Today’s profile subject currently has three primetime animated series on the air. Because of the demands of the medium, this means that at any one time she could be producing well over 100 episodes in various stages of prep, production, and post. Still, she scoffs when people ask in disbelief how she handles overseeing 3/4 of the Fox Sunday Night Animation Block. “It’s really not that complicated. It’s people drawing funny drawings.”  Regardless of her nonchalance, here at YII, we are impressed and we think our readers will be, too…

Current position: Producer of “Family Guy,” “American Dad!,” and “The Cleveland Show.”

College & degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Pre-entertainment career: I was a bartender at a 50s-themed restaurant and then worked as an assistant to a theatrical producer for two years.

First job in the entertainment industry: My first entertainment job was at a commercial animation studio called Broadcast Arts. I was the assistant to one of the partners, a malevolent and sadistic person. I don’t deny that I learned a lot in my two years there, but it was such a traumatizing experience that I abruptly packed up and moved 3,000 miles away to LA, where I knew no one and had no contacts, no car, no real plan.

Big break: Never had a big break. I had to scratch and claw my way to the top, for every opportunity.

Career Path: Once in LA, I temped for almost a year, taking the bus to a series of increasingly bizarre and demeaning jobs. At one of these, a file clerk job at a bank in Sherman Oaks where I was once reprimanded for not wearing pantyhose (this was in August), I was reading the paper one day and I saw that Paramount was opening an animation studio (Hyperion). I called, had an interview the next day, and got a job. I was the first person hired. It was so early on in their formulation, I didn’t even have a specific position when I was hired. I eventually became the production layout supervisor on an animated feature called “BéBé’s Kids.” From there, I went to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” at Fred Wolf Films and then I worked at Hanna-Barbera, which was where I met Seth MacFarlane.

Working at Hanna-Barbera was a thrill because they had created all my favorite cartoons like “The Jetsons,” “Scooby-Doo!” and “The Flintstones.”  I was hired to produce a show for them called “Johnny Bravo.” For the first few months I worked there, it was still owned by Turner and it was a really creative and exciting place to work. They had an active and inspired development department from which great shows like “The Power Puff Girls” and “Dexter’s Laboratory” were created.

When “Family Guy” was picked up by Fox, I was committed to my job as producer on “Dilbert,” the animated version of the comic strip for Sony, with the show’s creator, Larry Charles. I moved over to producing “Family Guy” at the start of the third season.

During that season, we had a 13 episode order and were juggled around in the schedule quite a bit, so the ratings weren’t reflecting the fact that anyone was actually watching the show, and “Family Guy” was sort of quietly folded.

While “Family Guy” was dead (or so we thought), I produced a show for MTV called “3 South” with one of the writers of “Family Guy” who wanted the show to have the look and feel of a show that could air alongside “The Simpsons” on Sunday night, even though we were working on a basic cable budget. It was on for 13 episodes and cancelled.

Following ”3 South,” I produced the pilot for “Drawn Together,” which had just gotten a 13 episode pick-up from Comedy Central (I was hours away from signing a deal with them) when I got a call from our Fox executive from “Family Guy” saying that the show was being put back on the schedule. It was a surprise, but not entirely out of left field since Volume One and Two of the DVDs had sold very well (about 1 ½ million copies each), and the late night Cartoon Network reruns of the show were getting huge ratings, even beating “Leno” and “Letterman” in that key young male demographic we appeal to.

At almost the same time “Family Guy” was resurrected (actually about a week later), “American Dad!” was greenlit. We started production on the 1st season of “American Dad!” and the 4th season of “Family Guy” at the same time.

Eureka moment: After the first episode of “3 South” (which we had produced for about one-third of what an episode of “Family Guy” cost to produce) aired, I got a call from Seth and he said something like, “How come you’re the only person who understands how to produce adult primetime animated series?”

When “Family Guy” had first premiered, several networks besides Fox tried their hands at primetime animation and none of them panned out because the shows didn’t feel like the animated shows the audiences had become accustomed to watching.

