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Hey, this is danish sports. You may know my voice from noble blood, Haleywood, or stealing Superman. I'm hosting a new podcast, and we're calling it very special episodes. A very special episode is stranger than fiction.

It sounds like it should be the next season of True Detective. These canadian cops trying to solve this mystery of who spiked the chowder on the Titanic set.

Listen to very special episodes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, it's Jenna Ashkowitz and Kevin McHale, hosts of and that's what you really miss. Podcast.

We're reliving the magic of McKinley High by watching all six seasons of Glee.

We have exclusive interviews with some of your favorite glee cast members like Chris Kofer, Amber Riley, Darren Chris, Heather Morris, Alex Newell, and so many more.

Meet us in the choir room while we reveal our greatest memories and untold stories.

Listen to. And that's what you really miss. Podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A small town with secrets hidden for centuries.

You turn up in Danville, just as the town sees its first real crime.

In decades and a curious stranger who may be their only chance for survival.

I'm talking about the murder and disappearance in small town New Hampshire.

What do you think this is? Consumed, an all new supernatural audio thriller inspired by the novel by Aaron Manke.

I did not wake up this morning prepared to deal with forces beyond my understanding.

Please, I call that breakfast.

Listen to consumed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can watch the original episode we'll be discussing in every other episode of HBO's Curb your enthusiasm, including the new and final season on Max. You can also watch the video version of the History of Curb your enthusiasm podcast on Max and YouTube as well. Links available in the episode description. What's the show, Jeff? What's the name of the show?

The name of the show is the history of Curb your enthusiasm with Susie Esman and Jeff Garland. And she is Susie Esman. I am Jeff Garland. This is the show.

This is the show. This is our first episode.

Yes.

And we're going to talk about pre the show. Pre the show was the so called Pilot, which was actually just a special when it was first made. It was called Larry David. Curb your enthusiast, Larry David, curb your enthusiast. And I was not in it. So I'm going to ask you a lot about it.

Oh, please ask me questions if you want to start from pre Curb, where it started and then all the way through. I've got different anecdotes before we even go into the thing.

Was this 1999, I believe it might.

Have been starting in 98. I can't remember. But we shot it for sure in 99.

Do you know what year Larry left Seinfeld?

I have no idea.

Yeah, but he had been out of Seinfeld for a few years.

The last two years, he was not the showrunner. Well, prior to doing this, he had done two things which were not that successful. One was the finale of Seinfeld, where he took a lot of shit. A lot of shit. And the other one, fair.

Sour grapes.

And sour grapes, which I can tell you, I auditioned for sour grapes. Believe it or not, he knows this. I auditioned for sour grapes, the part of a limo driver who gets into a fight with one of the guys, what have you. That script from page one on had me laughing. What if I said page six on?

That's interesting.

But page one on, I was laughing hysterically so hard because I imagined it. And Larry's writing appeals to me. So when I saw it, it was disappointing to me because it wasn't the script. The script was the movie in my head. And then I saw it. And so some things work. I thought it was well cast. Well, I thought everything about it was good. By the way, it's so hard to make a movie. It didn't work. But. So he's coming off things. That's why I said not too successful.

Right.

Although I imagine Seinfeld, but there are a lot of viewers. But he took a lot of shit.

Yeah.

Okay. So if you're jumping to somewhere, and I know there's something before that that I want to talk about, I'll let you know.

So I just want to just. Just for the record, how this all came about, I know you and Larry were sharing an office suite, is that correct?

It was Larry David, Alan's Weibel, and Billy Crystal. And this was over on Maple at Castle Rock.

Castle Rock.

And I was just excited to be near Larry David and to be near Billy Crystal. And I wanted to say I was thrilled to write with Alan's Wybel.

So where was your career at this point? I mean, you were doing stand up for many years, and you and I first, let me just say, you and I first met doing stand up, and that's when I first met Larry as well at catcherizing star.

Yes. In the, we hit it off right away. Right away. We were friends, like boom.

And I had a nickname for you. I called you Smokey.

You did call me Smokey. Do you remember the reason why?

I don't.

Oh, that's so funny.

There wasn't a reason. I just looked at you and you went, Smoke.

Can you think of a person who's less smoky than me? Smoky. If I had a cigar all the.

Time, I wasn't thinking smoky.

If I lived in the Smoky mountains, smoke.

But I wasn't thinking in terms of smoky like cigarettes or the mountains or Smokey Robinson.

I wasn't thinking of, although I do great versions of Smokey Robinson and the.

Miracles, I'd never heard that.

Naked in the mirror in the morning.

I keep going, I don't know, the smokey the bear. You were cuddly.

You're going down. The smokey the bear. Well, there you go. Yes, I'm with you, by the way.

Lovable. That's what you were. And so I named you smokey.

