We we riffed between takes, we do we do bits characters in between takes. So when you throw a joke out there, a lot of times we're trying to see how we could say it in the most obscure way as well. You know, when you think about the Schmidt character, you throw a joke at him time. He doesn't understand what you're saying, so he's like he's like, I'm gonna do it. I want to try it in a Schmidt way, mispronouncing words, things like that that make it the character unique, but also it makes the process of of it's like someone throwing it's like a It's like a it's like baseball, you know what I mean, Let's see what Let's see which pitch you're gonna throw, and let's see if I can hit it? And you instincts, Yeah, it was so fun. It's I mean, and just to give you know, give people a little background, like in some cases, I would be standing next to the camera and you know, saying, you know, Hannah, now say you know what if that guitar was a banana, and you just look at me like what we think I could work. I do remember getting to a point on this show where you kind of had so much trust with the writers and the show, and the show is such a success and people are resonating with it that It's true you might not understand why someone is pitching you something, but you're also like, let's just get through our day so we can all go home. Say the words and just try, like Lamuren saying to just like catch the ball and you know what I mean. And you know a lot of really like talented filmmakers do that, Like I know David o' russell does that. He just yells stuff and for people to say and that they don't necessarily understand. And I think it's like part of a way to keep actors kind of on their toes and some things. Stay in it. Just stay in it, yeah, stay in it and make it workco Josh, why do you think so many people have resonated with this show? I feel this show is like network sitcoms, especially single camera ones, don't run for this long. Yeah, and there's something that kind of kept it special with so many people, and it's having like a revival but the right word to use where people are rediscovering it. And for someone that was on the show for so long, why do you think it connected so well? Well, it's gonna sound corny because I'm talking to you guys, but it's it's you guys. Really, I mean it's you and you guys. You're all such wonderful performers, um and you had really incredible chemistry. I mean, I you know when I'm thinking about what show I want to go work on next or whatever. The first thing I'm looking at is who's in it, you know, because that's really good. That's your engine. That's what people connect with, you know, they connect with the characters and and and my extension, they're really connecting with the actors um and and then yeah, I'm on top of that. So yeah, it was just like a murderer's row, you know, batting lineup of great comic actors, um and then there are some other things like that aren't even about the writing. I think that the you know, Jake established a really wonderful way that the show is shot. It feels really good to watch it, you know. Um, the sets are great. You know. The loft is a great set. You know, it's just such a such a lived in place that you just want to spend time in. You know. There's all those interesting stuff all over the walls. I mean I remember walking around the set and just looking around to get story ideas, you know, like those glass grapes or about to say, the blue balls, you guys Damon called the blue balls. My grandparents had those glass grapes, but like in a different color. And when I whenever I look at those, I'd be like my grandpa, So that sounds would you would just kind of think about like, well, what could we do with that, Like the thing that we've been seeing for the last fifty episodes, what if we did a story about that? So I think those are that was huge. You know, I think when you think about long running shows, you know, the Friends apartment or the Cheers bar or the New Girl Aloft, you know, it's such a it's just a place you want to spend time, you know. And then you know, and then I think from a writing perspective, Um, you know, I think everyone can relate to a time in their life where they just felt a little out of control and felt like they were trying to like, you know, get something going, you know, whether that was romantic or professional or whatever. Um, and that their friends were the people that they really relied on during that time. And so I think that's a very and you know, in a in a great way. Um, A generation of people experiencing that is minted every year, you know, like that that is experience that people will keep having, you know, you know, um, you know, our kids will have it in whatever fifteen or twenty years and and they'll discover the show hopefully, and it'll feel, you know, it'll feel honest to them, you know. So I think I think that, you know, except the flip phone, the flip phone will feel honest. I was. I was saying, I feel like our phone situation has aged pretty well, like they were mostly mostly except Nick. And Nick always has a flip phone because he was supposed to have like an outdated phone. But now it's just like even the people that would have had flip phones then would still at least have some kind of a non flip Here's something I discovered though, because we saw the flip phone and the pilot right and we're like, oh, that was a Nick character choice. Makes sense except for an episode one O nine the three, Winston pulls out a flip phone. It's the Chicago thing. And then I went, is this the one thing that will date our show is this flip phone? Because I thought it was a Nick Miller thing, and I thought that makes sense they have giant like the Giant. No, I realized it's because Winston