Andrew Guerdat (Archie Bunker's Place / co-creator Herman's Head / Paw Patrol)

Andrew Guerdat joins me to talk about growing up in Birmingham, Alabama;  loving cowboy shows; Andy Griffith; Ed Scharlach teaches comedy writing and introduces him to his partner Stuart Kreinberg; MASH script got them representation; wrote an episode of The Jeffersons that turns up in the background of Basic Instinct; writing an episode of the forgettable comedy Me and Maxx; moving to Mork & Mindy; ABC ruined a hit by adding too many characters; Robin shoots a scene, does improv, shoots a scene, does improv; all lines were written; particular favorite episode "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy"; moving to Archie Bunker's Place; silly vs grounded comedy;  pitching to Carroll O'Connor; Denise Miller; Celeste Holm; Anne Meara; writing the controversial episode "The Red Herring"; "Death of a Lodger" with Don Rickles; "Bunker Madness"; Whiz Kids and McGruder & Loud allowed him to work while sitcoms "were dead";  streaming allows his daughter to find a Sister, Sister she was in in minutes; It's A Living; Paul Kreppel; Marian Mercer; Richard Staahl; TV movie "Dance 'Til Dawn"; Head of the Class hard because cast was too large but smart in that it taught a fact every week; 5th season adding Billy Connolly; "Dead Men Don't Wear Pocket Protectors" - Arvid brings a gun to school; Brian Robbins; Rain Pryor; gets a job running Saved by the Bell: The College Years after never seeing original; tries to grow it up and and is told not to; tapings are out of control; idea for Herman's Head comes to Andrew and his partner in 1983; having it be picked up in 1991 and not allowed to really be involved; how finished product, while funny, was not what he and partner intended; the similarities between "Inside Out" and Herman's Head; Empty Nest; Richard Mulligan allows supporting cast to get the laughs; writing for The Parent 'Hood and Boy Meets World; transitioning to animation with The World of Tosh; Higglytown Heroes; Sherriff Callie's Wild Wild West; Paw Patrol