Okay, yeah, good. All right. So go ahead.

All right.

So also, I want to add, at that point, I had been doing parts on tv shows, small parts in different sitcoms, and I had a lot of development deals that had gone nowhere.

Okay.

Where I was under contract for a year to develop something and it went nowhere.

Which, by the way, I'm just going to say for the audience is extremely frequent with development.

Oh, very much so. But I've been lucky that I got one after another. I was development deal Johnson.

You were mad about you.

Well, that's. What about that? I was a recurring mad about you. But I was on that show a lot and I was teamed up with Alan's Wybel to do a companion.

I just want to tell people who Alan Zwibel is. For those who don't know, Alan's Wybel was one of the original SNL writers.

Yes.

And he's a comedy writer and like that.

That's all you're going to say for.

Resume?

Yes. But Alan Swibel co created its Gary Shanling show.

He did. Yes. He's a very well known.

No, he's, and he's got a great resume. And by the way, done some. He wrote on Curb. He was like an extra writer, a consultant, and also he was really funny on curb. He's just one of the funniest people I know.

He's one of my very close friends.

Yes. And by the way, couldn't love a guy more. Except for Lee Curtis sitting right to the right of me. Yeah, he doesn't even enjoy that.

So you're doing a development deal with Alan's wife?

Yes, for CBS. They want us to create a show that is a companion show to everybody loves Raymond. And Ellen and I were teamed know we're writing whatever, and Larry would come by and we would talk to both of us. And I would also go into Larry's office who had young children, the same as mine. And our bonding came. Now, I already knew Larry from stand up, and I loved him. But our bonding came on Shirley Temple. Both our kids at that time watched all the time. They watched the best of Shirley Temple. All these know, the codfish bowl, all that stuff.

Good ship lollipop.

Yes. Larry and I knew the words to all of them having Sundays. So I would go in his office and start singing one, and he'd join me. So it was really fun.

So Shirley Temple brought you together. See, I never knew that. No.

But there's also an irony that I'll bring up in a second. So also, when Larry would come to our office, we'd tell him how we were doing. And my favorite thing, one of the main people, actors we wanted for our show was Adam west in a key role as my boss.

Adam west, who played Batman.

Batman who I do an impression of. Hello, Susie, how are you? So help me, if the joker, Riddler and the Penguin come near you, I will have to get Chief O'Hara. All right.

Anyhow, very good.

Thank you. So Larry comes in, and the first joke he said, as we're working on this, we told him our idea for Adam west. And Larry goes, yeah, I think you can get him. That was my worst Larry impression I've ever done. I do a good one. I do this one stylized impression. Anyhow, one day. I'm getting to the core now, okay. One day Larry came in and asked Alan and I to go to lunch. Alan did not want. He couldn't go. It's not he didn't want know he couldn't go. So Larry and I went to lunch at the Kookaroo across the street from Nate Niles. I remember distinctly the cuckoo. He and I are sitting in the back and he's asking me a lot of questions about stand up.

Now, I have a question for you.

Yes.

Because my timeline is off. When I met Larry in 1985 doing stand up, you weren't around yet then?

No, New York. I came up a bit after that.

So were you around in the days when he was hanging out.

Almost definitely. The one I saw him do was look at the audience. Look around at the very beginning. Go, not tonight.

Yeah. I witnessed one where he looked at the audience and said, I don't think so. Yeah.

Yes. Well, by the way, there's a boundary. I believe it's 86. When I moved to New York, I'm pretty sure. Okay, so shortly thereafter that, yeah.

And when we met Larry, he was a stand up comic. That's what he was.

He was a stand up comic. No, hold on.

He had done Friday.

He had done Fridays, which I used to love, but primarily I loved him and Michael Richards. And Larry used to do these pro wrestlers. He was hilarious on that show, everything he did and his look. So he was someone I looked up to when I met him. I'm like, wow, Larry David.

And you know what else I remember from those days? I remember once I did a new bit or something and he was in the room watching me and somebody told me it was Scott Carter actually told me afterwards, Larry thought that new bit you did was really funny. And I remember feeling like you always wanted Larry to think you were funny. There was a respect level there.

But by the way, the idea that I have Larry David's number, that I say things that he thinks are hilarious, that he laughs hard from the stupid bullshit that I say, the non sequiturs, the nonsense, I never heard you do that. Oh, you're a loser. But the point is that to have his number every single time he laughs hard at me, I'm like, this is the coolest.

There's just something about it.

So I just want to add, that's where my career was. But something I had done previous to this moment, this is the key thing. I had helped develop John Stewart's unleavened and Dennis Leary's lock and load.

So those were stand up specials for.

