Jake Kasdan

I had never worked in television before 'Freaks and Geeks,' and 'New Girl' is the first time since that I've worked on a series that is actually a series and not just a pilot.

Comedians want to be rock legends for a day - that sounds fun to them.

My first pilot gig, in fact my first job in television, was 'Freaks and Geeks,' and the experience of directing that pilot was probably the single most formative of my directing life.

You hope for that with anything, but with a TV show, the writer and the actor being the right mix are more important than the actual writing of the pilot because you hope it's something that can have a long life.

In general, I've been treated well by reviews, and there are times when I haven't. The truth is that I've come to feel like I'm better off without reading them.

I was really young when I was working on 'Freaks and Geeks.' In a lot of ways, that was the experience that informed a lot of what I've become, and I feel like every experience I have is in some way or another an extension of something that started there.

When you take on a project, you have to be certain that you can make the best version of whatever it is you're given.

In the time since I've done 'Bad Teacher,' I've produced an independent movie and directed two pilots. So I love to do all different types of things.