Written Interview: David E. Kelley

He’s one of the most prolific TV writer-producers ever, creating numerous hit TV series including “Picket Fences,” “Ally McBeal,” “Chicago Hope,” and “The Practice.” Here is an excerpt from an interview Kelley with New York magazine:

You could’ve had a career in the law. You graduated from Boston University’s School of Law. But then you got a job writing for Steven Bochco on L.A. Law. We think of you as a show-runner, but that was pretty much the only time in your TV career where you worked for someone else.

It was extremely fortuitous that that was my first experience, because I was new to the profession and so many of your work habits start to get formed in those infancy stages of your job. I was with a producer who was a great teacher, and one that really respected the intelligence of the audience and dared you to assume that intelligence and not try to write down to a dumber demographic. And there are those producers that will tell you to do that, because you’re trying to appeal to a broad constituency, so you try to be inclusive of everything — all IQs.

But Steven Bochco was smart; he knew that viewers were smart. He assumed that intelligence. And he instilled a mindset within all his writers to do the same. He was extremely collaborative: You got to pick his brain and you got to watch him. So just through observation and osmosis, you learned a great deal about writing and production. It was probably the best experience any young writer could possibly hope for. And it probably helped that he and I clicked. We just got along right from the beginning. When I came out to Los Angeles, I walked into that writers’ room and I knew within fifteen minutes I was home, and that there was a strong likelihood that I would never be practicing law again. I chalk much of that up to the connection that I made with Steven.

For more of the interview, go here.