About this episode

Brad Isaacs discusses his experiences in sitcom writing and production, sharing stories from his career and personal life.

Brad Isaacs joined me to talk about the Dick Van Dyke Show; favorite episodes; writing a spec script for Taxi, handing it to Marilu Henner and her remembering twenty plus years later; sitcoms not talking down; Simpsons & Saul Bellow; mother could sing songs even though she hardly speak due to dementia; dropped out of high school and got a GED; goes to Vegas to be a pro gambler; watching DVD inspires him; gets a job on TBS series Safe at Home; leads to a freelance Head of the Class and a job at Webster; one Webster so bad guest actor Michael Richards walks off; freelance Duet; hired for Newharts last season; favorite episodes; Dan O'Shannon came up with shows ending; "Father Goose" episode with Henry Gibson; others being confused by which Newhart he worked on; getting hired at Roseanne; being asked to come up with a show for Tom Arnold; models it after DVD with Tom rarely seen; Roseanne wants more Tom Arnold, Brad quits; meeting Carl Reiner and getting forgiveness; writing to Bill Persky and getting a letter back from his 12 and 10 year old daughters; Ken Levine; meeting George McGovern on Newhart; Larry Sanders Show; Norm MacDonald story; rewriting Tommy Boy; adding…

More episodes of Ian Talks Comedy

• Greg Evigan (BJ and the Bear, My Two Dads) · April 25, 2026 · 53 min
• Maggie Wheeler ("Janice from Friends", Seinfeld, Curb) · April 18, 2026 · 43 min
• Chris Lemmon · April 4, 2026 · 46 min
• David Garrison · March 28, 2026 · 29 min
• Robin Riker (Get a Life, Alligator) · March 21, 2026 · 51 min
• Robert Hays · March 14, 2026 · 1h 11m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Ian Talks Comedy podcast page.