Hi Taffy!

What, if any, structural changes did you have to make for the TV series format and how did you figure out how to make those?

Did you always know you were going to write the book from a man's point of view? Was that a decision you made prior to even starting the writing process?

How long was the process of writing the book vs writing the scripts?

What's the biggest difference between the book and the show?

How precious are you about the process of adaptation, killing your darlings and all that? Do you mourn the version that you created wholecloth versus the group effort that now exists?

What were some of the challenges that came with casting these characters?

Such a big fan of this book and your writing! Which scene in the book were you most excited about seeing come to life? Did any of the actors portrayed their role in an unexpected way?

Hi Taffy!

I'm visiting NYC in February - where are the top three places I should eat?

Good morning 👋. I read your book and loved it. It's like Roth but minus the problematic vibes. My question: for some reasons I pictured the main chars as middle aged. Did you make them younger for the TV show or am I just wrong?

portray 🤪

What were some moments from the book that you were/are excited to see come to life?

Hey hey Taffy!

So, did you always plan to cast Adam Brody as Seth in the tv show? Or was that oddly coincidental? 😉

(p.s. Seth from the O.C. will forever be my teenage crush!)

Congrats on the premiere! What has been the most rewarding/challenging part of bringing Fleishman to TV?

I love your celebrity profiles so so much. When you first sit down with a subject, do you both pretend you are having a normal conversation? Or is there any sort of acknowledgement of the fact that this will be a scrutinized magazine piece. How do you build their trust?

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Hi everyone! Thank you for coming and bringing some truly thoughtful questions.

Also, not a question, but I chose Fleishman for book club which was on my back porch, and I’m pretty sure my elderly neighbors were ALARMED at the discussions they overheard. 😂

What is your favorite screenplay *besides Michael Clayton? What else is at that level for you?

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Hi there! That's a great question. I did know that. When I wrote the book, it was after speaking with a bunch of friends who were getting a divorce. I wanted to present this character we've seen in literature before — the recently divorced, heartbroken man — and chip away a little at that cliche. But a cynical reason I did it was also because the men I knew on apps were having far more fun than the women, and that's the side I wanted to show about post-divorce dating first, particularly as it pertained to the entire project of the book. - Taffy

So excited to watch the premiere tonight! What was your favorite craft service hot snack from filming?

Hi! What a good question. I tried very hard to follow the structure of the book, giving over pieces in the same order. I didn't know how to structure a TV show, much less an episode, though, and I got a lot of help on that from my producing partners, Sarah Timberman and Susannah Grant, and a mini-room of absolute TV savants: Cindy Chupack, Allison P. Davis, Mike Goldbach, Boo Killebrew. They held my hand in how to execute all of it while keeping what worked about the book intact. I hope it worked! - Taffy

Whew. I wrote the book quickly. I had a first draft in six months, and then I took a year to revise after selling it. (I was working full-time at ANOTHER writing job, at the New York Times, so it was particularly slow-going.) The episodes came similarly quickly, though it was the only thing I was doing and also in TV you have these steps — outline, draft, another draft. Each gets a round of notes. You're not really in charge of the pace, though once you're in production, you just have to be producing scripts quickly. Many people have a writers' room, which seems far easier, but I chose to write seven of the eight episodes myself (Mike Goldbach wrote 103). - Taffy

Hmm, that's a hard one since I just think of the TV show as the book brought to life. I think it's the actors and the production design. When you write, you leave a lot of negative space — not just in a novel but in a script. The people who have to interpret what you wrote and present it on screen — like our production designer, Sharon Lomofsky, and our costume designer, Leah Katznelson — not to mention our absolute murderers' row of actors, are the ones who make it better. Like, I don't know what rich people's apartments look like, or how they dress. When I watch the show, it feels to me like the book, only maybe a little better? — Taffy

We are SIMILAR. Adam Brody was the first name that came to us, and we only hoped he would agree to do it. I became even more passionate about him watching his terrific 2021 movie KID DETECTIVE, which I'm sure you saw (did you??? If not, what are you doing here???). He has such a soul and such pathos, but he's also really light on his feet. It's an extraordinary combination. It would not surprise you to know that he also is just a gem of a human. - Taffy

Hi Taffy, loved reading Fleishman, and I’m wondering as this was your first show: how did you choose the writer’s room? Did you work with any first time TV writers, and would you do so again? I’m looking to break into that world, and I’m so excited to watch the show!

