Malik Yoba Quotes

But reality television is here to stay.

To me, in retrospect, it was amazing that 'Seinfeld' was a show that had such mass appeal. At first it was a disaster in the ratings, but then it became a cultural phenomenon. I don't know if that's possible anymore, but I don't try for that.

I was young enough to certainly realize the excitement of how popular 'Seinfeld' was.

As I slowly managed to take what I had learned into a transition from contestant to announcer and warm-up, I first had to prove myself on pilots. And as you know, many pilots are taped for each show that is lucky enough to breakthrough to being a series.

I really enjoy working on 'Modern Family.'

When I got my overall deal at Fox, I got amazing bosses in John Landgraf and Dana Walden and Peter Rice. For the first time ever, they said, 'Don't change who you are; be who you are. And write something you want to watch.' That thing was 'Glee,' and it took off from there.

I'm glad I did 'Married... with Children,' and I liked making all that money, and we all had a lot of laughs.

One thing I won't do in television is a sitcom. I find that world to be so neurotic and bizarre.

The whole cable-TV original programming just changed the nature of television.

All of the writing on '30 Rock' is a joy to go into. It's pretty hot stuff.

I was sure 'Summer Heights High' would be a cult ABC thing; I had no idea it would be such a big hit.

'30 Rock' is my favorite TV show and Tina Fey is one of my heroes. She was a dream to work with and the whole cast was just absolutely lovely.

When I joined Granada - which, you don't want to start crying about these things, but Granada was a very, very hot place to be, it was my good fortune to be there at that time - the BBC was firmly asleep.

It would be wonderful to become what Oprah has become: she is in such a class of her own, as an entrepreneur, as a performer and an icon. The idea of building a series of programmes and choosing people that I think have talent to do them would be a very interesting idea. I would love to show that television can have soul, depth and range.

Most of my work had been in theater, and I was jumping not just into television but 'L.A. Law,' which had all these megastars in it.

The pilot of 'Seinfeld' was made and dropped. 'Seinfeld' was not supposed to go to series.

Television used to be made much more in a vacuum; the only feedback the audience had for a long time was in a Nielsen number that would arrive sometime after the show had been broadcast. And now, people are just completely engaged on so many levels, and I think that you have to find a way as a show creator to follow your own compass.

I used to say when I was working in the theater that if I ever had five seasons of a hit TV show I'd never have to worry about money and wouldn't have to do anything I didn't want to do.

I got a lot of incredible experience at 'Friends.' I was there when it was the No. 1 show in the country. And I was a very small part of that.

'Arrested Development' is great; Mitch Hurwitz is great. Plus, it's the one show I've ever had where, on the small parts, he just let me cast people.

I did some commercials and a couple of B movies, then a few pilots that didn't go anywhere. Eventually I did the pilot for Beverly Hills, 90210. The rest is history.

The thing about TV is it's a meritocracy. I love that aspect of it - and I've had shows that have gone on the air and been canceled. I've seen the good and the bad of it.

I did a guest thing on 'My Name Is Earl,' and there is something about being involved in a TV show that's in the midst of its popularity that frees up the creative process.

When I first began doing TV pilots, my expectations were high. I didn't understand that world. So when 'Weeds' took off, I was so happy. Especially as I was just a guest star in the pilot. But once it got picked up, they made me a regular cast member.

The lazy part of me would love to do a sitcom where I could work three days a week and make a fortune.