Jack Myers - Pushing Daisies - Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me Creator Bryan Fuller Tells All -- Part Two

Published: January 1, 2008 at 08:08 AM GMT
Last Updated: March 13, 2008 at 08:08 AM GMT

In the conclusion of my two-part interview with Bryan Fuller, the creator of Pushing Daisies reveals details about the first season of his critically acclaimed new show and reflects on his experiences with past projects Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls. An edited transcript of our conversation follows.

Me: Pushing Daisies was well received right from the start in May at ABC's upfront presentation. Most critics have picked it as the best new show of the fall season. Is that intimidating?

Bryan: I take it with a grain of salt because I think back on the Wonderfalls experience, where we were really embraced and supported by the critics but we just didn't have the support of the network to get behind us and shepherd us through the premiere. There was a time when we weren't even going to air! This feels like a different experience because we do have the enthusiasm of ABC behind us. That goes a long way. Part of the success of Desperate Housewives and Lost when they came out that year is they were launched like they were major motion picture events. Exposure is a big part of it. If we can get exposed to people and they sample us hopefully they'll stick with us.

Me: The stories in Pushing Daisies are set in the present, but in each episode you're going to flash back to the story of Ned's unusual childhood and tell that in chronological order. How is that going to work?

Bryan: Every episode will open with an anecdote from Ned's childhood, a small story that will provide a thematic umbrella under which we tell the rest of the episode. In the second episode we'll see Ned using his gift to torment some bullies and lying about it. The episode is all about secrets and lies and how we learn to keep them. In the third episode Ned figures out the whole 60-second rule; that he actually did kill somebody else [in the pilot] when he brought his mother back from the dead. It's him not wanting to take the responsibility for that because then he has to take the responsibility again when he brings Chuck back to life and someone else has to die.

Bryan: I think when you see a 9 year old grappling with such huge, heady, philosophical issues and then you see [series star] Lee Pace as the adult version of that child you already have so much more sympathy for what Ned's journey has been than you would have without knowing how he started it. For me it's a great way to lay an emotional foundation for the rest of the episode so you know what his point of view is on the experience.

Me: There is a lot of comedy in this show. There are some scenes and lines in the pilot that are funnier than anything in any of the new comedies this season.

Bryan: The show's not a comedy, and I'm not really a comedy writer, but I am consistently amused by life. There are a lot of amusing things that happen to us every day whether we want them to or not, and whether we can actually stop and laugh at them at the point we're experiencing them or not. I think that's where the humor comes from on the show -- the absurdity of life as opposed to set up jokes. We'll definitely carry that throughout the show, because life is absurd.

Bryan: I think it's a way for them to wrap up the show. Ellen Muth, Callum Blue, Jasmine Guy and Cynthia Stevenson are the returning cast members. Nobody ever contacted me about it.

Bryan: I think there was something very relatable about someone running from life. I think a lot of us everyday run from experiences as opposed to embrace them. That was really a big thing in Dead Like Me. It was also a big theme in Wonderfalls and it is in Pushing Daisies. You want to embrace life and not run from it. Too often we forget that there are experiences all around us that we're not having because we're too interested in going home and getting into bed and relaxing. There are so many opportunities we can't afford because we're living with blinders on and it's hard to look over the hedges and see what's out there.

Bryan: Exactly! When I'm writing at home and it's sunset I always try to go out and just take five minutes right as the sun is going down, so I can be there for that arc, just to stop and take it in. It's kind of rejuvenating because it's pretty and you forget that there's all sorts of pretty that isn't contained within the square of the television.

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What a great conversation. There are also so many experiences in our lives that we are forced to deal with that we don't want to but have to anyway. These experiences turn us into the people that we are. They shape how we deal with things down the road. I cannot wait for Pushing Daisies.

Posted at 10:55 AM on Sep 29, 2007 by Crissy

I think this really is one of the best shows out there. The writing and development is awesome! Congrats! instead of taking it with salt, spread some frosting on that cake, and eat it too!

www.motodanica.com

Posted at 01:56 PM on Jul 23, 2008 by boardincali