Oh man. I had such a hard time trying to figure out what AGE they should be. There's a strange dearth of 40-something actors (truly). So many of them are in their late 30s. We (my producing partners and I) looked at people closer to 50, but then we decided that it would be neat to have people who could play themselves in their 20-something flashbacks. Our pilot directors (and EPs) Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were the first to suggest Jesse Eisenberg. I worried he was too young, but then the pandemic came, and suddenly he no longer was! With Claire Danes and Lizzy Caplan and Adam Brody and Josh Radnor — those were simply the only people we wanted for these characters. We didn't have second choices (though we had some scheduling scares and had to come up with some!). I used to think the not having a second choice made me bad at casting, but now I look at them on the screen and wonder if maybe I'm actually very good at casting! - Taffy

Hi Taffy!

I would love to hear your thoughts on celebrity profiles in the age of social media, specifically the interaction between the two.

What a nice thing to say to me, thank you and THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION. The resounding answer is the free pass scene. You'll see it in episode 103, which is called FREE PASS, for this exact reason. Do you have a scene you're excited to see?

On the other question, yes. Lizzy was far cooler than I think I wrote Libby. Claire was kinder to Rachel than I thought a person would be. Jesse was unflinching in a way that I think a lesser actor would have tried to be cuddlier. Adam gave Seth so much depth; I have a friend who thought Seth in the book was an extraneous character (which is mean, Anna) but watching the show, she now understands what he's doing there. That's all Adam.. Josh was a great surprise because my kids are watching HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER now and seeing him take on such a grown-up role was a revelation; I was grateful he did it. All these variations were executed by the actors but done under the auspices of our incredible directors. What actors do when they love their directors is quite moving and beautiful to me.

- Taffy

Can you give me your elevator pitch to watch and or read?

Hi there. Thank you so much for saying that. I answered a variation on this above, but I'll add here that a friend of mine says this: "Middle-age is when I say it is, and I say it's 10 years older than I currently am, in perpetuity." I wrote the book when I was 41. I wanted everyone to be 41. But actors act, and we got to not just have people who played their own flashbacks, but also people we generally all grew up with. It was amazing to see how moving it was to see your own aging through the fact that you've been watching Claire Danes since she was a high school student and Jesse Eisenberg since he was a kid, etc. etc. - Taffy

Ugh, such a good question. How long it took! We started in 2019, but there was a global pandemic, perhaps you heard. Also, the fact that I'd never done it before was and still is really overwhelming. At every stage, I think we MUST be done. And...we're not. Today is launch day; the premiere was last week. I'm still looking over VFX shots for approval! - Taffy

Such a good question. I have great amnesia, and I'm really into whatever works. However, I'm also like a doll with a pullcord in her back. If you ask me a question, I spit out the same answer over and over. But the problem wasn't the collaboration. The collaboration was quite moving, in this very specific way: I kept thinking how nice it was that everyone cared so much about my dumb little book. But my darlings? I work at a newspaper. I have long since learned how to say goodbye to that which doesn't fit. Heart of steel. (Not really) - Taffy

OH WOW, a great question: Eat at the B&H Dairy or Veselka in the East Village; go to Books Are Magic in Brooklyn and ask for recommendations; see a show at BAM or the Armory or on Broadway; shop at Le Big Bag on 72nd Street. I love this question! Is it your first time? - Taffy

My children are HORRIFIED, trust me, I get it.

