Happy Thanksgiving!
While you mentally prepare yourselves (and your stomachs) for the epic feast you'll hopefully be enjoying a little later in the day, how about a fun little treat to snack on that won't fill you up? We've already shared what the TV Scoop Team is thankful for this fall TV season, and now we're revealing what some of the creative minds behind your favorite shows are thankful for, including pop culture goodness and the people near and dear to their hearts.
We asked some of the showrunners we're obsessed with to shared what they are oh-so-thankful for this season, including, How I Met Your Mother's Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, Scandal's Betsy Beers, Arrow's Greg Berlanti and more!
Betsy Beers, executive producer of Scandal (Airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC)
1. Reality-TV real estate programs. All of them. I especially love Selling New York, Love It or List It, and of course, the granddaddy of them all, House Hunters.
2. The New York Times, the old fashioned way— in a blue bag on my front door step. Especially Sunday, of course. All those sections...
3. The Moth—an unbelievable hour on public radio of monologues delivered by real people which follow a different theme each week. Real, funny, heartbreaking confessionals. It airs Sunday when I am often driving, and more than once I have sat at in my car at my destination cause I just can't stop listening.
4. So many thanks to all the nice people who created and make Borgen, Broadchurch, Episodes, Justified, Masters of Sex and of course, Girls. Just a few of the fine television shows that have brought me joy this year.
5. Waze and Uber—the two apps that make my family super-happy. One helps us to navigate the traffic in Los Angeles, the other finds someone else to navigate it for us! Just genius.
Craig Thomas, co-creator and executive producer of How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother airs Monday at 8 p.m. on CBS
1. The documentary The Crash Reel. What seems at first to be a movie about snowboarding reveals itself to be a poignant and inspiring meditation on family, survival and most of all, acceptance. Yes, I totally cried.
2. Cristin Milioti, a.k.a "The Mother." So this role was a nice, low-pressure piece of casting. (Sounds of hyperventilation and low moaning.) Imagine if we'd cast this part wrong? We would've had to retire from television! Thanks to Cristin for bringing such charm, ease and warmth to perhaps the most insanely built-up role in television history! She has made season nine better than we could've hoped.
3. As a special needs parent, I'm happy to see a deepening dialogue about TV and film's use of the word "retarded/retard." There's an increasing awareness that when used pejoratively, the word "retard" is really no different from a racial or religious slur. It'll be great to see those jokes disappear completely some day, but for now, we're seeing progress and for that I am thankful.
4. Comic-Con. To connect directly with thousands of HIMYM fans was a highlight of 2013. HIMYM fans are simply the best, but I have to send extra-crispy, deep-fried props to those who camped outside overnight to see our panel. Never before, and probably never again, will I feel more like a member of Led Zeppelin circa 1971. Plus, the pure joy and enthusiasm all around Comic-Con reminded me of something important: It's cooler to like stuff than to hate stuff.
5. The entire HIMYM cast, production staff, writers and crew—as we near the end of nine amazing years, the word "thanks" just can't be said enough times.
Carter Bays, co-creator and executive producer of How I Met Your Mother
1. Tracy Letts. I saw him in "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf" and it took all of five minutes to go from, "Hey, that's the guy who wrote August: Osage County" to "Holy crap I'm seeing something amazing." And now he's great on Homeland. For both of those performances, and for the August: Osage County movie I can't wait to see, I'm thankful.
2. The fourth season of Arrested Development. It was comedy origami and I was totally in awe of it.
3. The fact that Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, and Richard Linklater kept the streak alive with Before Midnight. Of course, now I just want more. 2022 can't come fast enough!
4. The Replacements reunited! I didn't see it, but just knowing it happened makes me thankful.
5. The cast, crew, writers, and office staff of How I Met Your Mother. Everyone knows you can't pick your family, but more often than not you can't pick your work family either. It's been a massive stroke of luck that my work family is made up of the most talented, hard working, silly, dependable and downright decent people I know. To have had the privilege of working by their side for almost a decade is more good fortune than anyone could possibly deserve.
Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, executive producers of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC)
1. This. By BriTANick.
2. The anxiety-ridden, heart wrenching Southland episodes written by Zack Whedon, and the blood spilling, jaw-dropping season two of Mortal Kombat Legacy by Kevin Tancharoen. (Bro shout-out!)
3. Patton Oswalt's declaration of love for Clark Gregg on Twitter.
4. Blasting "White Nights" by Oh Land in the car all the time.
5. CANDY CRUSH.
Greg Berlanti, executive producer of Arrow and The Tomorrow People (Airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively, on the CW)
1. The love and support of my family and friends—especially my nieces Hannah and Katie, who think everything I do is awesome even when it isn't.
2. The talented and hard working casts, crews and writers that I have the opportunity to collaborate with everday.
3. The fans who watch and support the shows. I tell stories for audiences to enjoy and nothing makes me happier then when they do.
4. The grumpy comic book salesman from my childhood who let me read as many comics as I wanted on Saturday afternoons as long as I promised not to talk to him about them.
5. That my parents still haven't figured out texting—oh, and that they taught me I could be and do anything with my life. I just had to work hard for it.
Paul Scheer, executive producer of NTSF:SD:SUV:: and star of The League (NTSF:SD:SUV:: will be airing its Christmas special on Dec. 12 at 12:15 a.m.)
1. The Howard Stern Show. One of the best shows has gotten even better. If you have any doubt, check out the recent interviews with Paul McCartney, Michael J. Fox, Lady Gaga and Metallica. Plus the return of Robin Quivers. If I see a newsperson on the street, I'll proudly yell, "BabaBooey!"
2. Steve Harvey on The Family Feud. This is hands down one of the funniest shows on TV! I'm not being sarcastic. It's really funny.
3. The Rock. He's my Oprah, he eats more oatmeal in one morning than you eat in your entire life!
4. Scott C's Great Showdowns, some of the coolest pieces of pop art out there. They're classy enough to hang on any wall but still have your favorite scenes from movies on them. Check them out at greatshowdowns.com. I liked them so much that I got him to make a special NTSF:SD:SUV:: one for our cast. (See image above!)
5. Mr Toad's Wild Ride. The only Disneyland ride where you go to hell and don't come back!
6. Mark Rylance. I've seen him on Broadway twice and he's probably one of the best actors that you've probably never heard of. No second takes, just mind blowing performances. Warning: Take off your shoes when you see him because he's going to knock your friggin socks off.
7. Pretzel Crisps, Sonos, Spotify, Apple products, Waze app, Netflix and my wife. Things that I can't live without and that no one has paid me to promote.
What are you thankful for this TV season? Sound off in the comments!