'True Blood' is one of those shows that is so deep and good that you can't have it on in the background. It's one of those shows that you have to dedicate time to.
The music I was always attracted to and the shows I was really into like, you know, those weekend Don Kirshner shows, "Midnight Special," those shows, I remember watching those and the music was just on; it was the greatest radio stations.
I think musicians should stay off television generally. I get asked all the time. Those shows are just promoting insipid comedies. Who watches those shows? And whoever does I don't think my music would speak to those people. I don't even want those people to hear what I'm doing.
I've had the joy of working on critically acclaimed shows, but unfortunately, those shows aren't always in the Golden Globe or Emmy categories, which bums me out because they are really good, quality shows.
I'll only work on TV shows that have a 'Sookie' on them! Those are the only shows that will cast me. And I've never even met a Sookie in my life. Sookie on 'Gilmore Girls' was played by Melissa McCarthy. And Sookie, played by Anna Paquin, is number one on the call sheet on 'True Blood.' Somebody should write another script with a Sookie in it.
I actually can't watch blood and gore and all those things. I watch Netflix shows with my hand over my face, like, peeking out. Which is funny, because I'm on sets all the time, and I know how those effects are done.
I come from a background of 40 pages a day. The other side of the coin is quality can suffer a bit on those shows and you can get into some bad habits but thanks to those days, I can do memorization in my sleep.
It's the cable shows that are really the most interesting - 'Mad Men,' 'Breaking Bad,' those shows are really the premiere shows on television right now.
We're all trapped. It's always 1734. All of us, we're stuck in the same time capsule, the same as those television shows where the same people are marooned on the same desert island for thirty seasons and never age or escape. They just wear more makeup. In a creepy way, those shows are maybe too authentic.
I don't own a radio. I listen to everything through apps or on my iPhone. And then I download the shows I like. Shows like 'Fresh Air', 'Radiolab', 'Snap Judgement', all those shows.
I definitely prefer intimate crowds. I mean, those are always the best shows, like, a small venue. Packed to the gills. Hot, sweaty. Those are always the fun shows.
At 10, I was intrigued by surgery, I wanted to be a surgeon for a long time. I love doctor shows and surgery shows. Blood is not an issue for me. I even took pictures once of me getting my blood taken.
People expect to see white guys, Sunday afternoon, on 'Face the Nation.' And people with a direct interest in politics do watch those shows. But not a lot of normal people watch those shows. But, 'Real Time With Bill Maher,' it's unbelievable how many people watch that.
For so long, TV consisted of a limited number of shows a year, and those shows had to appeal to as many people as possible. The joy of TV now is that shows don't have to be broad anymore - they can be small, weird, and niche.
We just haven't found Bigfoot because the world is big. And the woods are deep. The more TV shows that we can get where people go out looking for Bigfoot, the better our chances are. So let's get more of those shows going.
I chose 'The Voice' because I knew they had a lot more respect for each artist, as opposed to the other shows. They don't get it. I don't think those shows ever got it. I was turned off by some of the other shows and how they did things.
In drama school, they do these big shows and period dramas, and I felt that none of those shows were representing me as a person, and I knew I wouldn't be cast in any of those when I left school. I decided to write my own one-woman show, and that was called 'Chewing Gum Dreams.'