Adults had to be eased into the idea of a show worth watching being animated and it only happened through the genius of “The Simpsons.” Other primetime shows, like “Mission Hill,” may have worked, but the design styles were so glaring and overbearing, they were immediate turnoffs and these shows didn’t resonate with viewers.

Since “The Simpsons” and then “King of the Hill” had gone on to become such huge hits, an aesthetic had been established which created an expectation by the audience for how an adult animated show was supposed to look and feel through the style of voice acting, design, and timing. It’s difficult to succeed in this genre, especially when your resources are so limited. “The Simpsons” set the bar very high. 

Describe a typical work day in your current position: When I get to work, I chat about last night’s ball games with the assistants for a while, then go into my office and look at news stories and lie in wait for the phone to start ringing. Between three series running concurrently, most mornings there is either a table read, an anamatic screening, or a color screening followed by basically 10 hours of decision-making.

There are 22 episodes per season for each of the three shows we have on the air and they have very long, overlapping schedules. For instance, right now we are finalizing and then airing episodes for Season 1 of “The Cleveland Show” and doing production on Season 2. We have a staff of over 300 people and at the height of the schedule, we can be juggling up to 132 episodes. 

Essentially, my job is to satisfy Seth, the fans, the studio, and the network, all separate but equally important. With their sets of priorities and agendas, I have to make sure that everyone is happy, that the shows get on the air every week, that the ratings stay strong, and that we don’t get sued along the way.

Worst day in entertainment industry: I’ve had two worst days on this job, one here and one on foreign soil. The American bad day was having to call the entire staff into the conference room and tell them the writers were on strike. It was terrible. Every week saw another 10 or 15 people get laid off. On top of that, I still had to deliver the remaining shows without having writers.

The other bad day was when I went to Korea to visit our two animation studios. One of them was having quality issues and I had a meeting with them to discuss options such as decreasing the number of episodes they would do. But they were lobbying hard for more episodes. As I was being ushered out, I looked around and realized they were quickly packing up boxes. It looked like the final days at Enron. They were going out of business right then. In other words, half of our overseas team was going out of business. It was a huge blow and until we got the other studio to pick up the slack and then got an additional studio in place, it was tough, very stressful.

Best job in entertainment industry: A few years ago, I was approached by director Jessica Wu to produce the animation sequences for a documentary called IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL, about the artist, Henry Darger. It was a thrill to work on a show that wasn’t targeted at teenaged boys.

Best thing about your current job: There are three things- I get to work with the most talented artists and writers in town, in my opinion. I get to work with my friend, Seth. And I get to employ 300 people during a recession.

Worst thing about your current job: Any time I have to deal with idiots. I hate arrogance and disrespect for other people. This job is by nature relentless and demanding. Having to deal with any kind of politics, gossip, abuse of power, anything like that. The worst.

Brush with greatness: Being on a successful show has opened the door to collaborating with a lot of people. My premiere brush with greatness has to be George Lucas, who we collaborated with on the STAR WARS episode of “Family Guy.” While we were working on the episode, he invited us up to stay at Skywalker Ranch. He had a screening of the new series he was working on and also screened THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for us in his private screening room.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: Some of those platitudes are true. Follow your passion and play to your strengths. But really, don’t be stupid. Read, know stuff, be informed, and have decent basic writing skills. When you get a job, just work harder than everyone else. And never ask a question of a coworker or a superior until you have exhausted every option to find out the answer. Be focused. Never stop learning. And don’t freak out.  Nothing ends up being as bad as it might seem. I have never encountered a problem that couldn’t be solved by throwing money at it.

Next move (or next five moves): More spins offs. Claymation domination. A whole night of claymation shows. (Laughs, then…) What I’d like to accomplish in terms of animation is to keep connecting with next generation viewers and fans of the medium by anticipating and utilizing new formats and distribution methods.

