Author: Paige Phelan

Courtesy of CBS; Courtesy of FOX; Courtesy of ABC

‘Tis the season when crushes search for perfect presents, relatives get drunk on eggnog and that couple finally kisses under the mistletoe at a work party — all while families gather ’round the warm glow of the TV to watch all the Christmas antics unfold.

From Seinfeld‘s “Friends’ “Holiday Armadillo,” few sitcom episodes are as beloved by fans as a series’ holiday installations. In a time of cynical TV and antiheroes, there’s an earnestness and warmth to holiday episodes that can melt the coldest heart of any Grinch.

So how do you make sure you’re giving a gift and not a lump of coal? The Hollywood Reporter asked executive producers behind some of today’s funniest comedies — Steve Molaro (CBS’ The Big Bang Theory), Dan Goor (Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Kenya Barris (ABC’s Black-ish) — to share their best tips on delivering the holiday cheer (and funny, obviously).

Step One: Know You’ve Got This 

With network TV’s production schedules, anticipation for the holidays comes long before all of the traditional signs of the season — 24-hour Christmas radio stations, Starbucks’ red cups and Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees in parking lots. In fact, when most people are still on beaches enjoying their summers, these episodes are already in the cards as focal points for the show’s fall season.

“In the writer’s room, there’s a bunch of cards that say [episode] 201, 202, 203, 204, all the way out to 223, so anytime you can put a card above one of those numbers that says something like Christmas or Thanksgiving, even though that’s not actually a story, you feel like ‘Ah, well, we got those,’ ” Goor says of the planning process. “I wish there were holidays every week of the year.”

Step Two: Find a Holiday Idea You’re Excited About

For his first Christmas offering, “Black Santa/White Christmas,” Barris was tasked with putting his show’s unique spin on the holidays with what they call “the Black-ish tinge.”

Looking for an episode to be truly about something, Barris and his writers (as many do) eventually found inspiration in their own lives. “We had talked a little bit about growing up in sort of the same neighborhoods and how there’s always a little competition between blacks and Latinos and how we can extend that to something as strange as a competition for playing Santa at an office.”

Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s holiday episode started out as two parallel ideas: a generic holiday idea and the return of Craig Robinson‘s Pontiac Bandit. Eventually, the writers simply combined the two. “It was like, ‘Oh, what if that’s Jake’s (Andy Samberg) Christmas present, and then Jake can be undercover as a Santa Claus,’ “ Goor said of catching the elusive and famed criminal. “Jake’s greatest Christmas gift of all time comes true.”

Step Three: Bring Everyone Together — Even If Everything Doesn’t Go As Planned

“I always feel like Parks and Rec had fantastic Christmas and holiday episodes because Mike [Schur] is such a firm believer in making it a time window in which the team comes together,” Goor says of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator and Parks and Recreation showrunner.

That spirit of togetherness guided Brooklyn‘s first-season episode, as Goor and the writers knew that they wanted to end with the entire squad surrounding Charles Boyle’s elevated, gunshot-inflicted butt in a hospital room.

However, even the purest holiday intentions can be derailed by good storytelling, Goor admits, leading to episodes where Christmas plays in the background. Nevertheless, he says, “Our Christmas episode still ends in a bar with the entire squad toasting the holidays.”

Step Four: Add in the Warm and Fuzzies 

“In general, you do try to tip the balance toward having at least one nice, warm moment where everyone is a family together at the end,” says Goor, who lists Cheers’ “Thanksgiving Orphans” and The Office’s “The Christmas Party,” among his holiday favorites.

It is in these moments of togetherness — gathering in a bar, exchanging presents or singing an autotuned version of “Carol of the Bells,” as seen in this year’s Black-ish episode — that comedies truly encompass the feel-good holiday spirit of the season.

“I think in these episodes, we might be able to get away with a little bit more heart than usual under the umbrella of ‘holiday magic,’ ” Big Bang Theory‘s Molaro acknowledges.

