Tableau spoke with Bob Daily, AM’86, about his work in television. Here are some of his further thoughts about the industry.

What show are you most excited about as a viewer?

Abbott Elementary. I love the way Quinta Brunson is invigorating the network comedy and doing a traditional comedy that also feels incredibly fresh and contemporary and real.

What episode of yours are you most proud of?

Probably the season premiere of the last season of Frasier, which won a Writers Guild Award. It’s called “No Sex Please, We’re Skittish,” and it’s the one where Niles and Daphne get pregnant. It was a very silly, fun episode.

What television episode do you wish you’d written?

Thousands of them. But the most recent is season four, episode three of Succession. That episode was genius—because it broke every rule. One of the first rules of television is, don’t do important things in telephone calls. That was an entire episode that took place on a telephone, and it was spellbinding.

What’s your advice to aspiring screenwriters?

Hollywood is a business that thinks it doesn’t need you. So you have to make them want you, and that requires a lot of persistence. You’re going to have to find creative ways to get yourself seen. It’s a business where there are a million poseurs and wannabes and psychopaths trying to break in. You have to convince people you are not one of those.