Michael Fishman – Roseanne

By starrymag | April 10, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) For the last few years I’ve done a lot of writing and worked a lot on the production side of things so I’ve kind of been behind the scenes. I’ve been shadowing directors and kind of going in that direction to be a director. Then, as a writer, I have a bunch of scripts and projects that we’re packaging and trying to sell. So, it’s an exciting time!

Q) How were you approached about returning to “Roseanne?”

A) Sara Gilbert originally reached out to me. She and John Goodman had done a skit on “The Talk” and it got a lot of attention and kind of blew up on the internet. Rosanne [Barr] wrote a tweet that she’d like to do a reunion and Sarah just kind of took the ball and ran with it. She’s kind of been the engine that’s made this all possible. She reached out to me and asked me what I thought and what my ideas were. She thought everyone would do it. I’d been in contact with everyone since the show. So, my response was that I think people would be ready and that everybody would be in. Everybody said yes!

Q) You have all changed so much since being on the series initially. How has DJ evolved?

A) Coming back to work is a little bit different probably more for me than anybody else. Everybody else was mostly young adults or had become young adults by the end of the show. I left when I was fifteen years old. So, for me, personally, a lot has changed and for DJ the character quite a bit has changed. He was just starting to be a young adult and where we find him now is he is three months out of the military. He married Genna, who was the girl he didn’t want to kiss when he was little. He is now married to her and they have a daughter named Mary, to honor Nana Mary (who was played by Shelly Winters). So, he’s trying to make that transition from military life back to civilian life. Seeing that transition unfold I think is going to be exciting for fans.

Q) Is there any chance for the original actress who played Genna to return to play DJ’s wife?

A) They cast her. You’ll see her in episode – I want to say five or six. So, I probably shouldn’t say too much.

Q) Have your real-life wife and children seen any of the tapings?

A) For me, my family is really important. So, all of the weeks I was on the show they were there. There are a couple episodes where it is too many people to facilitate everybody all at once when you’re trying to do it all, but they’ve been around the set quite a bit. One of the exciting parts for me, in a way, was I get to take my kids into my childhood a little bit. They’ve known everybody as my friend and extended family, but to get to see us all working together, joking around on set and how much fun we have – I don’t think they totally believed how much fun we have at work until they got to see it. [laughs]

Q) What was it like working with Roseanne back then versus now?

A) She and I have always had a special relationship. She picked me in the audition process, way back when. She really fought for me during that process and is one of the reasons I ended up on the show. We just kind of have remained close. When the show ended, I went off and did a few projects and then got married. I worked on her talk show behind the scenes and I’ve worked on a couple other projects along the way. We really never had a gap in our relationship. So, now working with her as an adult versus being a kid is different now because your responsibilities are a little bit different and the guidance is different. When I was a kid, she was very aware of what was going on. Lots of times she would talk to me about what was coming up on the show and now it’s much more peer oriented versus motherly. I still kind of get the best of her advice on a personal level kind of in a motherly way, but at work it’s more professional because I’m an adult now. There are other kids for her to worry about.

Q) “Roseanne” has been great about covering controversial and every day life problems. Is there a topic not discussed yet that you would like to see on the show?

A) Well, I think people are going to be surprised because we are going to cover a lot. That was one of the parts of this nine-episode run this season. We tried to kind of like tackle as much stuff as we could and there were a lot of ideas that we just didn’t have time for or that we just felt like would take too long for us to get into that we wouldn’t be able to resolve in this sort of run, which is exciting because it means getting to come back to Season 11 where we’ll get a chance to really dive into those things. I think there will be a lot more going forward like DJ’s marriage. At some point, I won’t be away as much, which will be nice. You would be surprised about how much ground we cover and the multi-generational impact of us now being the adults and the grandparents (who are our parents) evaluating our parental choices and decisions. I think those are really exciting things to both play for the show and the interactions because the fans have thirty years of history with us.

Q) What were some of your most memorable behind the scenes moments from filming the show as a kid?

A) We’d do a lot of messing around at times. We played a lot of games. I learned how to drive on the lot with golf carts. There are probably a lot of things nowadays they’d never let you do. I feel like I came up at this beautiful time where you had a lot of opportunity and things you could do, but there wasn’t a lot of social media, so you didn’t have all access all the time. [laughs] So you were aloud to make a few more mistakes than young people are now. Whenever John goes off into a character or watching Laurie [Metcalf] kind of maneuver all of the layers that she does as Jackie – those are kind of special. It was amazing to watch as a kid and it’s fun to watch now as an adult.

Q) What are your thoughts on doing more seasons in the future?

A) Well, we officially are going to do Season 11. I’m excited to share a lot more stories and dive deep. We’re so impressed and thankful for the support we’ve been given by our fans. We’ve been given an opportunity to extend it and kind of say “thank you” back.

Q) You are a part of social media. Have you been enjoying the instant fan feedback you have gotten to episodes?

A) I might be the unique person who enjoys feedback. I like engaging fans. I think that it’s a neat ability with social media now to be able to contact people and have some kind of interaction. There are some restrictions, like I can’t take story ideas. I have to be diligent. Probably the hardest part is not telling people what I already know because it’s so exciting and people ask me questions. There are questions that I respectfully say that I can’t answer at this time because I can’t share everything. I don’t want to give everything away. But it’s really exciting. It’s an exciting way to interact with people. And I really respect people and the enthusiasm is fun to share. I really try to make sure that fans know we do appreciate them and the support throughout the years.

Q) Is there anything else you want be sure we share about this season of “Roseanne?”

a) Well, we touch on a lot of medical topics and a lot of social and family dynamics that we’ve always be known for that people should stay tuned to see. I think their voice is heard and that they should continue to push ideas and encourage us to go in directions that they feel is valuable. I know that Roseanne is really active on social media and a number of people from the production team. We hear you – even if it doesn’t always seem that way. We actually really care that people see themselves in our show and that it’s a reflection of how people really feel and that we’re having real conversations, not a picturesque view of the world.

Q) What made it so enticing to return to this series?

A) I think what made it so exciting to come back to is you know that you get to have great lines and there is going to be unbelievably funny stuff, but we also dive into deep issues. Everybody struggles at times. So, I think it’s important for people to see that people are struggling and to know that they aren’t alone in their bumps and bruises along the way. You kind of get through it with humor and sticking together.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I love all the fans and all the support. I’m so appreciative that people have, for essentially thirty years (my whole life), been a support structure for all of my things. I hope I can continue to make them happy and proud and entertained. I hope we can make you laugh and occasionally cry. I hope that people see the work that I do is more than just quick entrainment, but that it has heart and that it is heartfelt.