“Family Guy” fans (and who isn’t?) should tune in this Sunday night (5/23) for the one-hour season finale, “Something, Something, Something Dark Side, Parts One and Two,” a continuation of their homage to the STAR WARS saga in the form of a retelling of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

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Josh Bycel has hit a lot of dream landmarks in his career in comedy. From his early days as a freelance writer doing stories for The Onion to being a co-EP for two years helping shape a new series (”Psych”) to writing for the Academy Awards when comedian Jon Stewart hosted, Josh has navigated this sometimes tricky career path well. His talent and hard work and savvy have lead him to a seat at the creative table with some of the top talent working today.

Current position (or recently-completed project or projects): Exec Producer/Showrunner on Scrubs for 2009/2010 season.

College & degree (if any): University of Wisconsin – Madison, Bachelor of Arts, History.  University of California,  graduated from the School of Theater, Film and TV’s Professional Program in Screenwriting (1 year before you can go into the other one). Attended the School of Theater, Film and TV’s MFA program.

Internships: NONE. I was bartending and doing paid sports writing to support myself during that time.

First job in the entertainment industry: I was a PA on Revenge of the Nerds 3. My first task was delivering a script to Booger’s house.

Big break: In this business now, you have to get a big break each year to survive. (Laughs.) My first big break was while I was in the Master’s program at UCLA. I landed a staff writer job on “Veronica’s Closet.” Getting the showrunner job on “Scrubs” was the next big break in my career.

Eureka moment (when you realized you did or did not want to do something or that you should do something differently, etc.): When I left “American Dad,” which was a stable job, and one that I liked, because I felt I was in a rut and didn’t want to do animation for five years. Since then, I’ve had a bunch of really interesting jobs.

Career path (this is where you touch on career milestones you didn’t/won’t touch on in other questions): My writing partner and I had written “Friends” and “News Radio” specs. He had been an assistant at an agency as a day job and someone he worked with  got our stuff to an agent at Paradigm. He signed us, but then left to go to another agency and couldn’t take any clients with him. So we were agentless again for a while, until someone from ICM read us and then took us on. I haven’t worked on that many hit shows, but I have worked consistently and I have worked with great people such as Bill Lawrence, the creator of “Scrubs” and “Cougar Town,” Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter (on “Andy Barker, PI”) and Jon Stewart, when I wrote for the Oscars.

Describe a typical work day in your current position: I get in between 7:30 and 8:00 and begin the day by going down to the stage to make sure filming is going okay. Then I go into the office and review scripts and outlines for upcoming episodes and cuts of episodes in post production. Around 10:00, the rest of the writers come in and for the rest of the day, it’s working with them on stories and outlines, casting, and doing everything else that is involved with producing a TV show. At the end of the day, I check in at the stage one final time. If everything is going well, I leave at 7:30 or 8:00.

Worst job (or day) in entertainment industry: Worst day is when you don’t get jobs. If you get two out of ten jobs you go up for, you are considered wildly successful. But of course that means that eight out of ten times you are getting turned down.

Best job (or day) in entertainment industry: Best day was being up at Robert Evans house working on the cartoon about his life, “Kid Notorious.” When Jack Nicholson would come over for a visit… that was amazing.

Best thing about your current job: Best thing is that being a showrunner fits me. I love being the boss, letting it all fall on me. I think some people are built for that and some people aren’t.

Worst thing about your current job: The hours. The hours are long.

Brush with greatness (can be a celebrity encounter or just being exposed to someone being brilliant at what they do): Working at the Academy Awards. Standing backstage surrounded by people like Jack Nicholson and Nicole Kidman, writing jokes on the fly, writing jokes about them, and then watching Jon Stewart going out and say those jokes to millions and millions of people.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: The secret to my success is working hard and working smart. I tell anyone who wants to break in as a writer to keep writing. Sooner or later, if you are talented, someone is going to look at your work, but you have to be prepared when the lightning strikes. In other businesses you go from A to B to C, but in this one you have to be able to go from A to B to G because a lot of the time, that’s how it happens.

Next move (or next five moves): I’m not sure what my next move is because there aren’t that many jobs for people who do what I do. But as long as I stay in this business, I want to work on projects I think are interesting and work with people I like and respect. My ultimate goal is to get my own show on the air as soon as I can, and then run it.

