#in the last season the main cast received $1 million per episode EACH

[clouds-of-wings]

Amy and Sheldon in their HP merch through the seasons. Amy is a Hufflepuff (confirmed 2 times) and Sheldon is a Gryffindor (confirmed 3 times). I think it's a nice touch that the writers didn't go "their nerds lol their obvs Ravenclaws".

I think it sort of fits? Amy is very unpretentious and loyal, Sheldon has a kind of bravado about him. Both have, in each their own way, a strong sense of fairness. It's a small detail, but I like that they don't get reduced to their intellect.

[heisenbergchronicles]

APPRECIATION & INTERVIEW

Better Call Saul episode posters by Matt Talbot After 4 nearly years, I thought it was time to catch up with Matt Talbot about his Better Call Saul poster project. The last time we talked during Season 1, Matt was deep in the hustle of making his name as an illustrator: juggling a full-time job, freelance projects, as well as band. Finding time for personal projects like this one can be a significant challenge. (Not to mention surviving the death of your tools: During Season 1 his Mac laptop died, and this season, his Wacom tablet bit the bullet). But despite these challenges, the 43-year-old New Hampshire native has persevered to create a clever and thoughtful series of episode posters that has garnered considerable attention, and brought with it new high-profile clients and art exhibitions. 

First, congratulations on all of your success and recognition with this series of posters. It’s well-deserved. What’s been the most gratifying feedback you’ve received? Thank you! Every interaction I’ve had with anyone from the show has delighted me. I've been surprised by all of the cast and crew members who have said nice things – every note I’ve gotten has meant a lot to me. That being said, Michael McKean randomly tweeting at me that he has my poster for Chicanery hanging in his home blew my mind. I was eating dinner when my phone showed the notification and I literally jumped up from the table. I’ve been a fan of Michael’s since I saw Spinal Tap in the ‘80s and never in a million years would I have guessed I’d make something he valued enough to hang in his home.

Tell me about your contributions to Gallery1988 exhibitions. How does that process work? It's a pretty simple process. They invite me to be part of a show, and I make something to send them. I’m very excited for the opportunity to show there, and I feel like it’s a milestone in my art-making career.

Across the 4 seasons, which BCS posters are your favorites? Which one are you most proud of? I’m particularly fond of Rebecca, Rico, Marco, Switch, Sunk Costs and Something Beautiful. Oh man, it's hard for me to evaluate my own stuff. I tend to like the posters where I find a way to get a different take on something they did in the episode. I would say that “Sunk Costs” is also one of my favorites because I did something differently than how they shot it, and because Mike is so recognizable even from the back. I was also pleased with “Off Brand” because it was when I finally figured out how to draw Bob Odenkirk.

How has your process for creating these posters evolved over 4 seasons? When I started this project I had a vague idea that I would focus on scenes rather than portraits or likenesses, but that didn’t even last half a season! The characters were too good not to include. In that way, the posters have evolved in my willingness to draw characters, and also, hopefully, my ability to draw them. 

My process is now something like: Watch the show on Monday; think about it on Tuesday, figure out what stood out to me and do a thumbnail sketch or two; draw it on Wednesday night; post it Thursday afternoon. I’m a bit faster at drawing these now compared to when I started. And I’m a bit more decisive on choosing which subject matter to depict.

There have been quite a few changes on the visual side of Better Call Saul over the last 2 seasons. New directors (Minkie Spiro, Daniel Sackheim, and Andrew Stanton), a new cinematographer Marshall Adams, even new cameras. What are your thoughts on how the show’s visual grammar has evolved? Has any of this impacted your posters from Seasons 3 & 4? I try not to just redraw literal scenes from the show, and I don’t need to tell you that they shoot the show in an incredibly beautiful way. I mean, they always, always, pick the best angle, the best shot to capture something. For that reason, it’s sometimes hard to to come up with another take on a moment from the show.

That being said, the visual style hasn’t really impacted my posters as much as the evolving subject matter has. The show, I think, is substantially darker than it was in the early going. It was easier to depict Jimmy’s hi-jinx in the first couple seasons. But with Chuck’s deteriorating mental state, the cartel stuff, Mike going deeper into Fring’s world and of course, Jimmy’s loosening sense of morals, the funny moments are harder to spot. That’s lead me to some more somber layouts and color choices.

We didn’t discuss this in our first interview. Which typeface are you using in your posters, or is this custom typography? The main logo and episode titles are set in Sign Painter, from the excellent House Industries.

