Michael Schur Quotes & Sayings

“I think if you're too concerned with being cool or hip or liked, you can't really make good TV because sincerity and coolness are opposites.”

“People think of taxes as money just being robbed from you. They don't consider the benefits of paying taxes. The benefits that they get and also the benefit of just being a part of a large group of people: a town, or a city, or a country, or a society that allegedly should stand together and all try to help each other.”

“Society is completely unreasonable. People want everything and want to pay for nothing. They panic if they think about their taxes being raised, but if their garbage collection is a day late they scream and yell.”

“When someone pitches a joke for a character that is just perfect, and you can imagine that actor reading that line at your table read or on the set, it's like the sound of a snap snapping into place.”

“I believe in the importance of sincerity and emotion and honesty in TV, even when it's goofy comedy.”

“The best shows are always the ones that are very, very low-concept and just about great characters.”

“All of comedy at some level is trial-and-error, whether it's a stand-up trying out jokes or a comedy show trying stories.”

“For storytelling purposes, there has to be conflict, but that doesn't mean the people have to be mean. I've never liked mean-spirited comedy.”

“I care more about making sure the story is correct and the characters are behaving in character than I do about the individual jokes.”

“My favorite TV show of all time is 'The Wire,' which has the feeling of a project-based show. You draw in people from disparate parts of the world, and they have to work together to achieve a goal.”