-How are you, buddy?
-Hey, man. I'm good. How are you?
-I'm very good.
I do miss having you here in person
because you often show up in sartorial splendor.
Did you dress up at all for us today?
-Eh, no, not really.
Just sort of a green shirt today.
You know what I thought you were going to say
is I thought you were going to say you missed my hugs.
-I do. I do miss your hugs.
But mostly while I'm hugging you,
I just want to have your style.
[ Both laugh ]
What a very well-appointed office, though.
Is it safe to say you're in an office right now?
-I'm actually not in an office.
-Are you in a closet?
-Yeah, this is -- [ Laughs ]
I'm not that opulent.
No. It's like a little --
It's like a TV room, basically, like a media room.
-I want to ask this question.
You obviously -- None of us --
I'm not dressed up, either, for this
because we're living in a time
where a lot of the standards are lower.
I know you just celebrated an 11th wedding anniversary.
Is a celebration like that during a pandemic,
does it take the pressure off a little bit?
Because you cannot, obviously, roll out the red carpet.
-Yeah. Yeah, totally.
No, it's an opportunity to kind of be like,
"Well, I guess I can't -- I guess I can't really --
We can't really do anything for this."
You know, it's sad to think of that as an opportunity.
No, but we did. We kept it very simple.
I mean, I think last time I was on there, actually,
we talked about my wife and I's 10th-anniversary trip.
-Yeah, which was a bit of a -- I guess a boating mishap, right?
Like, you were outdoors.
You were doing all the things we used to do.
And let's be honest, this year went probably better for you.
-Uh, yeah.
Well, anything where I'm not throwing up
off the back of a boat is --
is much better for me.
-You are -- You're in California right now,
which is, based on everything you see and hear,
a very hot place to be right now,
maybe a little bit of a scary place to be right now.
How are you? I know your kids are 8 and 6.
How are they handling school?
How are you guys getting through it?
Uh, I mean, everybody's taking it in stride.
I mean, look, I can't complain. I'm financially stable.
So there's people in far worse situations than I'm in.
You're right, though, California does seem to be on fire.
I can't seem to stop my eyes from watering.
I'm assuming that's because of the fires.
Either that or it's I'm crying about something
that I'm, you know, subconsciously unaware of.
-Like a super-repressed thing is coming out during this time?
-That's possible. It's possible.
No, I mean, we're teaching our kids at home,
kind of splitting our days between teaching the kids
and, you know, trying to get our own work done.
And, you know, just kind of riding this thing out.
It's not so bad.
I mean, luckily, I actually like my wife.
We enjoy each other's company. So, um, it's --
-That's good. I'm finding the same.
It's a very nice thing to realize, like,
"Oh, we're doing good with all this time,"
which is very nice to find out.
How do you -- How are 8 and 6 insofar
as they can handle attention spans of doing school right now?
-That has been a struggle, for sure,
you know, I mean, especially the kindergartner.
I mean, he's very -- he's a very fidgety guy.
He's active. He's very social.
He wants to be, you know, moving around and stuff.
And Zoom's not really conducive to that.
And, you know, my kids are --
I mean, they do okay,
but they're also a little bit the kind of kids
that would, like, sit in the back of the class
and, like, hope that the teacher
doesn't ever call on them or notice them,
which is a lot easier to pull off when you're on Zoom.
As a matter of fact, actually, the other day,
I looked in the playroom,
which is where my kindergartner is doing Zooms.
And the Zoom call was happening, and I could hear it.
And I looked in there, and he was just, like,
draped across the chair, like, in a Superman pose.
Like, not paying attention to the Zoom at all.
Just, like, doing -- I don't know what he was doing.
But he was not doing school. -It's good.
It's good to give kids room to make their own choices.
-[ Laughs ]
-This is very exciting.
You know, I think both you and I are excited and delighted
that there even is a Season 3 of "A.P. Bio."
For those who don't know, it was an NBC show
that then got picked up on NBC's new streaming service, Peacock.
And you guys had shot 8 episodes of 10 when this hit.
Do you remember that day, like,
when the decisions were being made?
'Cause they were being made pretty quickly.
-I remember there was a lot of talk about it.
I remember we were a little stressed
about being able to finish eight.
'Cause I remember thinking, if we can get eight out,
I think you can release eight episodes.