was jobless, so he couldn't afford one of those story on it put some story afford the iPhone, so we had to flip phone that episode. I remember seeing a cut of that episode in the writer's room and that was the first moment because the show hadn't even aired yet, And that was the first moment where I was like, Oh, this is this, this is like a serious thing right now, Like this was really good, you know, And it wasn't anything we had done. It was just that, you know, your guys chemistry was so amazing you It was just the show hadn't aired yet when we shot the Christmas episode. Is that wrong? That could be wrong? Maybe the two episodes were out. Yeah, I feel like it was. It had no it had because we were shooting the Thanksgiving with the dead Win. The show premiered right right right, So we're only a couple in yeah, like a couple later. I do want to ask there's a little game that Hannah likes to play on the show, and I want to know the show we on this show, we try to find the bear. There's a rumor that there's a bear in every single or mention of a bear, the word, a picture, or something. That's something The writer's room was intentionally um making sure they kind of got in. There are some things that Liz enjoys. Liz Merryweather career genius behind New Girl. She enjoyed talked to her later this season everybody she enjoys mustard, and these are I'm not saying these are things. The words she likes, these words bear, she likes hats, mentions of hats or actual hats. So these are kind of like motifs in the show, I think just because it Liz found them to be funny. But yes, there were well, and then at one point we actually had and I still have it around somewhere, a eight foot cardboard stand up like cut out bear that we would what we would do with it in the writer's office is put it outside someone's closed office door, so that they opened the door there would be a big bear bear staring at them. And it's surprisingly scary when you get when you get bared, especially when you've slept in your office all night. And yes, that's a terrifying time to get bared. Um So it's allegedly true. There could be a mention of a bear in every episode, or there's a lot of there's a lot of bear stuff, there's a lot of dogs stuff. I was partial to lizard jokes, So you might find some lizard stuff in there. I don't know. We all have we all have our things, you know, ever been about the things? Yeah? So so you're on New Girl, You're you. You you have this this, you have the best experience of your life, even really not joking. So you you you go on to be a show running yourself. M hmm, what what? What? What was that transition for you? Like was it did you feel like you were taking a big leap or did you feel like you were taking you're having a natural transition into what comes next. Oh, it feels like a crazy leap. It feels like crazy leap because you you know, when you're on the staff, you know, when you go home at the end of the day, you're done. You get in your car and you go home, you know, and when you're running a show, you never you're never done. You just decided to stop working so you can eat and go to sleep. You know, there's always something to do. The amount of work is just is huge, and there's a lot of responsibilities that as a writer on a show you just don't have. You know, you're you know, you have to talk to the network several times a day, you're talking to all the different departments, you're working with the actors, you know, in my day, which I loved, but it would start with me going on stage and talking to the actors and we talk about the scenes and you know, the script. Um. But I do think that New Girl prepared me um and that I spent a lot of time on set a new Girl. You know, I would sometimes come down with newer writers and just kind of be around if you know, anything came up, and I think it was you all that time. Uh that you know, it made it easier the transition, because you know, that's a big part of your job as a showner. That's different from you the writers. You're working with the you know, with the crew and with the cast. Um. But nothing really prepares you for running a show. It's it's, you know, an amount of work. It's a staggering amount of work. Yeah, will you tell everybody at home what you're working on now, because yeahbody wants to tune in. Yeah, I work on a show called Ghosts that actually just premier. O'donna trend o'donna. Tranda Donald one of our amazing directors who then became our directing producer. He is just such an amazing he's the best, and he's so handsome, and he has such a great accent. He's just he's so easy, which is very funny because he is a very talented, incredible handsome man. And then we had an actor called Trent that was on for about a season and he had Trent Garrett that Jake Johnson said, well, how are we going to tell the difference and then called actor Trent handsome Trent to differentiate the two trends, and that was their both hands correct, they're both very handsome. So and also can I just also mentioned Trent. O'donald has a very talented wife as well, very She did one of my favorite shows called Down. Yeah, I'm working on that with Trent. Uh. It's weird because we shoot the show in Montreal. Yeah, yeah, you have to go up there for I haven't got I haven't gone. So it's actually it's it's a little sad because I haven't gotten to have that really hands on experience of you know, why are you shooting in Montreal just for like locations or Canadian tax Yeah, I think it's tax credits. I think it's just you know, it's because it's Canada. I could tell you you're not missing anything. You're not missing being on set on that show. You're not missing anything. It's two dogshit actors in Oodkarsh and Rogue Carsh on book Car and Rose mcgeiver