Showalter differs creatively with 'Michael and Michael Have Issues' co-star

Black, Showalter bring comedy to Royal Oak

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The State News Michael Ian Black jokingly said he wasn’t coming back to Michigan last year because it was too cold. How do you feel about Michigan leading off for the tour?

Michael Showalter I love Michigan. I love weather. I’m all for it. There’s no real reason for it other than that, that’s just kind of how it happened. We have been wanting to play a show in Detroit for a while because we’d come to Ann Arbor and everyone would ask why we never come to Detroit.

SN How did “Michael & Michael Have Issues” originate?

MS After “Stella,” Mike and I kind of fell into doing a lot of work together because we were both interested in doing stand-up, and then we made a pilot together for “Michael Ian Black Doesn’t Understand,” which was a star vehicle for Michael Black, but I made it with him. That didn’t work out as well as we hoped; however, there were elements of it that we really liked and Comedy Central said, “Why don’t your try again?” So we made “Michael & Michael Have Issues,” a show where we played ourselves making the show that we’re making.

SN Who are some of your comedic influences?

MS I grew up watching a lot of “Three’s Company,” so I’d say John Ritter and Benny Hill. I like typical comedians.

SN When did you know you were funny?

MS I think honestly like the only time I ever felt any sense of actually “maybe I’m not bad at this” is when I made “The Baxter,” maybe just because I did that without the help of all my really funny friends. And even though it wasn’t any kind of huge-hit movie, it’s still on TV and it gets rented all of the time. I think it came out well, so it wasn’t until I made “The Baxter” that I thought that maybe I’m not a total fraud.

SN Speaking of “The Baxter,” do you think you’ll ever try your hand at directing a motion picture again?

MS I would love to do another movie. It’s honestly just a time commitment, I’ve been focused on other things. When I have the time to write a screenplay I would love to make another film.

SN How do you and Michael get along in real life?

MS We’re leading separate lives, so when we’re not actually working together we get along great. We have creative differences all of the time. We have nothing but creative differences, but you just get through it as best as you can. It’s particularly difficult for me because I’m always right and he’s always wrong.

SN Is it weird having “Stella” canceled after one season on Comedy Central while this show seems to be doing well?

MS I think a lot of people didn’t truly get “Stella.” I think “Stella” was a show that you really liked or really hated. I think “Michael & Michael Have Issues” is a show that most people like, and the people who don’t like it don’t hate it, they’re just indifferent.

SN What’s next for you? Are you waiting to hear about the second season of “Michael & Michael Have Issues?”

MS I teach at NYU so I have that. I teach screenwriting and I’m working on some other projects. We’re actually writing scripts for the second season of “Michael & Michael.” Comedy Central ordered more scripts, but we’re just not shooting anything until we wait and see.

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