And it almost feels like a full season of television.
You know, so luckily, we were able to get that done.
I was also in the middle of, I think, editing the episode
that I had directed a couple weeks prior.
So I was in the middle of editing that.
And then, you know, things shut down.
And, you know, there was a part of me that at the time
I was like, "Oh, well, this will be a good opportunity
to just, like, rest, 'cause I'm tired."
-Yeah.
-You know, but luckily, we got eight good episodes out.
-It's a delight to watch.
One of the most jarring things about watching it right now
is that it takes place in a high school.
And I'm wondering if that is refreshing
for people to look at a school
where no one is worried about things like social distancing
or if it is like a horror movie
to just watch people touching each other
and bumping into each other in the hallways.
I personally find it the former, obviously.
-Well, yeah, it's strange because you see that
and it seems like such strange behavior now
to see, like, people talking face-to-face
and, you know, hugging each other
and, you know, being in proximity with each other
without wearing masks.
So it's both, like, horrifying
and also like you pine for it at the same time.
I don't know that there's too many things you can watch
where you're both horrified by it
and you pine for it at the same time.
-You have this incredible supporting cast
with Patton Oswalt, obviously Paula Pell.
One of the things that's really fun about this season
is you spend more time in the classroom.
This is one -- You know, it's one those shows where --
It's three seasons, but it's the same kids in the classroom.
And there's a really nice chemistry with you guys.
It must be fun to, you know, not only get to know
the characters better and know how to react to them,
but to get to know the actual actors, as well.
-Oh, God. I adore this cast.
I'm the luckiest man in the world.
Like, I love working with these people.
I get to laugh all day long.
I mean, every single -- all the students,
all the other teachers, everybody is a --
you know, a scene stealer.
And I mean that in a good way.
Like, they're all so funny.
And it just -- it tickles me.
I'm having a blast, you know.
And the kids especially,
because they were, you know, younger actors,
it's been really fun to watch them
get more and more confident as, you know --
In the third season, they came in so sure of themselves.
And, you know,
that just makes them more comfortable and funnier
and, you know, you can kind of riff
and improv with them and stuff.
They've just been amazing.
-You are one of our most excellent thespians
when it comes to playing likeable jerks.
And I mean that sincerely.
Jack on this show is.
But, you know, over the course of the series
and certainly more this year,
like, he seems to like where he is more
and like the people he's around more.
Is that more fun to play?
Or do you enjoy the more irascible where he started?
-I think it's been more fun for me
because it allows me to play notes
that I haven't been able to play as an actor very much.
You know, I mean, my other character
on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
is in no way, shape, or form warm.
-Yeah. [ Laughs ]
-To get to play that is nice.
And it's also nice because it creates a lot of conflict
for the character because, you know,
my character still really wants to think of himself
as this elitist Hollywood philosopher.
You know, but he's slowly being faced with the fact
that maybe he could be happy
with just being a hometown Toledo boy,
which is also his worst nightmare.
So there's this great tension, you know, within the character
that he wants to be one thing
but he feels something else and he can't quite give into it.
But he's definitely, like --
I think he's really growing close to these kids
and to the other faculty and he really loves these people.
And it's fun to play that. He just can't admit it.
-You mentioned Dennis, and it's incredible to say,
but there's a -- it's looking very likely now
that there is going to be a 15th season of "Always Sunny,"
which is just -- I mean,
it continues to be an incredible accomplishment,
but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be noted.
So congratulations on that, as well.
-Thanks, man. Yeah, no, we're very lucky.
I mean, hopefully the show is now at a point
where it just kind of feels ubiquitous.
It just is and always will be.
You know, I think there are some people who --
You know, I mean, I've met kids that are like,
"I started watching your show when I was in junior high."
And I'm like, "Dude, you're 30."
-[ Laughs ] Right.
-The show's been out a long time.
-It's very funny to think of, like, "60 Minutes"
in the same class as "Always Sunny,"
which is like, "Yeah, I think that show's just -- It's on."
Hey, man, always great to see you.
Love to the family. And I hope to see you soon.
-Yeah. I hope we get to --
I want to give you one of my warm, you know,
bodily hugs at one point.
-One of those classic hugs.
Thanks so much. -Good to see you, man.