Step Five: Don’t Get Too Stressed By Expectations

With a history of unforgettable and momentous Christmas episodes speckling the pantheon of great television of the past few decades (not to mention the reduced prominence of network comedy, where these episodes are almost exclusively featured), the pressure must be on, right?

“I think it’s less of a pressure and more of a trying to deliver on an expectation,” Goor says. “I think it would be naive to say that fans don’t expect a certain kind of feeling with a Christmas [episode].”

Goor said the pressure to create holiday episodes really comes with the fear of repeating themselves as the show suddenly jumps from creating the holidays (“What is Christmas for the Nine-Nine?”) to trying to reinvent them and make each year’s special.

Molaro agrees that it becomes increasingly difficult to try and top their previous work, especially when Big Bang Theory‘s first ever Christmas episode stands as one of the show’s most beloved.

“The [Leonard Nimoy] DNA napkin is such a hugely iconic moment in the show,” Molaro says of the fan-favorite episode, “It’s hard to think about topping it.”

Step Six: Always Bring It Back to Family

When all else fails, holiday episodes are about family — both fictional and real, producers said.

Barris, when recalling his holiday favorite episodes of all time, spoke in awe about how his kids still look forward to the same Charles Schultz Peanuts special he loved as a kid.

“It’s so funny now seeing my kids look at those same shows and remember that Christmas tree and how they’d wipe their hands over it, and all of the sudden it’s great,” he said with a laugh. “I tell my kids when they get dirty I wish I could do that with them.”

Added Goor of the benefits of bringing the holidays to TV: “It’s my daughter’s favorite episode of the year. I always end up being able to bring her assorted ornaments and knickknacks from the set weirdly in, like, September.”

Of course, sharing the show with the entire family does merit some special considerations. As Molaro tells it, “I’m always mindful about moments relating to the existence of Santa because my kids watch the show,” he said before quickly adding: “We all know he exists.”

HBO

“The Comeback”

It only took nine years, but The Comeback’s Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) finally gets it — reality TV that is.

For fans of HBO’s The Comeback, the show’s second season — returning Sunday — will look a lot different than the one that might have happened in 2006, according to co-creator Michael Patrick King.

“Only one emotional element is the same, which is the thought of, ‘What would success do to Valerie’s personal life?’ ” King told The Hollywood Reporter during Wednesday’s Hollywood premiere event. “We always had the impulse that she gets something she wanted.”

Read more Lisa Kudrow Previews ‘The Comeback’ Return, Valerie Cherish in 2014

King, who also exec produces CBS’ raunchy comedy 2 Broke Girls, is enthusiastic about The Comeback’s new direction, with the series now having the opportunity to skewer not just reality TV and sitcoms but also the small screen’s affinity for dramedies, limited series and prestige networks.

Heralded as a show ahead of its time, The Comeback, co-created by the former Sex and the City scribe and Friends star Lisa Kudrow, originally aired in 2005 before it was unceremoniously canceled after 13 episodes. It joined the annals of such one-and-done greats as Judd Apatow‘s Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life and Joss Whedon‘s Firefly.

However, unlike its unlucky peers, later cult success — thanks in part to social media and YouTube — allowed HBO to resurrect the show nine years later. As executive producer/co-star Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal) sees it, catchphrases — such as Valerie’s highly GIF-able signature “I don’t want to see that” — helped keep the show alive.

“Where we are now and what viewers have become accustomed to — their appetite for reality humiliation and what it means to have cameras on you — we have thicker skins now, and I think Valerie has a thicker skin now,” says Bucatinsky, who also doubles as Kudrow’s producing partner. “Now is a time to explore a kind of optimism and a need for relevance Valerie had in 2005, where with Twitter and cameras and the opportunities to be on television are even greater. So 2014 feels like the right time to visit for someone who didn’t feel in control of her destiny.”

For King, Kudrow and Bucatinsky, The Comeback‘s return was a relatively painless process. After a few months of talks about a potential revival, the ball was in HBO’s court. Recalls Bucatinsky: “[HBO] broke up with us, so if you want to date us again, ask us out. You might get a yes.” Luckily, they did, and HBO revived the series for a six-episode order that grew to eight to accommodate an hourlong season finale.