The Heisenverse is known for it’s color theory and use of color. How has that impacted your color choices in these posters? I’ve kind of adhered to their blue=good/red=bad symbolism, but I also try to balance out colors between episodes and not repeat myself in sequential posters.

Many of your posters (especially ones this season) use a monochromatic, or simple palette of 1-2 colors. Tell me more about why you chose that approach. Is this a signature of your style? I’ve seen this approach in a lot of your work. You know, in the early seasons, I was trying to use simpler color palettes, but I wasn’t very disciplined and I got away from that. I’m trying to stick to a more consistent style in season 4. It is a conscious decision. I also feel like with the week-to-week nature of this project, it helps quickly set apart each poster. And, I really do love limited color palettes. Giving myself color constraints helps me figure out different ways to solve layout problems.

I’ve heard other illustrators say that Bob Odenkirk’s facial features are tricky to capture. Do you share that sentiment? Which characters are more challenging to illustrate? I do agree with that. I had a really hard time with him at first. I kind of think I have a better handle on it now, but I’m always trying to get better. I feel like if you can get his mouth right, it goes a long way.

I found Hector hard to capture both times I drew him. Mike, on the other hand, is just pure fun to draw. Jonathan Banks is so distinctive and iconic.

What’s been the most difficult poster thus far? Why was it challenging? Maybe it’s because a lot of time has gone by, but I can't think of one that stands out as having been really difficult.

Francesco Francavilla did alternate posters for some of his Breaking Bad posters. Inevitably, when artists look back at their work, they consider revising or redoing it because of a variety of reasons – their point of view has changed, their skill/style has evolved, or maybe they were never truly content with the final product. Looking back at 4 seasons worth of posters, are there any that make you want to scratch the revision itch? Yeah, more than I would care to admit. I would really like another crack at Amarillo. I know I could do a better job and that drawing is just super flat. In season two, I decided to to experiment with style and I kind of wish I hadn't. I like Cobbler, but I wish I had drawn it in my normal style. I would redraw Nailed for sure. Oh man, if I start going down this road it's not going to end well, so I'll just stop.

You mentioned earlier this season you were excited to draw Track Suit Jimmy. Who or what haven’t you drawn, that you are eager to illustrate? Howard! It bums me out to no end that I haven't drawn him, but it just hasn't worked out. And I need to include Kim more. It's kind of criminal that her face only appeared for the first time in a poster this season.

What’s your opinion of Season 4? Tell me about your favorites – episode, scene, character. I think season 4 is brilliant so far. The Kim/Jimmy relationship has deepened so much this season, and feels so real, but full of inevitable heartache. Oh, the flash-forward to Breaking Bad’s timeline was amazing. Mike doing his audit in the Madrigal warehouse. Really, anything Michael Mando does on screen. It's hard to pick. I so enjoy the deliberate pace of this show.

Where’s your favorite place to discuss the show? I honestly don’t talk about it too much online, though I lurk in a few places and read a lot. I actually discuss it mostly with my wife!

I know you get this question a lot, so let’s cover it here so folks understand: Do you have plans to sell any of this work online? I really appreciate that people like it enough to want to buy it or hang it, but I don't plan to sell the Better Call Saul posters online. I’m doing this for fun, not to make a buck off the show, and I don’t own the rights to sell it anyway.

What’s next for Matt? Do you have any other poster or illustration projects in the works? Is you band performing soon? I have several more pieces for Gallery1988 shows coming up. I’m pulling together an art show at a local brewery for whom I design all of their labels and stuff. I’m patiently waiting for a t-shirt I designed for one of my all-time favorite movies to be announced. And for the past several Octobers, I spent the month drawing a horror poster per day. I’m not sure if logistically I can do that again this year, but I’ll probably fit at least a few in. We’ll see how it goes. Sadly, with all of my illustration work, I haven’t had any time for music making, but someday I hope to get back to that!

Follow Matt: Web site / Tumblr / Twitter / Dribbble / Instagram / PosterSpy

– Interview by Shayne Bowman, Heisenberg Chronicles

[blackkudos]

Patrik-Ian Polk

Patrik-Ian Polk (b. July 29, 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, singer, and actor. Polk, who is openly gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the African-American LGBT experience and relationships.

Polk made his feature film directorial debut with Punks, an independent feature that he also wrote and produced. Often described as a male Waiting to Exhale, Punks had its world premiere in January 2000 at the Sundance Film Festival. The film won several awards at festivals around the world and was released theatrically in November 2001. He also directed the film Blackbird in 2014.

Polk is also the creator of the television series Noah's Arc, which made its debut on the Logo television network in October 2005.