I’m so so excited to see it tonight. The casting is tremendous, and I love your insights into that. Personally I can’t wait to see Libby run into Rachel, such an impactful moment.

Hi there. I love this question. I don't pretend or try to be their friend. I discuss what I think the story is and let them correct me. I don't ask a lot of questions. I just let people talk. I find that when you're that famous, you have something on your mind. When people see that you're going to let them talk (and that you're not trying to be their friend), they know they can tell it to you and trust you to bring it to the world. - Taffy

Prayer, begging, etc. Thank you for knowing that there is just not a better person for any of these roles. - Taffy

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😂😂😂

I love this question because it's DANGEROUS. I hate when I see people become chummy with their subjects these days. It shows how easily manipulated they are, and also, strangely, puts the subject in a bad position. There's a way to do something good and kind without extending friendship. I've been out of the game for two years now, which hurts! So I really shouldn't say anything. And yet I did! Luckily, there are a lot of great ones still out there. I hope to rejoin their ranks soon, and I hope I can still write a good one! - Taffy

This is the ONLY question. There was a plastic thing of egg salad with crackers that was so reliable and so simple. I devoured them every day! — Taffy

Great question! I didn't have a writers' room. I had a mini room when I was breaking the story, but I wrote all the scripts but one by myself. I think I'm too prone to wanting people to like me to do the thing where you write over someone else's script. Plus, this was such an intimate story, told so in my voice, it felt right to do it on my own. But I know so many people who are always looking for first-time writers. Have you considered trying to get a writers' assistant job? Being in the room helps, and I think it's the first step for a lot of people you think of when you think of TV writers. I'm rooting for you! — Taffy

You with the great questions! I love anything truly original. THELMA & LOUISE, MR. & MRS. SMITH; (500) DAYS OF SUMMER; ADAPTATION; BEING JOHN MALKOVICH; ETERNAL SUNSHINE. The last one to make me absolutely insanely jealous was PIG. - Taffy

Thank you so much for letting me stop by and answer some of these questions. You're all very thoughtful and I'm lucky to spend some time with you on FLEISHMAN's launch day. Be well, everyone! - Taffy

Makes sense for such a well-written novel -- glad to hear your voice will be preserved! And I'll look into that for sure, although I am not sure how feasible it would be in my current sitch -- truth be told, I have a full-time editing role at a Well Known Website in New York, and I am unsure how to leave that stability or pursue TV simultaneously. Are assistant roles typically full time or LA based? Feels like my company wouldn't be thrilled if I pursued that on the side, unfortunately.

Is there one moment or line from the book that didn't make it into the show but you wish it had?

Often when I see the adaptation of a book I wait and wait for my favorite bit and then yell at the TV when it doesn't show up, lol. Wondered what that's like on the other side

Hi Taffy!

I worked as a PA on Fleishman is in Trouble! It was truly an honor to work on your show and realize your vision with such a diverse and creatively driven cast and crew. Everyone worked so hard to make this show the best it could be and I'm so happy people are finally able to watch it! There's so many quick and vital decisions that you're forced to make constantly on set as the lead creative mind behind the show. What was the most difficult decision you were forced to make during production and what were the most rewarding aspects of the whole process?

I just wanted to say thanks for the book (and recommendation of Nothing to See Here). The book felt personal in its use of his friends going around him and falling back into where they were when they met. It is really this book that helped me realize that this isn’t personal but universal. Loved it. Loved the narrator especially.

It's not! But there's always more to see and I'll gladly take any recommendations. I'm excited to check out Books Are Magic!

Have you read Available by Laura Friedman Williams?

It seems like Jesse Eisenberg is just impersonating Woody Allen.

I actually strongly disliked this book. I wanted to hear more about the ex wife’s perspective on things because she was so unrelatable. By the time we heard anything from her perspective she was just too unlikeable. Maybe that was intentional. I felt like the female narrator was unnecessary. But clearly many people enjoyed this book.

How many Philip Roth books did you read and which is your favorite?