Over the past few months I got the opportunity to review the show $#*! My Dad Says. With its first season completed, many fans are wondering what season two will be about, or even if there will be a second season at all. With the latter being still up in the air at the moment, we fans have time to just sit back and reminisce about the past season. I used my time off from $#*! My Dad Says to not only do that but to also speak with the two creators of the show, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker. Here is what went down.
What was it like getting the show going?
Patrick Schumacker – Justin received a book deal about 2 months after launching the Twitter site in August 2009. Part of getting the book deal was to write proposal summarizing the book. Once that was completed, we got the proposal sent around town and it allowed people to visualize the key points of the eventual series. 
Our representation at the time was only a manager but, we were able to meet with ICM and WME about the proposal. Justin and I signed with ICM who then sent the proposal and samples of our work to studios. We knew from this that we essentially were green lit for a series. We ended up signing with Warner Bros. who in turn paired us up with Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. The meetings we had went great with everyone involved and we enjoyed what David and Max had to say. Most of the elements of the show were tweaked, except for the character of Ed and having his son Henry move back in. We pitched the pilot to Warner Bros. and got a deal to start the show. Max and David were supportive during this time and allowed us to form multiple drafts before they started their editing. We actually had about 8 drafts before our first table read.
How did your Dad feel about a show being created about him?
Justin Halpern – At first he didn’t care. Then he became excited as he learned the grand scope of things. He was more thrilled when the book came out than when we started this show as he reads more than watches television. However, his interests in the show grew once he realized how great the show would be for my career.
How did your Dad feel about William Shatner portraying him?
JH – Well, he at first wanted James Earl Jones to portray him as a character. When we told him this probably wouldn’t be happening he wasn’t too excited but, after he watched Shatner tape the pilot, he liked it.
What was it like working with Shatner?
JH – Shatner is just an incredibly hard worker. He is also crazy but, a good kind of crazy. It made things entertaining as you never knew what he would do or say. We would all gather around and listen to him tell old Hollywood stories and just be amazed at what he has done. With him acting for so long, he was protective of his character and would let us know if something didn’t seem right.
Were there any similarities between Shatner and your Dad?
PS – I noticed that they both don’t suffer fools. Justin has a good story of when his Dad met Shatner. His Dad was fascinated by all the workings of the set. He would just watch the workers on the cameras and other as they do their job. Well, after the taping ended, Justin’s Dad makes it down to the stage for a meet and greet with Shatner. The two men exchange pleasantries, shake hands, pose for a photo, and then immediately turn and walk away from each other. This is the only interaction the two have had during the run of the show so far.
Now with the show, how much of the book needed to be toned down for the show to air?
JH – Quite a bit actually. There is not much of my Dad that is allowed on basic television. We were able to work some of my Dads stuff in later in the season as Ed became more blunt. That’s what we aimed to do as we placed Ed into situations he wasn’t used to.
PS – And we usually then came up with a metaphor involving prostitutes. Which both men do.
JH – We are probably the only show with as many hooker jokes as Two and a Half Men. We may not be proud of that but we at least tell different types of hooker jokes. Ed usually just compares things to hookers.
With that being said, would you consider Charlie Sheen portraying Ed’s long lost son?
JH – This is an open invitation to Charlie if he reads this. If he wants to join, we would throw out the plan we had and go with him as the son.
How do you guys feel about the lack of advertisement toward the end of the season?
PS – It was something we were aware of and spoke to CBS about. Truth is, when it came time to pick up the back half of the season, they ordered 6 episodes and 3 scripts. We only got to use the 6 episodes as they moved Rules Of Engagement to our time slot. We think CBS may have thought our show had all the audience we were going to get. In the end they did what they felt was right
JH – The non-political answer would be that this sucked. We wanted more promotion and just didn’t get it. We were upset as we felt they were cutting us down. But, we thank them for all the promotion given to us at the beginning of the series.
Finally, do you guys have any information about season 2?
PS – We are definitely on lock down about who is playing Ed’s other son. I will say that he will have a big part in the show next season. I think Riki Lindhome will return more for season 2. We figured out toward the end of the season what fans enjoyed Ed doing so, we plan to go off of that for the next season. We want him more involved in the world and with Vince and Bonnie having a baby, it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to show Ed’s child rearing practices. We really want to take topics relevant to everyone and show what Ed’s side or view of it is in the next season.
I truly enjoyed watching S#*! My Dad Says; I liked what Ed has to say about life, especially during his generation and era. He makes his opinions no secret nor does he hold anything back. Can't wait to see him blossom next year and hope they give us more shows than they did this season. I felt like they gave us a great sitcom series and pulled the chair out while watching it. Like "what?" I just started watching and now your asking me to leave? I was just getting to the good stuff…Okay, but I'll be back. <laughing> I enjoy the talents of Nicole and Will also, they made me laugh in other sitcoms they have been on. I have not heard of Jonathan Sadowski but I am sure I will remember him now. Thank you CBS for another great sitcom with great actors.
Disappointed that this show is "up in the air". My wife and I thought it was one of the better new shows.
This is not unusual for CBS to drop something new and entertaining. They go back to same ole, same ole, which is why we watch mostly tapes and shows not on the major networks.
I think it's strange that the major networks have to copy from place like "Food Network" to come up with new ideas.
I loved this show, though sometimes too much dirty humor for early time slot. I purchased the book at airport and laughed out loud on the plane reading the book. I think Wm.S. is great for the part.
Hope the season runs again, I really miss it! Guess maybe I have a sick sense of humor sometimes also!
Badly written, badly cast. And too gay. This show does not belong on CBS fall schedule.
Too "gay" huh, ran out of adjectives did we?
For a first season it could have been alot worse… but besides Shatner and the son, i agree badly cast…