Education

Born in 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Polk was interested in television and movies as a child. He attended Brandeis University, where he was the arts editor of the college newspaper. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, then went on to study at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinema-Television.

Early career

Polk served briefly as a producer's assistant for Amblin Entertainment's TV series known seaQuest DSV. He was then hired to work for MTV as a development executive in the newly formed, Paramount-based film division known as MTV Films. He helped with development of many productions including Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Election. The latter, a scandalous story about a high school election starring Reese Witherspoon, was nominated for an Oscar in 1999.

Polk then began to work for Edmond's Entertainment, or E2 Filmworks. Under Tracey and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Polk worked as vice president of production and development. While at E2, he worked on films such as Soul Food (1997), Hav Plenty (1998) andLight It Up (1999). Soul Food, told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy, is a story about the plights of an African-American family broken by the death of their mother. The film eventually went on to be produced into a Showtime network show that turned into a series that ran for four years, becoming the longest running drama featuring a predominantly black cast.

Light It Up, which starred Usher in his first leading role, grossed $6 million in ticket sales.

TV series, Films

Noah's Arc

 (2005)

Noah's Arc started as a television series about a group of black gay friends. The show integrates issues like same-sex dating, same-sex marriage, HIV and AIDS awareness, infidelity, sexual curiosity, promiscuity, homophobia, gay bashing, and same-sex parenthood. Often considered "the gay Sex and the City", the show aired for two seasons, making 17 episodes, excluding the pilot. The series aired on the Logo cable network, and became extremely popular after its initial airing in October 2005. For a long time, the show was the network's most popular title. The 23-minute episodes take place in Los Angeles and show four gay black friends – Noah, Alex, Ricky, and Chance – dealing with everyday life through complex romantic and professional relationships.

Starring in the show were Darryl Stephens, Rodney Chester, Christian Vincent, Doug Spearman, and Jensen Atwood. A second season aired eight episodes, ending with a cliffhanger. Logo announced that the show was cancelled but, facing demand for a third season, stated that if the planned feature film was a success, the series might return. Polk said that Noah's Arc was both a "triumph and a let down". To this day, many fans still don't understand what possessed LOGO executives to cancel the show.

Punks

 (2001)

Polk's first directorial feature was Punks (2001). The movie, starring Rockmond Dunbar, Renoly Santiago, Jazzmun, and Devon Odessa, is about a group of gay African-American friends. Punks was first shown in January 2000 at the Sundance Film Festival. The film won the Black Reel Award (2002) for Best Independent Actor (Rockmond Dunbar) and the Cleveland International Film Festival's Best American Independent Feature Film. It also was chosen to open the Twenty-Fourth San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. It was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award and the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. In November 2001,Punks was released to theatrical audiences at the Quad in New York City. This film's major themes were incorporated in Polk's later works. It had its TV premiere on Logo on August 7, 2011.

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom

 (2008)

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom was his next film, featuring Polk as director, writer, and producer. It was written in collaboration with fellow writer from the series John R. Gordon, and picks up after the cliffhanger in the second season. It is about the marriage and wedding of the main character, Noah Nicolson, and his boyfriend Wade Robinson at Martha's Vineyard. In the movie, four groups of couples struggle for identities while attending four different bachelor parties where each relationship becomes more complicated. Near the end, Noah and Wade are not helped with their last-minute jitters by the social tension.

The film was released on October 24, 2008, on a limited basis, performing at theaters in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Palm Springs, California, and Washington, D.C. The movie showed in Ocean City, New Jersey, Detroit and San Francisco in early November. The movie then began showing at theaters in Philadelphia and Dallas in at the end of November and performed well on a per-screen basis.

Polk's film received much acclaim throughout the gay community. It received three NAACP Image Award nominations: Outstanding Independent Feature Film, Outstanding Writing in a Feature Film and Outstanding Directing in a Feature Film. It won GLAAD Award's for Best Feature Film (Limited Release), but received poor reviews. Time Out called it a "silly soaper," and Variety described it as "a lame feature" that was "blandly staged",. It received a 43% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite the criticism, according to IndieWire (October 27, 2008), the movie opened as number 1 on the independent film box office report. Theaters reported around-the-block lines, and even though it only played for 7 weeks in no more than seven theaters at once, taking in over $532,000 despite its low mainstream marketing support. The film cost an estimated $5 million to make and is not expected to recover those costs even with its DVD release.

The Skinny

 (2012)

In 2012, Patrik Ian Polk released the film The Skinny, in which he wrote, directed and produced. The film tells the story of five friends who are Brown University classmate s- four gay men and one lesbian - as they reunite in New York City for Gay Pride weekend, in which secrets are exposed, lies and lots of drama.

