Carlton Cuse Quotes

Something I've really been wanting to do, ever since 'Six Feet Under' ended, was create my own version of this idealized writer's room as well as the ideal family.

While it was occasionally done here or there, nobody else had a figurehead like Walt doing it. Jack Warner wasn't on TV. Walt was the boss, but he had a real public profile and he used it to his advantage. And he became a household face.

I was running the show on 'United States of Tara' and 'How To Make It In America' where I could say, 'Okay, I'm in charge of everything now.' But it still wasn't my show.

Writing for television is completely different from movie scriptwriting. A movie is all about the director's vision, but television is a writer's medium.

I have less to do with 'The Simpsons' every season, but I stick my nose in here and there. Basically, it's just trying to keep the characters consistent and making sure the show has a soul.

People are aware of what I stand for through television. Nobody gets rich on TV but you build brand. That's what I'm attempting to do.

I feel like my experience on 'Community' was that I saw just how important that first year is for a series. That is where you work all the pieces out, and that means honing the characters' voices, setting that tone, finding your angle.

When you're making a television show, it's about the story and arc of the show rather than any particular episode or director.

When you're a writer on a show, your job is to write in the show runner's voice, really.

I was born on TV, meaning that's where I caught my break. So that's where I always have to be smart and revisit that medium as much as I can.

Every actor is a model to a certain extent, since they have to do so much press.

When I create a TV show, it's so that I can write it. I'm not an empire builder; my writing staff is usually a combination of two kinds of people - experts in the world the show is set in, and young writers who will not be unhappy if they're not writing scripts.

I essentially have always directed everything on my TV show without using that title; I edited and wrote all my stuff.

I don't mind doing publicity but I want to make sure it's the right type and it's about promoting my music and not me.

On 'Mr. Robot,' because I run the writers' room and know every decision behind every line of dialogue, I'm able to be nimble and adapt with the scripts and the moments. I never have to question what I'm doing as I'm directing the actors or going through the scenes.

For a writer, working in television is an incredibly rewarding medium. You're in charge of all aspects of production and get to see your vision come to life every week.

I've been on reality TV since I was 23.

What is absolutely true is that any good [Television] series has a specific voice. And I think that voice is almost exclusively the domain of the executive producer. . . . As a staff writer you're not being called upon to be the great creative person. You're sort of called upon to understand the characters and their voices and put them through certain paces.

The first lady said about her husband, 'I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures.' And today she was offered her own show on Fox News.

Everybody who's been on television more than once wears in public an expression of fatuous affability. Because you may be addressed at any moment by somebody.

At the end of the day, I'm not a model, I'm an actor. I didn't want to be a model for a brand - I wanted to be a spokesperson and to collaborate.

I'm not trying to have my whole life out there in the media.

I didn't direct [the Taboo episodes]. I wrote all of them.

A brand is a little different. Me, as Carrie the person, wanders around in sweatpants. And then, when I have to be Carrie Underwood, there is definitely a departure from your human side. It's good to make that separation from person to brand.

When I finally got my break in TV, as a staff writer, I always wanted to be at the top of that pyramid. I always wanted to make the decisions. I always wanted to be the one that was saying, "This is what the show is, and this is what the show is not. This is where we're going. It's going to be this kind of series." It was just something I always had my eye on, when I started in the business.