Denis Leary and John Stewart, two guys I was friends with. And I used to think that I was the co director, but as I thought about it, you don't direct stands know, and the other person directs the cameras. So what I really was, even though I got a credit on one as director, and one is, point being is I developed it. I was a consultant, but I really hands on developed. I went on tour with John Stewart and Dennis Leary would open for them and then go sit in the back, watch and wait with, and then every night we would go over the notes, right.

And how to structure it.

And so I experienced the developing of a stand up special in that know.

That'S an important point it is an important point.

And for my performance special, I had an HBO half hour in a group of people with, like, one night. Yeah, you had the first round, and I was in the second round, so that was my experience. Okay. Right. So he's asking me questions about the current state of stand up at that.

Point, because he wanted to go back on.

He was thinking about it. He wanted to get the info. And, you know, with Larry, I am enamored of his ability to ponder. He ponders long beyond the point of uncomfortability for me. Like, I'll ponder for a while, and then I'll feel pressure within myself to come up with an answer. He'll ponder forever. So I didn't know it then, but I know now. This was part of his pondering process. Pondering process. It's a pondering process by the ocean with a seashell.

Yeah. We'll be right back. Stay tuned.

Tuesdays just got cheekier with 20% off your favorite foods. All day on just eat.

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Participating restaurants? Only 20 euro minimum spend, delivery and service charges apply.

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Hey, this is Danish Schwartz. You may know my voice from noble blood, Haley Wood, or stealing Superman. I'm hosting a new podcast, and we're calling it very special episodes.

One week, we'll be on the case with special agents from NASA as they crack down on black market moon rocks. H. Ross pro is on the other side, and he goes, hello, Joe. How can I help you? I said, Mr. Pro, what we need is $5 million to get back a moon rock. Another week, we'll unravel a 90s Hollywood mystery.

It sounds like it should be the next season of true Detective or something. These canadian cops trying to solve this 25 year old mystery of who spiked the chowder on the Titanic set.

A very special episode is stranger than fiction. It's normal. People plop down in extraordinary circumstances. It's a story where you say, this should be a movie. Listen to very special episodes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

911, what's your emergency?

You have to send someone. What's going on?

Well, whatever it is, that's our entire emergency force on the way somewhere.

They're saying there's a body in the woods.

Excuse me. I don't seem to recognize you. That's because I'm not from here.

A small town stuck in the past.

There's only one cell tower, and currently it's out of order.

With secrets hidden for centuries.

We hear things, you know, when they whisper or when they think they're alone.

And a curious stranger who may be their only chance for survival.

I'm talking about the murder and disappearance in small town New Hampshire.

What do you think? I'm sorry.

Have you ever listened to a single true crime podcast?

You turn up in Danville. Just as the town sees its first.

Real crime in decades, this is consumed, an all new supernatural audio thriller inspired by the novel by Aaron Manke.

I did not wake up this morning prepared to deal with forces beyond my understanding.

Please, I call that breakfast.

Listen to consumed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, it's Jenna Ashkowitz and Kevin McHale, hosts of. And that's what you really miss, podcast.

We're reliving the magic of McKinley High by watching all six seasons of Glee.

Whether you were Team Rachel, shipped curtain Blaine, or couldn't get enough of Sue Sylvester's zingers, we've got you covered.

Join us every week as we dive deep into the world of show choirs and teenage drama. We're breaking down every episode, from the highs of nationals to the lows of slushy attacks.

We have exclusive interviews with some of your favorite glee cast members like Chris Kofer, Amber Riley, Darren Chris, Heather Morris, Alex Newell, and so many more.

Plus, we're taking you behind the scenes with the creators, writers, producers, and crew members like Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, and executive music producer Adam Anders.

We're even getting the chance to chat with the music icons whose songs were featured on the show, from the go gos to Jason Moraz to Rick Springfield.

Meet us in the choir room while we reveal our greatest memories and untold stories.

Listen to. And that's what you really miss. Podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And we're back. I just want to say a little bit about Larry stand up. When we used to see him in the. He did seinfeld and his stand up. And some of it is in the special with some of my favorite bits.

Some of my favorite bits. And by the way, yesterday I was talking with Larry about those bits. So when they come up, I'll talk about.

Because. But we all would go in the room to watch him because his stand up was so funny.

By the way, my dream as a comic, I swear, early on, I never thought about specials or anything. I just wanted comedians to come in when I was on stage. That was like a big goal.

It's a great compliment. We would all go to watch. And part of it was that it was so funny. And the other part was you never knew what was going to happen.

He was so volatile, by the way. Either one of them would have been great to watch him do his stuff or watch him go, not tonight, and walk off.

Correct. Or something in between where he'd see he'd be killing and somebody would look at their watch and he would storm off in the middle.

Yes. But that includes it falling apart in some way.

So he was fascinating to watch.

Fascinating to watch.

So he wanted to get back on stage.