are not good people. And you mean I've worked with both of them there very I don't I don't know what's going on here, but there's some kind of inside joke. So Rose mcgeiver from a Zombie. She was also on season one of Wolke on my show, Um, play a couple on that show. And then Kars like everybody loves with cars, cars was now we do, Mira, Mira, that's right, that's right. So and so I actually love those two. There are two of my favorite people. Um, but I give them all the good people. I said that to Karsh when he went to shoot the pilot for Ghosts. I'm like, this is like so many New Girl people are on Ghosts. I'm like, you're surrounded by the best. Well in a way though, it's kind of like New Girl. I mean, it's just a roommate show. You know, there there goes, but it's essentially a roommate show. Everybody did. I'm always pitching the same kind of things that I pitched a New Girl, which is like somebody didn't say goodbye to somebody and they're getting really upset about it, and by the end of the episode they're both crying about it, which to me is like the prototypical New Girl story. Oh yeah, I think there was even a line that my character had. I think I said, I said good night. I said good night to you every night. Nick. What's the matter you don't want me to have a good night? M gosh, we like remiss to ask you because you were on the show for so long and it's like a big relationship and then it kind of ends. You move on. Do you have any regrets when you look back of things you wish you done differently, or there's moments that stand out for you that were particularly challenging that you revisit. Yes. One I revisit often is um when I and this was there's it was nobody's fault but my own. I thought it would be funny to do a camping episode where most of the episode is outside at night. I I really didn't care for being outside in Franklin Canyon all night for five days straight. Well, that's funny because we didn't either, and I do want to take it was a really good episode. Though it was good. It was a really good episode. I will say it's funny because I always say it's a right of friends. I'm like, if you find yourself writing exterior Night, just think if it's followed by another exterior night, just think about it. Like definitely. Like if I'm getting at this point in my career, if I'm getting a script that's like a movie and I see like exterior Night, exterior Night, exterior Night, I'm like, nope, past, Sorry, I don't care how good this is. Don't you have everything you have to be fully nocturnal. Yeah, we make exceptions for certain people, but I just will say that I once worked on a movie that was four months of nights in Miami in the summer, and it was like, I love that though Miami. In the middle of the night, it was nine five degrees and I never slept. I was well going up every morning at the hotel I was staying at by the housekeeping staff, We're so mad at you were sleeping in and I'd be like, I'm so sorry, I'm so tired. Could I just sleep a little bit? Longer. Yeah. Anyway, that was punishing though, I mean it was so cold, and yeah, I remember I remember that week and I think like when we wrapped that episode, I just went home and got in bed, and it was like, you know, it was it was like it been to war or something like I just got in bed and like didn't get out for days. It was a really true because also everybody's kind of a little mad at you too. That was like, yeah, you guys loved to be differently for a little while after that, so why can we just do this on the stage. Yeah, I thought, like I thought Josh was our friend. Yes he's not. I guess that's not true. Damn, Suit, that was the day you realized that you were on your way, you weren't one of us. Yeah. It was rare though that we got to pick out like coats that had to be actually practical and functional. Yeah, not like a cute Kate Spade coat for me, that's right. And I remember I picked the wrong coach and ye never got bad. I remember Jake had to like like wade out into the like lake that he's not even a lake, it's just like a pond that just sits there and he had to like dunk his head for a scene, and he was he was a trooper about it. But that is shocking. He always was the one who got sent in. I mean, well I did a couple of times, but they usually sent Jake in the water where he was ocean. Yeah. Yeah, that was getting an ocean in the middle of the night, wet and dark. Yeah that was a just okay, all right, So I we don't want to take up too much of your time on your beautiful daughter's birthday. Um, but we want to thank you so much for coming on our show. We hope you'll come back another time. Yes, you know if you like, let's go do some more episodes to guys like we don't even have to do do Let's we don't have to air. Let's just you guys more to my house and oh my god, during the day, just throw some alt set up. It's all gonna be on stage interior. Perfect word. Um, Josh, you are amazing. We celebrate you and love you. Thanks guys, love to please thank your wife for for for lending you good to see you guy by by to see you. Bye, Josh, you've been listening to Welcome to our show. A new Girl Recap podcast. Welcome to Our Show is a production of I Heart Radio, hosted by zoe Dechanelle, Lamar and Morris and Hannah Simone. I Our executive producers Joel Monique. Our engineer and editor is Daniel Goodman. The Welcome to Our Show theme song was written by Zoey Deschanel, performed and produced by Zoey Deschanel and Pierre de Reader. Follow us on Instagram and Welcome to Our Show pot. If you have a question you'd like us to answer, you can email us at Welcome to Our Show podcast at gmail dot com. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and share far and wide. Thanks for listening. We'll hear you next week.