Personal life

Polk's portrayal of the gay African-American community is considered one of his best achievements. Among other things, Polk notes one experience where he was confronted by one transitioning person that they were experiencing exactly what Noah's Arc characters went through and that they were extremely grateful to him. When asked in an interview with Shei what his inspiration was to the seriesNoah's Arc, Polk replied, "I wanted to see black gay characters and there were none on TV. So I decided rather than complain about it, I'd do it myself." Polk says he was inspired by Spike Lee on television with the scene She's Gotta Have It, where there was a black face in filmmaking. He believes that people should come out and not have a secret lifestyle as it leads to lies and deception.

Polk's film, "The Skinny", debuted in spring 2012, and "Blackbird" opened in 2014.

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?q=Patrik-Ian+Polk&lang=en

[wazafam]

Friends will go down in history as one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. Thanks to its wildly talented and hilarious cast, the series aired new episodes for a decade and continues to air reruns on various television networks and streaming services around the globe. The series reportedly earns Warner Bros. 1 billion dollars a year.

RELATED: 10 Classic Friends Episodes Every Fan Has Seen

Thanks to the immense success of the series, the members of the main cast went on to become some of the highest-paid actors in television history. This group also went on to forever change how actors negotiate their contracts. Using Insider as a source, fans can find out exactly how much the main cast was paid for each season.

8 Cole Sprouse: First Episode - $20,000 / Last Episode - $20,000

Cole Sprouse was not the first actor to portray Ross and Carol’s son, Ben, but he was certainly the most memorable. Sprouse starred as Ben Geller from season six to season eight of the series and was very young when he began working on the series, yet he reportedly was paid $20,000 per episode.

Though Sprouse only appeared in seven episodes, he is generally who people think of when they think of Ben and he will always remain an important part of the Friends legacy.

7 James Michael Tyler: First Episode - $5,000 / Last Episode - $40,000

While James Michael Tyler has played many different roles throughout the years, he will always be most known for his portrayal as Gunther, manager of Central Perk. Tyler appeared in every season of the series and was in 185 episodes in total.

RELATED: Friends: 10 Best Gunther Memes

In the first season of the show, he earned $5,000 per episode he appeared in. Throughout the seasons, that amount steadily increased until he earned $40,000 per episode, for his comedic stylings.

6 David Schwimmer: First Episode - $22,500 / Last Episode - $1 Million

When Friends first aired in 1999, David Schwimmer made $22,500 per episode of season one. By the end of season one, it became clear to the executives of the show that Schwimmer’s on-screen relationship with Aniston was a big reason why the show was so successful.

Luckily for the rest of the cast, Schwimmer felt the group should all be paid equally for their work and he fought for everyone to be paid the same amount, which turned into $1 million dollars per episode by the final season.

5 Lisa Kudrow: First Episode - $22,500 / Last Episode - $1 Million

Like the rest of the cast, Lisa Kudrow made $22,500 per episode for the entirety of season one for her work as Phoebe Buffay. As the seasons went by, fans were happy to learn more and more about the enigmatic character.

RELATED: Friends: 10 Times Phoebe Said Everything Fans Were Thinking

Her original songs “Smelly Cat” and “Two Of Them Kissed Last Night” are classics and her big heart helped make her one of the most lovable characters on the show. Kudrow created a one-of-a-kind character and was undeniably deserving of the $1 million dollars per episode she was paid in seasons 9 and 10.

4 Courtney Cox: First Episode - $22,500 / Last Episode - $1 Million

Courtney Cox nailed her role as the responsible, ambitious, and caring Monica Geller. If it weren’t for Monica’s connection to Ross and Rachel, the friends probably would have never formed the strong connection that they did. Throughout the series, Monica takes care of everyone in the group, while still managing to get into her own widely entertaining messes.

RELATED: Are The Friends Cast Really Friends? Monica And Rachel's Real-Life Relationship, In Pictures

Cox was paid the same amount as all of her co-stars and continues to collect $20 million a year in royalties, like the rest of the main group.

3 Matthew Perry: First Episode - $22,500 / Last Episode - $1 Million

It’s safe to say Friends probably would not have reached the heights it did if not for Matthew Perry’s gift of delivering one-liners. For 10 seasons, Chandler was the group’s resident comedian — or at least he tried to be. He also was one-half of one of the most memorable bromances on television and his relationship with Joey was also a central part of his character.

