Dan Harmon
Dan Harmon
Dan Harmonis an American writer and producer. Harmon is best known for creating and producing NBC comedy series Community, co-creating Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty, and co-founding the alternative television network/website Channel 101. Harmon published You'll Be Perfect When You're Dead in 2013 and is currently working on a second book set for publication in 2016...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Producer
Date of Birth3 January 1973
CountryUnited States of America
When you watch the sitcoms that were the big hits when I was growing up, TV was still just TV. It was allowed to just be TV. There were three channels that were competing for the whole family and you couldn't take your business elsewhere.
Well, the average person comes home from work really tired, and just wants to flip through channels until they land on the thing that's the least objectionable to them. They're not looking for their new favorite TV show because they know that that search will take forever and they'll go to bed unhappy.
If somebody's cat happens to turn on the TV, my numbers can double. It's almost unrelated to what's really happening.
I was playing the game where I was going to be a great TV or film writer some day and there was nothing else that I thought about, including other people.
I expect the audience to assume TV is stupid. I accept that it's my job to overcome it.
The concept of doing holiday episodes is a huge part of what's fantastic about doing TV. And viewers agree; you see the numbers going up for holiday episodes.
All [tv] shows are like cigarettes. You watch two, you have a higher chance of watching three. They're all addictive.
I think that casting is probably the most important thing in television production.
There are lots of emotions that go with the Fourth of July.
Emotionally, shows like 'Cheers' and 'Taxi' were classic sitcoms when I was growing up.
Eight o'clock is hard no matter what network you're on because people have to make a decision to sit down and start watching TV. Every other time slot is a time slot that happens after someone's watching something else.
I care very much what the fans think. I'm starting to loosen my grip on caring about what critics say, because I think that critics care about what fans think of them, too, so there's a little bit of a refraction there, through that glass.
People often ask me about what constitutes a nerd-friendly show - like, does it have to have sci-fi elements? But I think it's just a show that satisfies the secret craving we all have to be obsessed with something and not feel at all stupid about it.
When I was a kid I never knew the difference between a sitcom and a drama. I just knew what my parents were watching and what was making them happy.