He was thinking about it, and he.

Had never really been what you would call a successful stand up comic. And I think that that was something that he wanted.

And his comedy was pretty much unique to New York. I don't even know how much stand up. I know he played the store, comedy store some, but he wasn't like a road comic, to my knowledge.

Never.

Although I met him when he was going to the last year of Kamisky park in Chicago. And he came in, I was actually performing with Meanie, and he came, Kevin.

Meanie, our dear friend who's no longer with us, who was the funniest, made me cry.

Larry showed up, I remember, with a blackhawks jacket. He had this black leather arms, blackhawks jacket, which I thought was so cool. We started talking, and then he was going to, like, one of the last games at Kamisky park. He was very excited. That's where we first met. Okay, so he's asking me all these questions. I'm telling him what's going down? He's listening. And then it hit me. Boom. Like, it really hit me because of my John Stewart and Dennis Leary, I go, if you ever want to do an HBO special, I've got an idea for a special. We could shoot you developing a special, and then at the end, even in real time, based on your decision, we could show a real special or show you getting out of the special. There's my contribution, everybody. And that we improvise. Those are the two things. Because that was my idea when we were going to do it. I said to him, you're not going to have to learn lines. We'll improvise the whole time.

He doesn't like learning lines.

Who does, by the way, that's the hardest thing that an actor does. Director, it's prep actors. It's learning lines and comedians. It's listening to your set that night or the next day.

I never did that.

Because it's painful. It's painful. It's like going to the dentist. You think we're like ego people. Like, I'm going to listen to how great I was. And by the way, you're never as good as you thought you were. When you listen to those tapes, you see all the flaws. Oh, my God. And even when you kill, you're like, how did I kill? What was wrong with those people? So I said that to him, and his eyes lit up. That's not bad. That's not bad. And he said, let me go home and think about it. And he went home and he thought about it. And I went home and told Marla, my wife, of your, who we both love. I love her for obvious reasons. It's weird that my ex wife is my family.

I don't think that's weird at.

Yeah, but I love her so much.

Marla, you could love people and you could share so many things with them. It doesn't mean that you need to be living with them and married to them.

By the way, who did I learn that from?

Me.

Yes. And what did I tell Marla over and over to have her come to terms with us splitting up? I said, if you think I love you any iota less than I did, you're wrong. I just feel we can't be married. And you saved me with that. That was the key. By the way, we should also explain this two things. Number one, at this point, we are two days in on shooting season eleven. By the way, that's me. That's you. I get things wrong. By the way, if we talk about something and we argue, know that she's right.

I just want to like to necessarily.

By the way, I'm going to say this necessarily, maybe. Okay. And the other one was, oh, you see us in a confrontational. Actually, she's confrontational, her character on the show, and I want to avoid confrontation. So if you see me confrontational on the show, that's rare. But in, as they say, real life, we couldn't be better friends. No. I look at you as like a rock in my life. You're just fucking solid for me. And we love each other dearly, so that is kind of funny.

And it's long. We've had our ups and downs.

It's like a full relationship, but that's true. Friends, you got to disagree. You got to be mad at. You're like, fuck them. No, you have to. No, it's a real, real friendship. And by the way, let me also add this. Everyone that's on curb your enthusiasm, the main people that you guys see every week, we all love each other.

Yes, very much.

And anytime we'd love to spend time with each other off screen, which you don't often see. I've never had a show where there was a connection between the performers like this show.

And there's two aspects to that. One is, when you're improvising, you have to trust people.

Yes.

Very, very much, by the way.

It's very much so. You have to.

And we've been doing it for 22 years at this point. And knew each other from before. I mean, there's a long, long history here.

Yes.

With all of us.

Yes. No, it's amazing. It's just amazing. I was looking at JB yesterday, and I was just thinking, man, I love that guy.

Yeah.

It's interesting to be doing the history of curb your enthusiasm while we're filming a season.

That's true. Yeah, that's true.

So hopefully we get the stuff that they'll still be.

So season twelve, we're in the middle. We just started shooting season twelve.

Yeah, that's right. Okay.

Very.

Where did I go off at a tangent?

So Larry then thought about it.

Thought about it. And I told Marla about it. But I told it from the standpoint that I was going to get to write it with Larry and direct it. And the next day he called and he said, I want to do it. And I'm like, are you kidding me? This was a huge break for me because I went to bed thinking, this.

Is never going to happen. But it was about his stand up. It wasn't, at this point, about the fictitious world.

The stand up would be real as he's developing it. Developing. And if he did a special at the end, that would be real. But the stuff with all the characters would be fictitious from the get go. That would not be real.

Yeah, but was that aspect discussed?

