Victor Fresco

Fresco's first crack at television came along in 1987 when Columbia Television decided to cash in on the revival of the old '60s television show "The Monkees" (NBC 1966-68). They hired 29 year-old Fresco to produce "The New Monkees" (CBS 1987), a remake of the old idea with a new set of young unknown musician/actors. An immediate flop, the show barely lasted one season and was the laughing stock of the entertainment world, but it got Victor Fresco's foot in the door. Fresco's next venture into television comedy was as a staff writer for "Alf" (NBC 1986-90), moving up to story editor before the end of the series in 1990. Having proven his ability to corral writers and deliver comedy, Fresco moved on to executive story editor on "Dinosaurs" (ABC 1991-94),a Jim Henson-produced family sitcom that, like "Alf," was partially reliant on giant puppets controlled by animators. After a stint as writer and producer at the Burt Reynolds vehicle about small-town Arkansas life "Evening Shade" (CBS 1990-94), Fresco dipped into film by writing the movie "Weldon Pond" (1994) for producer Lee Shallet Chemel, but the film was poorly received and soon Victor was back to his first love, television comedy. As executive producer and a frequent writer on the witty romantic comedy "Mad About You" (NBC 1992-99), Fresco played a key role in the one of the most likeable and underrated sitcoms of the 1990s. He went on to executive produce and write several other short-lived sitcoms, including the backstage comedy "Almost Perfect" (CBS 1995-96), and the early Leah Remini vehicle "Fired Up" (NBC 1997-98), before he created his first series. The quirky "The Trouble with Normal" (ABC 2000-01) had a solid cast featuring Paget Brewster, Jon Cryer and David Krumholtz, but its peculiar subject -- a therapist and her four paranoid conspiracy-theorist patients -- was the first indication that Fresco was not interested in a conventional sitcom. His next series, the surreal workplace comedy "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" (Fox 2002-04), was a critical success that was nominated for a prime time Emmy, but was doomed by low ratings. The same fate befell "Life On a Stick" (Fox 2005), a comedic look at the life of teenage working stiffs in a mall food court. Fresco then joined the producing staff of Greg Garcia's "My Name is Earl" (NBC 2005-09), a series that suggested that comedies with offbeat premises could work commercially. After that show ended, Fresco created the critically acclaimed workplace satire "Better Off Ted" (ABC 2009-10), a cult favorite about a morally-upright executive (Jay Harrington) working for a disreputable multinational corporation. The series didn't last, in part because its widespread critical reputation made the clever series sound like it was too smart for its own good.The same could not be said for "Man Up" (ABC 2011-12), a broad sitcom about male gender roles executive produced but not created by Fresco, which was followed by his work on the Matthew Perry vehicle "Go On" (NBC 2012-13), a dark dramedy about a sports radio host dealing with the death of his wife as part of an eccentric therapy group. Fresco's next credit as show creator came with "Sean Saves the World" (NBC 2013-14), a combination home and workplace comedy starring Sean Hayes as a gay man who came out late in life, struggling to raise his 14-year-old daughter and deal with his dictatorial new boss.