Like the rest of the cast, Perry made $22,500 for the first episode of the show and $1 million for his work in the final episode.

2 Matt LeBlanc: First Episode - $22,500 / Last Episode - $1 Million

Matt LeBlanc’s portrayal of Joey Tribbiani was so successful that he even got his own spinoff show when Friends ended in 2004. LeBlanc was able to balance out Joey’s role as the womanizer and struggling actor of the group by also playing up his kindness and loyalty.

His salary followed the same trajectory as his co-stars. Following the $22,500 per episode deal he had for season one, he made $40,000/episode in season 2, $75,000/episode in season 3, $85,000/episode in season 4, $100,000/episode in season 5, $125,000/episode in season 6, $750,000/episode for seasons 7 and 8, and finally $1 million/episode for seasons 9 and 10.

1 Jennifer Aniston: First Episode - $22,500 / Last Episode - $1 Million

Though Jennifer Aniston has gone on to play many other high-profile roles since working on Friends and has become a huge star in her own right, her role as Rachel Green will forever remain her most iconic. From her style and her fascinating love life to her willingness to go after what she wants, Rachel is a character that many women aspire to be like.

When season one ended, Aniston was supposed to receive a huge bump in pay, along with her co-star David Schwimmer, however, Aniston agreed to take a pay cut so that all the main cast would receive equal pay.

NEXT: Every Season Of Friends, Ranked According To IMDb

Friends: How Much Were The Cast Paid For The First & Last Episode from https://ift.tt/31fPydN

[lindawfowler101010]

​Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know (and more) About The Office

In the article below we've created a comprehensive guide that covers everything you would ever want to know about the immensely popular hit television show, The Office. If you haven't heard of The Office before then you're missing out on top-tier entertainment. Please continue reading the article below to find out exactly what you've been missing.

Is The Office a Sitcom

The Office is a US-based televised sitcom that was originally an American adaptation of a similar sitcom that aired as part of a BBC original series. While the original BBC sponsored sitcom was created for a UK based audience, the American version was adapted for a US audience and sponsored by Shine America and Deedle-Dee Productions, in partnership with the greater parent company, Universal Television.

When Did The Office Start

The Office aired its first episode on the 3rd of March, 2005, with its last episode airing nearly 8 years later on the 16th of May, 2013. The Office originally aired on the world-renowned  television network known as NBC. Outside of NBC's network, The Office was also syndicated throughout the US on the television networks known as TBS and Comedy Central, with Comedy Central's airing coming several years after The Office had aired its final episode.

Who Wrote The Office

The original UK adapted version of The Office was co-created and co-written by the extraordinarily popular British actors and comedians, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The Office version adapted for American audiences, however, was written by Greg Daniels, the highly acclaimed writer and producer whose previous works include King of the Hill, The Simpsons, and Saturday Night Live.

While the original US adaptation of the sitcom featured a pilot that was a direct spin-off of its UK based counterpart, from the second episode onward the writing and production were Greg Daniels' work in their entirety. Daniels has spoken openly about this original process, stating that pilot episodes of any sitcom carry so much risk, that he decided to play it safe and not create the sitcom from scratch for the initial pilot airing.

While Daniels was the sole creative powerhouse behind the writing for The Office's second episode, his production company, Deedle-Dee Productions, hired writers to help Daniels with the creation of additional episodes, with Daniels taking the helm as a creative director. An interesting technique that Daniels' production company used in order to stimulate creative ideas for the writing, is that they hired writers and then sent them off to spend time researching within actual American offices. Daniels is well known for using this brilliant creative technique, having used it prior to help him create scripts for the television shows, Parks and Recreation and King of the Hill.

Where Was The Office Filmed

While The Office storyline takes place within a fictional office branch called Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sitcom wasn't actually filmed in that location, rather, The Office was filmed almost entirely within Van Nuys district studios located in the greater Los Angeles area.

Although  The Office was filmed exclusively in Los Angeles, California, actual places that exist within Scranton, Pennsylvania were edited into the show to tie the storyline to the fictional location where the plot actually occurs. Many real-life Scranton landmarks were used in the show editing to increase the plot's realism, these landmarks include the Pennsylvania Paper and Supply Company Tower, Downtown Scranton, the Scranton Welcome Sign, as well as Scranton Business Park.

How Many Seasons of The Office Were There

Between the initial pilot airing and the final episode, there were a total of nine seasons of The Office. Eight out of the nine seasons typically averaged around 20 episodes that consumed a half an hour timeslot each, however, the first trial season only aired six half-hour episodes.

