I’d had enough friends who had been on The Daily Show — guys like Rob Corddry and Steve Carrell — where, if you’d worked in New York and you became available, Los Angeles just had to have you. So I knew that it was pretty likely that I’d be able to go to L.A. and get some kind of prime-time show.
Originally, I’d said, “I’d like to just think up one by myself,” which I kind of got like a pat on the head about — “Oh, that’s nice.” They were right though. I know how to make a funny show, but at that point, I hadn’t run a show. I needed someone who knew the process and the political hurdles.
My agents set me up on a lot of blind dates with TV writers and creators. I met with tons of people, but I was mostly treated with condescension. They would frequently treat me like Gomer Pyle, just some sort of hillbilly that didn’t know what he was doing. But by that point, I’d been on TV for hundreds and hundreds of hours. I also am a pretty good writer and a good joke writer. That was one of the biggest gifts that Conan O’Brien gave me — from the very beginning, he invited me into the creative process of every show that he did.
Also, in regards to these potential creators I was meeting with, I have something of an authority problem. I’m not a huge rebel, but I really hate people telling me what to do — especially people who I don’t think are as qualified or as competent as I am — and there were a lot of unfunny motherfuckers trying to tell me how this show should be and how funny it should be. So, nothing sparked my interest until they set me up to meet Victor Fresco.
Paget Brewster, Jessica Green on Andy Richter Controls the Universe: I knew both Victor and Andy, and before they met, both of them called me. Victor called me and said, “They want to set me up on a meeting with Andy Richter. I don’t want to waste my time. Is he a good guy or not?” I was like, “He’s a great guy!” Then Richter called me and said, “I think you worked with Victor Fresco. They want to set me up on a meeting with him. What’s he like?” And I said, “Victor’s great.”