Kudrow said jumping back into Valerie’s signature pastel tracksuit was like putting on an old coat. The Friends alum doesn’t think the series was ahead of its time but believes today’s reality-TV-heavy climate makes the show more timely than ever.

“I don’t think it was that far ahead of its time. For younger people, there’s no learning curve with reality shows. That’s where people go to humiliate themselves in trade for a little publicity for themselves,” she says.

Adds King: “Valerie, nine years ago, was someone who was punished for being obsessed with her brand. Everybody’s a little bit more Valerie on Facebook or Instagram [nowadays]. They want you to see the version of [them] that they want you to see. Valerie is like, I get it, everybody is playing themselves.”

Says Kudrow with a laugh: “Nine years later and she finally gets it.”

The Comeback returns Sunday, Nov. 9 at 10 p.m. on HBO. Check out a few clips from the return, below.

Courtesy of Adult Swim

Mike Tyson may have left the boxing ring, but Iron Mike is still not one to be challenged — whether it’s solving crimes on his new Adult Swim animated series Mike Tyson Mysteries or defending the show at a recent premiere.

Surrounded by posters sporting Tyson’s cartoon visage — complete with his signature face tattoo — fans caught a glimpse of the fight that still burns strong inside the former heavyweight champion during a recent premiere at the Ace Hotel in Downtown L.A.

Following a screening of the first three episodes of the series, the fun and lighthearted event turned serious when a member of the audience insulted the show’s writing. Tyson’s killer instincts kicked in immediately and he jumped to the defense of series creator Hugh Davidson. With the audience cheering him on, the former boxer verbally sparred with the audience member: “You’re not keeping it real,” Tyson said from the stage. “You’re keeping it negative. Get off the f—ing mic, a—hole!”

Read more ‘Mike Tyson Mysteries’: TV Review

Each episode of the 15-minute animated series centers on Iron Mike’s crew (dubbed the “Mike Tyson Mystery Team”) as they solves problems sent to them via carrier pigeon. Rachel Ramras plays Mike’s adopted Korean daughter Yung Hee, Community’s Jim Rash voices the ghost of the Marquess of Queensberry and Saturday Night Live alum Norm MacDonald plays the foul, drunk pigeon who was once a man. 

The rest of the panel, moderated by actor-comedian Brett Gelman (FX’s Married) and featuring Davidson and co-stars Rash and Ramras, went off without incident. The cast fielded questions about everything from their favorite cartoon characters growing up — Tyson liked Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse, Rash was a fan of Herculoids, Mighty Man and Yukk, and “anything that was a rip-off of Scooby-Doo” — to the genesis of the show itself.

For his part, Tyson described his Hanna Barbera-style cartoon as Scooby-Doo meets the A-Team, with absurdist cameos including John Updike, Buzz Aldrin and Bobby Fisher‘s brain.

Of course, being on Adult Swim gives the show a little more leeway than the Saturday morning classics, and Ramras thinks that’s part of the appeal. “It’s extra funny seeing these characters that remind you of Scooby-Doo and they’re saying profanity,” she said. Rash agreed, adding, “Animation is one of the few things that can bridge pretty much everybody.”

As for Tyson, he’s not shying away from self-deprecating humor or poking fun at his past. “[Mike] doesn’t care,” Davidson praised. “He’ll do anything.” Tyson concurred. “There’s not much I’ll turn down.”

Meanwhile, some of Tyson’s more infamous incidents — like the bite he took out of Evander Holyfield‘s ear — will likely not be addressed explicitly by the show. Pointing to Tyson’s similarities to his character, Davidson explaining that “[He] used to fight and be filled with anger and now [he wants] to help people,” adding that, “That’s what Mike’s like [in real life now].”

The character, Davidson said, ultimately wants to “do good and the way [he’s] going do that is to solve mysteries. It’s absurd and hopefully funny,” though he admits that this group is the “last people on Earth who should be solving crimes.”

Mike Tyson Mysteries premieres Oct. 27 at 10:30 p.m. on Adult Swim. Check out the first episode, below.