The lead actor cast in The Office was Steve Carell, whose onscreen charisma and comedic wit were largely responsible for making the sitcom so popular. Carell played the main character,  Michael Scott, and even dabbled in some of the production and writing tasks behind the scenes. After seven consecutive seasons, however, Carell decided not to renew his contract and left the sitcom to pursue other projects. While there was huge initial concern from The Office's fanbase that the sitcom wouldn't be the same without Carell, it still continued for two additional seasons after his departure and the ratings remained very strong.

How Many Episodes of The Office Were There

Over the course of all nine seasons, The Office aired a total of 201 episodes. The season with the fewest episodes was Season 1, which only aired 6 episodes, while Season 4 featured the most episodes per season, airing 30 half-hour shows.

Aside from the fact that Season 1 was a trial season intended to be used to gauge audience interest, another reason so few episodes were aired was due to the fact that The Office debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement. Due to its midseason debut, NBC was not particularly confident that the sitcom would gain traction with viewers who were already locked into their yearly sitcom picks, however, from the pilot episode onward the show was extremely popular.

While a large percentage of The Office episodes featured the cast of Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, BJ Novak, and Rainn Wilson, there were frequent cast changes throughout the nine seasons. The biggest change to the cast was Steve Carell's departure at the end of Season 7, however, there were many other changes and departures within the ranks of the supporting cast.

Which Office Episodes Were The Best

Amongst the most loyal Office fans, the episode largely considered to be the best was called Casino Night, which was the 22nd episode and season finale that aired during Season 2. The script for this episode was written almost entirely by Steve Carell and contained hilarious comedy bits widely considered to be legendary. Without giving any spoilers away, the central theme of this episode focused on the characters Jim and Pam and a love confession. It also hilariously contains a short bit regarding the character Kevin and his band called Scrantonicity, which mostly plays Police tribute songs.

The second best episode of The Office is widely believed to be the episode entitled Goodbye Michael, which was episode 20 aired during Season 7. This episode was the last appearance by the character Michael Scott, brilliantly played by Steve Carell. Fans of the show were left speechless by how extraordinary Carell's performance was during his final episode on the show. If you followed the show religiously then you might even have been left a bit teary eyed by the character's emotional exit.

Arguably, the third best episode of The Office is likely to be considered the episode entitled The Injury, which aired during Season 2 as the 12th episode. This hilarious episode focuses on an injury that Steve Carell's character, Michael Scott, received while using his George Foreman cooking grill. While rushing to assist the character of Michael Scott, another character named  Dwight ends up crashing his car and getting a bunch of injuries himself. If this fast-paced and quick-witted comedic style of The Office is what got you hooked on the show, then this is most certainly an episode that you should not miss.

The 4th best Office episode according to many different online polls, would largely be considered to be entitled Niagra, which aired as episode 5 during Season 6. During this episode, the characters Jim and Pam get married underneath Niagra Falls. The reason for this strange wedding location selection is because they are forced to outwit their co-workers who had planned to carry out a dance routine during the ceremony that both Jim and Pam weren't particularly fond of.

The 5th best episode according to fans, is considered to be episode 1 of Season 2, entitled The Dundies. During this hilarious show, the character Pam attends the annual Dunder Mifflin's award show, called the Dundies. During previous years she had constantly been given World's Longest Engagement award, however, this year Pam shows up at the award ceremony heavily intoxicated and receives a completely different award. With this episode being the first to air after the introductory first season had completed, the episode is largely credited for kickstarting The Office's hilarious reign at the top of the sitcom rating charts.

Which Season of The Office Was Considered The Best

Most Office fans will agree that the best season of the sitcom was Season 2. This season was also widely regarded as containing the most popular single episode, which as mentioned above was the season finale entitled Casino Night.

What makes Season 2 stand out above the rest, is it's the first time we get a chance to really see the characters fully develop into the rich ranging personas that fans grew to love during the remaining run of the show. Steve Carell's character, Michael Scott, is especially stand out in Season 2, offering viewers so many hilarious and brilliantly acted moments that they would be hard to count.

The romantic relationship between the characters Pam and Jim also helped to catapult Season 2 to be a fan favorite, as it's here in this season that we get to see their love for each other blossom into what many consider to be one of the best romantic relationships in a sitcom to date.

With Season 1 only containing 6 episodes, it is highly recommended that you watch those first before viewing any of the episodes within the highly acclaimed Season 2. It is almost a guarantee that after watching all of Season 1 and 2 of the sitcom, that you, like tens of millions of other viewers, will be absolutely hooked on the show.

