I think if you’re too concerned with being cool or hip or liked, you can’t really make good TV because sincerity and coolness are opposites. Michael Schur Read Quote
I care more about making sure the story is correct and the characters are behaving in character than I do about the individual jokes. Michael Schur Read Quote
People think of taxes as money just being robbed from you. They don’t consider the benefits of paying taxes. The benefits that they get and also the benefit of just being a part of a large group of people: a town, or a city, or a country, or a society that allegedly should stand together and all try to help each other. Michael Schur Read Quote
I believe in the importance of sincerity and emotion and honesty in TV, even when it’s goofy comedy. Michael Schur Read Quote
The best episodes of ‘The West Wing’ that dealt with policy and stuff, in my opinion, were the ones where they were in the middle of a crisis, and they were trying to figure out how to solve problems. Michael Schur Read Quote
My favorite TV show of all time is ‘The Wire,’ which has the feeling of a project-based show. You draw in people from disparate parts of the world, and they have to work together to achieve a goal. Michael Schur Read Quote
When someone pitches a joke for a character that is just perfect, and you can imagine that actor reading that line at your table read or on the set, it’s like the sound of a snap snapping into place. Michael Schur Read Quote
For storytelling purposes, there has to be conflict, but that doesn’t mean the people have to be mean. I’ve never liked mean-spirited comedy. Michael Schur Read Quote
People don’t seem to make the connection between their tax money and the benefits that they get from their tax money, like free education, and the fire department, and police protection, and everything else. It drives me bonkers, because it’s pretty straightforward to me. Michael Schur Read Quote
My favorite sitcom of all time is ‘Cheers.’ That’s a perfect example of how, like, people made fun of Cliff, but you never got the sense that they didn’t like Cliff. Michael Schur Read Quote