Oh, yeah. Numerous times. It's ironic when you consider who directed it, which we'll get into. But I wanted mine to be less of the family stuff, less of the. I mean, and more of the on know. But it expanded as we were developing it. And it's ironic because Bob Whitey, who directed this, he's a documentary, and I wanted it more that way.

But it was shot.

It was an in between.

Yeah, it was like a mock.

It was a mock doc with real stand up segments.

Right.

Like there was never this time.

And real interviews with real.

Except, hold on, mine and Cheryl's, which I don't know if Cheryl was interviewed, but my interviews were, of course, fictional.

Cheryl was not interviewed as I recall. But you and Cheryl were playing characters when they interviewed and.

No, those were all real.

Those were real. Exactly. Rick Newman. So Rick Newman, who was owned catechorizing.

Star, and by the way, the nicest comedy club. He loved comedians.

He did.

And to work for a man or be around a guy who loves comedians, the only other person I know who loves comedians, George Shapiro. Well, no, but George Shapiro does what, Lee Kearny.

Yeah. Was a manager. You mean a club owner?

No. And by the way, George Shapiro, please look him up. Please google George Shapiro. He was one of the great loves of my life. He was a mentor, he was a friend. And he might have been, you know what? He might have been the nicest man who ever lived. I swear to God.

And he was involved with Seinfeld.

Yeah, he was Seinfeld's manager.

Seinfeld's manager. And he was also, wasn't he an ep on?

He was. And also he was Andy Kaufman's manager, which I was. More. Jerry Seinfeld isn't a generation before me as a comedian. Paul Reiser, there's a whole group of them, and I look up to them and respect them. But Andy Kaufman, him being Andy Kaufman's manager was like, that was more your just. And that was also a big influence. I wasn't influenced by Jerry Seinfeld. I was influenced by Andy Kaufman as a human being, too, off stage and on.

So this hybrid thing of some of it is real. Larry David is playing Larry David, but he's actually not know you're playing Jeff Green.

Yes, but I want to add something here. This is interesting. I hope Larry and I, after he said yes, either within the next day or two, we went to lunch at what used to be called the newsroom on Robertson. I remember all the restaurants because I remember when we filmed the show, I can remember most of the restaurants where we filmed, especially the early years. And we're talking about the show. And this is where I got like a bit of a shocker. He said to me, I don't want you to direct it. And of course, when he said that, my heart sang, yeah. He goes, no, you're going to be an executive producer. And I didn't know that executive producers in television are creative voices.

I just thought some are, some are not.

Our managers might be executive producers, and they're not going to be writing the show week in and out, week out. But they're still very helpful. So I thought, oh, he's going to take my idea and I'm going to be kicked to the curb. Then he says to me, oh, I want you to play my manager in it. You're perfect to play my manager. And I was like, really? And he goes, yeah. Now, at this point, I didn't know it was going to be a tv series, so I thought, oh, this will be fun. Cool, I'll be your manager. And I started thinking about it. Not too hard, but just like, thing. And then he told me he wanted Bob Whitey to direct it based. He's known Bob for years because we knew it was going to be a mockumentary.

Bob Whitey was a documentary based on Bob's experience.

He came.

Did you, you didn't know him?

No, that's how I met him. And basically it was the three of us that were the creative voices through the whole thing.

How long did it take to shoot?

We went to New York. We shot some in LA, but I think it took a couple of weeks.

That's it.

Well, with all the stand up, you have to add, like, there'd be a particular week where we just shoot Larry doing stand up. Maybe twice in that.

So.

And also, by the way, I want to add one more bonus thing. This is just to put it out there. Laura used to be fair child, now striker. I met her when she was 23 because she was Larry's assistant. She's a co executive producer on the show who does great work, amazing work. And she's essential for the show. And she is the only other person who was there at the beginning. And then Bob stopped working on the show. Yeah, and Cheryl, too. But on an everyday level, it's Laura, myself, and Larry who can say, because Cheryl comes sometimes, Bob Whitey comes sometimes. But we've been through the whole festival. Yeah.

Which is quite unusual. I mean, we have some crew people who've been there for all twelve seasons.

Well, yes, but it's a very short list. And it's led off with Thomas.

With Thomas, our makeup.

Yeah. Who will be on the show because he's fascinating. And by the way, he's an inspiration to me in terms of style and how you carry yourself. I have learned so much from Thomas.

Yeah. He's an amazing human being.

Amazing human being. But he didn't do the hour. He did not do the hour.

No, he didn't.

He came on the first season one. This is separate.

We have so much to talk about. We haven't even gotten to the episode. We'll be right back. Stay tuned.

Hey, this is Dana Schwartz. You may know my voice from noble blood, Haley Wood or stealing Superman. I'm hosting a new podcast, and we're calling it very special episodes.