What Network Was The Office on

The American adaptation of The Office ran from beginning to end on NBC, a gigantic US-based commercial broadcast television network. NBC is headquartered in New York City, New York, and is considered to be a flagship enterprise under the NBCUniversal umbrella and is owned exclusively by Comcast, a global telecommunications conglomerate.

While The Office's main airing took place on NBC's network, it was also aired on a smaller basic cable network known as TBS, or Turner Broadcasting System. While the sitcom's airing on TBS had a much smaller reach than NBC's main network, TBS nonetheless helped the show receive a much broader audience reach across its paid cable network.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnk4seEHmgw

Several years after The Office's sitcom series ended, it was picked up and aired from start to finish on Comedy Central's paid television network. Comedy Central plans to continue airing the show throughout 2018 and possibly onwards.

Outside of the major cable and non-cable based networks above, The Office has been broadcast across hundreds of local networks across the United States, as well as hundreds of foreign broadcast networks around the world. With the popularity of The Office being so high historically, the show will likely be in high broadcast demand for many years or decades to come.

What Channel Was The Office on

The channel that The Office aired on originally was NBC, with the actual numeric television channel varying widely depending on the viewer's specific location. The featured channels on TBS that aired The Office include channels 112 and 113 for AT&T and CenturyLink Prism. On Verizon FiOS the sitcom aired on channel 552, whereas on Google Fiber its designated channel was 284. With regard to The Office's airing on Comedy Central's network, the numeric channel is 249 and 1249 for DirecTV and channel 107 for Dish Network.

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As digital media sours on Facebook, traditional TV shows like The Dodo's partnership with Animal Planet could help diversify revenue — but they're tricky to pull off

Digital media companies are looking to diversify revenue, especially as Facebook becomes an unreliable partner.

Traditional TV shows have been considered a good opportunity, however, they can be hard to actually complete.

We spoke to The Dodo's leadership about their upcoming collaboration with Animal Planet, "Dodo Heroes," with an eye toward what can get a show the green light.

The digital media world is in a twitchy mood, and the culprit is Facebook, which has been sending gradually less traffic to publishers over the last few months, even in an area that it once called the future of the platform: video.

This has led to belt-tightening around the industry and at least one death (Little Things) already. And smart publishers are looking at the projects they hoped would diversify their revenue away from a reliance on a single tech giant, and assessing when they will bear fruit.

For video publishers, one of the growth opportunities bandied about has been the development of TV series: either on linear TV or on premium streaming outlets like Netflix. But getting a TV show on the air is tough, and many get killed in various stages of development. Not every digital media outlet has had the success of Vice when it comes to actually getting shows on the air.

Nevertheless, a handful of shows from digital upstarts like BuzzFeed (Oxygen), Vox (PBS, FYI, Netflix), Ozy (PBS), and Attn: (Showtime) have beaten the odds and received the green light.

To understand what it takes to land one of these deals, and how they work, Business Insider spoke to The Dodo’s CEO Izzie Lerer and president YuJung Kim about their collaboration with Animal Planet, "Dodo Heroes," which is currently in production and whose 6-episode first season will debut June 9 at 9 p.m.

It helps to have a partner

The first big point to understand is why getting on linear TV is so attractive for digital media outlets, some of which have talked about television like it’s a dying medium.

The short answer is “money,” but a longer one is the idea of extending a brand into a premium product. In the digital video system, it’s currently very hard to make enough money to support the kind of high-cost production that can help define a brand and impress big advertisers. And while the ad dollars might not be in traditional TV forever, they are certainly there now, and a TV show gets a video company a much bigger budget.

But people don't just throw money at you to make a TV show.

“Once we could proved ourselves in short form, we could play in mid form, then longer form,” Izzie Lerer told Business Insider in an interview, explaining the way video brands like The Dodo hope to add layers.

But getting a TV show on the air is a long and arduous process, and takes a lot of capital and capabilities many digital media companies simply don’t have. That’s why it helps to have a partner in traditional TV who understands your brand and has a stake in your financial success. In The Dodo’s case, that was Discovery.

“The linear [television] conversations really came about with Group Nine, coinciding with The Dodo maturing as a company,” YuJung Kim said.

In late 2016, the Group Nine holding company was created to tie together four media brands: Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo, and Seeker (Discovery's digital network). Discovery, which owns Animal Planet and had previously invested in The Dodo, put another $100 million into Group Nine at the same time.

That financial stake in mutual success helped solidify the trust between Animal Planet and The Dodo when it came time to develop a show together, Lerer said.

“There has been a lot of trust on both sides around what we each know, a lot of willingness to bring social and digital know-how,” she continued.

