'If someone reads into this joke, can we defend it?' That question is often on the mind of R.J. Fried, showrunner of OurCartoonPresident on Showtime
"We Don't Mind Getting in Trouble": How 'Our Cartoon President' Faces Hot-Button TopicsMid-way through the Showtime series' third season, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with showrunner R.J. Fried about the challenge of dramatizing "serious issues" without being too flippant or dismissive.That question is often on the mind of R.J. Fried, showrunner of
In order to make that happen in such an effective way, the team — described by Fried as "news junkies" — think ahead about what's coming up and what's on the calendar when the episodes air. "You have to be creative on the writing side and also not write yourself into a corner three months out. What's why we focus so much on the characters," explains the showrunner.
In the writers room, which Fried says can be up to 8 people [according to story requirements] and combines "sharp satirists and people who are good character writers," material is read and re-read aloud to ensure that they feel right. That's the challenge he faces each week and while that has never backfired, the real-life political events do take their toll on the writers. "I'll never forget when the reports started coming out about the caging of infants on the border," recalls Fried. "It was a night where we were all really emotionally affected by it and we thought, 'let's just go home.'" But they kept on pushing forward.
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'We Don't Mind Getting in Trouble': How 'My Cartoon President' Faces Hot-Button TopicsMid-way through the Showtime series' third season, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with showrunner R.J. Fried about the challenge of dramatizing 'serious issues' without being too flippant or dismissive.
Read more »