One week, we'll be on the case with special agents from NASA as they crack down on black market moon rocks. H. Ross Pro is on the other side, and he goes, hello, Joe. How can I help you? I said, Mr. Perot, what we need is $5 million to get back a moon rock. Another week, we'll unravel a 90s Hollywood mystery.

It sounds like it should be the next season of true Detective or something. These canadian cops trying to solve this 25 year old mystery of who spiked the chowder on the Titanic set.

A very special episode is stranger than fiction. It's normal. People plop down in extraordinary circumstances. It's a story where you say, this should be a movie. Listen to very special episodes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, it's Jenna Ashkowitz and Kevin McHale, hosts of and that's what you really miss. Podcast.

We're reliving the magic of McKinley High by watching all six seasons of Glee.

Whether you were Team Rachel, shipped curtain Blaine, or couldn't get enough of Sue Sylvester's zingers, we've got you covered.

Join us every week as we dive deep into the world of show choirs and teenage drama. We're breaking down every episode, from the highs of nationals to the lows of slushy attacks.

We have exclusive interviews with some of your favorite glee cast members like Chris Kofer, Amber Riley, Darren Chris, Heather Morris, Alex Newell, and so many more.

Plus, we're taking you behind the scenes with the creators, writers, producers, and crew members like Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, and executive music producer Adam Anders.

We're even getting the chance to chat with the music icons whose songs were featured on the show, from the go gos to Jason Moraz to Rick Springfield.

Meet us in the choir room while we reveal our greatest memories and untold stories.

Listen to. And that's what you really miss. Podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

911.

What's your emergency?

You have to send someone. What's going on?

Well, whatever it is, that's our entire emergency force. On the way somewhere, they're saying there's.

A body in the woods.

Excuse me. I don't seem to recognize you. That's because I'm not from here.

A small town stuck in the past.

There's only one cell tower, and currently, it's out of order.

With secrets hidden for centuries.

We hear things, you know, when they whisper or when they think they're alone.

And a curious stranger who may be their only chance for survival.

I'm talking about the murder and disappearance in small town New Hampshire.

What do you think? I'm sorry.

Have you ever listened to a single true crime podcast?

You turn up in Dansville, just as the town sees its first real crime.

In decades, this is consumed, an all new supernatural audio thriller inspired by the novel by Aaron Manke.

I did not wake up this morning prepared to deal with forces beyond my understanding.

Please, I call that breakfast.

Listen to consumed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the black experience. And stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR black stories, black truths on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay, we're back. So you start doing this. It was an HBO special to air.

On HBO, and they wanted to do stuff with Larry.

And you pitched it to who? Carolyn Strauss, who was the exec on this.

Chris Albrecht.

Chris Albrecht.

And we went into Chris Albrecht. And I swear Chris Albrecht said this because you go in, you pitch something. Every blue moon, someone says yes in the room. Most of the time they say, Parker said, you know, only in Los Angeles can you die from encouragement. So they say nothing with a lot of positivity. And then there was those great executives who I respect, who say no in the room. So you're not wasting a minute of your thought process. And you respect that. Chris Hallbrech said these words that I never have experienced and never will again. How can we not do this?

There you go.

Who has ever said that? Yes.

And Chris Albrecht by the.

Curb.

I mean, a lot of great.

A long history at the improv in New York, right? Understood. Stand up. Knew all the comedians.

Yeah. So you pitch it, you get your budget, and you just start.

And by the way, our know there's those towers where HBO used to be in Century City. And if you go to the HBO office, you go up to them. There's another episode that goes up to these little suite of offices that nobody's in, and there's no windows and their screening room that was on our floor. So we're in these little suite, little rooms, little boxes that we were in, and we're developing it. And developing it. By the way, Larry finished writing it, the outline, before we even got there.

Was the outline written in the way that we know the curb outlines to be, or was it different?

It was a little rougher, but it was the same.

Let's just take this opportunity for our audience. If they're curb fans, they already know this.

But by the way, if they're not curb fans, why are you listening to this? There are so many other.

But let me just say, we do not have a script. We have an outline, a very detailed outline. Each scene is about a paragraph. There's no dialog written, but it's a very tight outline.

Well, it used to be, meaning our outlines were seven pages.

Now they're 25 pages, but it's still the same concept.

By the way, the way I keep it real for myself, I read the outline once, and then I put it in a drawer. So when I go to set, I just say to Jeff Schaefer, who directs most of the episodes, and he's another.

Executive producer, and he creates the outlines with Larry.

Yes. Well, he has before, but really this season, I don't think. Did he get credit last season?

Yes.

So it was a two, but before. Anyhow, I just walk up to Jeff before a scene.

What's the scene?

What's the scene? What am I doing? So there's no lines to learn, and that keeps me really fresh in the moment. So if I had to look at the outline and then go do the scene, I would.

