We're reduced to writing eight-minute acts. It's very difficult storytelling, especially for character scenes. An hour is now 41 minutes, and that's a terrible trim.

When the stories come easily and the writing process doesn't feel laboring, that's usually a good sign for me.

Don't write about Man; write about a man.

I’m a blank canvas that I can paint however I desire. For the first time ever, I get to be the character in my own fantasy land.

Last year, most of the episodes tended to be more on the self-contained side of the fence. This year, we'll probably look for a balance where it will be more serialized. And we can thank series like 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Lost' and others that have introduced the audience back to the serialization of television programs. I believe, personally, storytelling can be much richer when you can count on your constituency being more habitual about watching week in and week out.

Casting is a very inexact process. What we were missing on this show was the office politic.