EP4 - Anthony Farrell - Writing on the US Office

What's it like to work on the world's biggest sitcom?  The US Office was a worldwide phenomenon.  On this edition of the Scene we're joined by Anthony Farrell a comedy writer who enjoyed riding the crest of the wave working on seasons 4 and 5 of The Office.

Since then Anthony has begun developing his own shows such as The Bafta winning Secret Life of Boys and The Thundermans.  I had the pleasure of meeting Anthony on The Secret Life of Boys many years ago and in this episode we delve into his process, the story structures and techniques involved in writing a sitcom.  Plus what was it like to write for Steve Carrell?  Find out on this latest edition of The Scene.

Contents include:
-Intro
-Anthony's new show Shelved
-Setting sitcoms up for longevity
-Working with directors
-Difference between writer/showrunner
-The collabrative process
-Listening to feedback
-What is comedy?
-Writing for Children
-Why comedy?
-Best way for writers to learn
-Changing viewing habits
-Starting on the US Office
-The pranks on Dwight
-Writing episodes for The Office
-Michael Scott's romance
-Meridith flashing her boobs
-The essence of Michael Scott
-Anthony's career 

Anthony's sitcom Shelved is currently on CTV (Canada only)

The specific episodes Anthony wrote for The US Office as discussed in this podcast are:
"Employee Transfer" S05 EP06
"Casual Friday" S05 EP26
The US adaptation of The Office is available to stream on Amazon Prime (UK)

Anthony's Instagram:
https://tinyurl.com/pxbf8p8x

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