But we don't plan anything ahead of time. No, it's all improv. But we've both worked with people that, you know, they're pre planning lines. I don't want to mention any names.

I will. It's Richard Lewis. Richard Lewis, when he comes into work, has index cards. Like, if we're in a restaurant and, you know, the middle where the sugar and the salt are those things, he'll set it in there, and Larry and I will sit on the opposite side, and I'll nod to Larry, like, yeah, he's got it.

Yeah.

And then Larry will talk about, well, we don't really rehearse. We just know where the cameras are going to be.

And when we block for camera, we don't speak. No, we wait until action to actually start.

So we just walk around to see where the camera's. So as soon as we start rolling, Larry rips the index card. I've seen him do this too many times away from Richard, who has a look of shock on his face and then does a great job because you don't want to prepare.

You don't want to prepare. And so for the pilot, it was the same type of outline.

Yes. Now, we're more specific in our discussions after every take, which are pretty much usually Jeff, myself, and Larry. We're very specific. And Jeff Schaefer, who holds our show together. Totally, totally holds our show together. He will let Larry know what specifically needs to be covered. So he's on top of it.

He's got the outline. He's got the whole season in his head.

Yes.

And Larry, so much out of.

Larry will look at the outlines over and over. And I'll just go on.

Yeah.

What do I do?

I look at the outlines before I do a scene. I look at it. And I also like to know what came before and what's coming after in terms of tone.

Right.

If somebody's screaming and yelling at him in the scene before, I don't want to do that.

But here's this thing. The hour the pilot was shot in order. Oh, it was. What's that called?

Sequence.

In sequence. Yeah, it was all shot in sequence, which made the line producer. He had fireworks coming out of his head every day from anger and confusion.

We don't do that any longer.

No. So you knew what was coming next because we shot it. So the only thing that mattered was what we just shot. Because the other thing's in the future. So what did we just shoot? Okay, now we're here. Well, it's obviously, it's easier to shoot in sequence, but financially it's really. You can't do that.

Well, we used to shoot a lot more in sequence than we do.

More in sequence, by the way. I think we even went into season one and season two. Sequence.

Sequence. More or less. Yeah. And then it gets difficult now, I think, because we have so many guest stars and then schedule.

Right. No, of course, now it's totally different.

All right, so what kind of budget did you have? Did you know it.

Really low. Really low, I'm guessing, to shoot the whole thing, if I remember correctly. Maybe half a million, 400,000.

Which is low for an hour.

Well, low for not only an hour, but it's going on HBO.

Yeah.

So that was our budget. We also had. This is the one time, you know, how, like, you know, you're right and you're positive that everybody else is wrong, and then you're proven to be right, which is rare because you. Oh, no, no, they were right. Or there's an in between this is completely black and white on myself and the, we're, we're in a development meeting with not only HBO, but all the tech people, the creatives, all that. And they got to the cameras part and they started talking about what the cameras were going to use are. And it was a digibeta, which at that time was a cutting edge. And if you look at it now, it looks fine, but with 4k, it's horrible. And the other camera was going to be a high eight, which for people off the street who are going to a best buy, that would be the best camera they could buy. But it's nothing compared to Digibeta. And I said, what are we shooting on now? And so I said, you're going to cross shoot with a digibeta and a high eight.

Were they going to do the high eight? For what? Like the stand up?

No, they were doing the high eight as the other camera.

That doesn't make any sense.

So I recently, this past week, watched it again and it was glaring to me back then, but now it's like the high eight stuff is bordering on unwatchable because it's shiny on people's heads. They're washed out. It's horrible. And then they cut to the use of the other camera. Everything looks great.

You're not questioning whose decision was.

Was. Well, I'll tell you, it was everyone else, because everyone else told me, it'll be fine. It'll be fine.

I mean, Larry doesn't know anything about.

Cameras, including the cameraman, I think the DP. I'm not positive. But you just said the key thing. I went to Larry and I begged him, after we're out of the meeting, I go, you got to make them use the same camera. It's got to be Digibeta. But our budget, we couldn't get a second digibeta. But he also had no idea what.

I was talking about. And he had come from multi camera. I mean, Seinfeld was multi camera. Was it a completely different animal than single camera?

And that's also what Fridays was.

Right?

And those were film cameras back then, by the way. They weren't even digital. Digital was so far from, we're shooting this on digital. We're really early on the whole digital thing. And people back then laughed at digital. And then we said, we're shooting it in digital. Like, I'm sorry, that type of stuff. But it would have looked good and consistent if we use the both. And it's a nightmare. My favorite thing, this is the last anecdote about this. It's also the antidote for me talking more. So it's the antidote and the anecdote. And the anecdote. So we're in editing early on, first day. Why does that look horrible out loud? What's going on? Why does that look, I said, do you remember the conversation I had with you about the two cameras? No. Well, I begged you to use Digibeta, and everyone told you it would be okay. Bob laughed. I remember when Larry was shocked, but I don't remember Bob's response to initially when they said Digibeta Hiat. He might not have known a lot about that. He would have fought with me for that. So I don't remember. But anyhow, it was hysterical in editing.