Susanna Dinnage, the global president of Animal Planet, told Business Insider she was also struck by the “common purpose of the two brands.”

Pitching the data

With the trust established, Animal Planet and The Dodo could embark on the process of actually making the series.

“Our real bread and butter is telling stories where the animal is the center, making animal the protagonist, their quirks, their likes and dislikes,” Lerer said, before adding “that’s more challenging for linear” television. Not all of The Dodo's bread and butter stories would translate easily.

Lerer said that when thinking through what would work on traditional TV, the team decided to focus on stories that were more relationship-centric and human-centric, settling on "Dodo Heroes," which spotlights humans who go above and beyond to help animals.

Then they decided on potential subjects using data on what had performed well for The Dodo in short form online.

“Given that the concept came from us, they were looking for a rec from us around casting,” Lerer said. “In almost all cases we had data around the heroes we ended up featuring.”

“That was the very starting point, pulling data on those specific stories,” Kim added.

One of those stories in the upcoming season that Kim specifically pointed out centers around a vet, Derrick Campana, who makes animal prosthetics. He works a lot with dogs, but in the episode “we get to see him work with an elephant which is incredibly unique,” Kim said.

Enter a third party production company

To make the show, The Dodo and Animal Planet worked with a third-party production company.

“Animal Planet agreed on a production partner, Nomadica Films,” Lerer said. “They are out in the field shooting. We have been extremely involved every step: casting, providing shot lists, talking them through our approach, what we want it to feel like and look like.”

The use of a third-party production company is an important point, and is a common arrangement for TV shows coming from digital media companies, though some have done production in-house (like Vice).

Why use a production partner?

“Everything from equipment, to experience shooting that kind of production,” Lerer said. “We don't have a built out originals team. These shoots are all over the world they are very time intensive. We are also a really lean shop.” The Dodo currently has 63 employees.

Other industry insiders Business Insider spoke to also emphasized that a company like Nomadica was a known entity for Animal Planet, and while this would minimize risk, it could also limit the financial upside for The Dodo.

This is markedly different from many of the TV-like shows appearing on Facebook’s Watch platform, which digital media companies like The Dodo have been making entirely in-house.

“We have been able to use the people we’ve had,” with a few additional hires, Kim said of The Dodo’s Facebook Watch shows. These include "Comeback Kids: Animal Edition," which Lerer described as the “number one” show on the Watch platform.

Is it a hit?

When the show comes out this summer, it will be time to measure its success.

“I want to reach every audience with this show,” Dinnage said. “Total consumption becomes a really interesting point. Everyone living in world of linear ratings, that’s only part of a story.”

One point Kim stressed was that from an ad-sales perspective, Group Nine had made “a bundle that is pretty rare in the market, a true digital-linear package. 'Dodo Heroes' is perfect example in one product being able to bring together digital and linear,” she said.

But though both Lerer and Kim pointed to The Dodo’s moves to diversify platforms — “we are the No. 1 animal channel on YouTube” — the spectre of Facebook is still hanging over many brands that built huge followings on that platform.

“Engagement is the key word in the [Facebook algorithm] shift,” Kim said. “Content that generates engagement will rise to top … On [Facebook] Watch we have three of the top five when it comes to shares per episode.”

That sentiment is true when comparing competitors in the space, but the absolute Facebook numbers have not been kind for video views, even for video publishers with engaging videos.

The Dodo's total video views on its main Facebook page have fallen from their peak of around 1.2 billion in April 2017 to around 560 million in February 2018, according to data from CrowdTangle.

That drop is not out of step with many of The Dodo's competitors, but it does raise the question of how much having an engaging brand can help one beat against the Facebook tide. That is one reason why diversification is so important, Kim said.

"Our approach to being a distributed media company has always been about creating exceptional programming wherever audiences are — whether that's on Facebook, TV or beyond,” Kim said in response to the decreased reach of video publishers on Facebook. “It's about being diversified, and most importantly, creating engaging content that people love. Time spent on our content was at an all time high in February, and I think that's a testament to our ability to optimize content for our audience across all our platforms."

The Dodo grew from 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion monthly video views over the last year on all platforms, the company said, even with the Facebook drop.

For distributed media companies to continue to grow revenue, initiatives like The Dodo’s upcoming TV show will be important to understand where to lean in, and where to lean away. With Facebook no longer the silver bullet, we’ll see which brands that grew enormous from it can extend beyond it.

SEE ALSO: Why a Wall Street analyst says Netflix will probably end up spending more on marketing than a traditional TV network — not less

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