Right now, I would just want to go back to casting.

Yes. Oh, casting is another thing.

Yes.

The casting was done by a lovely woman who I knew pretty well, named Marla Garland.

Okay.

And by the way, she wasn't hired to cast it because she's my wife. I asked Larry, she had partnered up at a certain point with Alison Jones, who's the foremost comedy and is our current casting. Yes. And so Marla had done casting, know. And so it wasn't like, can my wife do it? I just want to make sure people listening, if we don't point that out, are going to go, oh, that's how it works.

Yeah.

It did help that I was her husband, but it didn't help because Larry doesn't like nepotism from the standpoint. He doesn't want to have to fire someone's, you know, which I understand. I wouldn't.

So Marla was a casting person. And so who was cast besides Cheryl? Okay, all the other parts.

All the other parts were cast. But the thing that was beautiful, first off, what Larry and I learned, because we would do, we don't cast away anymore. Now it's people sitting because of COVID people self tape. And then we look at them.

Right.

But it used to be people would come in the room to do a scene with Larry, they're doing it with Larry. He would improvise with everybody, which was important to see.

And it's very important because it's a separate skill. Being a good actor or actress and being able to improvise are two completely different things. And we'll have Cheryl on and she'll talk about it herself when he cast Cheryl, because she was such the perfect person.

Hold on, I forgot to finish this first story which goes with this.

Okay.

Larry and I were in shock at our chemistry. We had never acted together.

And you weren't even that good friends at that point.

No, we were friends, but not that great friends.

Casual. Yeah.

Okay, now, that's quite different. He's my brother. But back then. Yeah, but we liked each other anyhow. We're doing these scenes and we had to talk about it, like, what the fuck is going on? Because it was like as if we had worked together the previous 20 years as a comedy team. It was like, wow. Now, getting to Cheryl Marla brought in a lot of great people. People have gone on to some great success, but no one who came in until Cheryl and post. Cheryl.

Cheryl at that time was in the groundlings.

Yes.

Which is an improv group. And she had not really done anything.

No.

She was working as a nanny.

Yeah, she was working as a nanny. Wait, was it. Yeah, yeah, that's. I forgot that. Wow. So anyhow, she comes in and it's something about cereal. I don't remember what it was, the scene.

It's about chicken.

Chicken? What do you mean?

Yeah, I remember. She's told me it's about something about chicken.

Well, she's. It was. It was cereal.

Cereal?

Yeah, about the way Larry eats his cereal. Something along those lines. No, chicken. It was cereal, which is weird in itself. She was the only one who made Larry nervous. She was the only one who could keep up with him, give it to him. No one else. One person. So obviously she was hired, right? Yeah, that's. Know. She really gave it to him. And of course, in the show, perfect casting.

And you and Cheryl are the only holdovers from this.

Yes. As far as the actor and Larry. Yes. But there wouldn't be any other holdovers.

No.

Yeah, we were doing the main mean. If someone was a holdover, it's because they were so fantastic. You're like, wow, they have to be. And there were people who were great, but nothing who would fit in with what we.

Right.

Yeah.

Right. Okay.

We're done with this first episode, and you're keeping this in. I like shit like this in. I don't like it out.

Hey, this is Dana Schwartz. You may know my voice from noble Blood. Haley Wood, or stealing Superman? I'm hosting a new podcast, and we're calling it very special episodes. A very special episode is stranger than fiction.

It sounds like it should be the next season of true detectives, these canadian cops trying to solve this mystery of who spiked the chowder on the Titanic set.

Listen to very special episodes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A small town with secrets hidden for centuries.

You turn up in Danville just as the town sees its first real crime.

In decades and a curious stranger who may be their only chance for survival.

I'm talking about the murder and disappearance in small town New Hampshire.

What do you think this is? Consumed, an all new supernatural audio thriller inspired by the novel by Aaron Manke.

I did not wake up this morning prepared to deal with forces beyond my understanding.

Please, I call that breakfast.

Listen to consumed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, it's Jenna Ashkowitz and Kevin McHale, hosts of and that's what you really miss. Podcast.

We're reliving the magic of McKinley High by watching all six seasons of Glee.

We have exclusive interviews with some of your favorite glee cast members like Chris Kofer, Amber Riley, Darren Chris, Heather Morris, Alex Newell, and so many more.

Meet us in the choir room while we reveal our greatest memories and untold stories.

Listen to and that's what you really miss. Podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are. Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the black experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black stories, black truths on the radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.