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Doug Jung’s Hollywood path is a fairly well-worn one: Working an admin job in the field you want to be in as a writer, spec-ing shows on the side, making connections, getting repped, and getting paid. But lest we give you the impression that it’s an easy path, or one that everyone can succeed on, we are quick to point out his years of hard work developing skills and trying to get read, his obvious talent, and the dash of kismet that got his unread script out from under his agent’s desk. Read on for details…

Current project(s): I am the Executive Producer/Co-Creator of “Dark Blue” on TNT. We are filming our second season, tentatively set to premiere in early June. I am also in the middle of adapting a book called “The Last Duel,” which is based on true events in 14^th century France, as a film project for Paramount.

College & degree: I have a BA in Fine Arts from NYU’s Tisch School.

Internship: I had a very good internship at “Saturday Night Live.” I was a Production Assistant in their film unit, which does all of the out-of-studio content for the show, which at the time was “Toonces the Driving Cat,” in addition to the fake commercials.

First job in the entertainment industry: I worked for a director on a Savoy Pictures Studios movie, then became a Production Assistant at Amblin (when it was in the process of turning into DreamWorks.) From there, I worked as an executive assistant for Darryl Frank, a TV executive at DreamWorks Television (now President of DreamWorks Television).

Big break: When my feature film spec script, CONFIDENCE, was optioned by LionsGate and then ultimately was produced.

Eureka moment: I’d been working for years steadily and I took a job on a movie rewrite that I didn’t believe in, didn’t really like. I woke up every morning thinking about how NOT worth it it was. I realized at that point the long-term benefit of only doing things that you are passionate about, which is beyond monetary rewards.

Career path: While I was working for Darryl, I was writing TV specs. (Note: TV specs are samples scripts of current TV shows similar to the ones you want to work on in order to demonstrate your abilities.) I got an agent off of a TV spec and, from there, I started getting work in TV. I got some freelance episodes, and I worked very briefly on a miniseries called “Taken,” then on a drama originally for TNT (which aired elsewhere), ”Breaking News.” While doing that, I created the spec for CONFIDENCE. I sent it to my TV agent who promptly (literally) put it under his desk.

I had a general meeting with a producer who asked if I had any movie scripts. I sent him CONFIDENCE. After reading it, he contacted Brad Mendelsohn, then a film agent at the agency where I was repped for TV, to find out who repped me for movies. Brad stopped by my TV agent’s office and asked if I was his client and then asked him if I had a film script. My TV agent bent down and brought the script out from under the desk and handed it to Brad. Brad became my agent and then, when he left the agency, my manager. The man who read my script became one of the producers of CONFIDENCE.

Describe a typical work day in your current position: When I get to the office, which is on the Warner Bros. lot, I check in with the other writers to find out if anyone needs help with anything. Depending on what’s going on overall, either we gather in the writer’s room to work on story ideas, or I work on an outline or a script. After lunch, I tend to whatever is happening with other aspects of the show- casting issues, production issues, network or producer questions. It’s all about trying to keep everything above water.

Worst job (or day) in entertainment industry: I had written a pilot that I really, really loved and put a lot into and it was moving along with a lot of enthusiasm and then, at the one yard line, it wasn’t picked up. I remember being really crushed because I was so invested in it.

Best job (or day) in entertainment industry: Any day when I’m alone and I’m writing something and it’s working and there’s no hint of doubt about what I’m doing and at the end of the day, I know where I’m going tomorrow- then it’s just the greatest job in the world.

Best thing about your current job: Working with other creative people and also, in this world of TV, you see the whole process from idea to script to pre-production to shooting to editing. You don’t feel worry about whether it will see the light of day- it’s going to happen, it’s going to go from an idea you get to the finished episode being on TV.

Worst thing about your current job: It’s the most like a day job I’ve had since I had a day job. In other words, I have to be somewhere at a certain time. And it’s unrelenting. You have to constantly feed the machine.

Brush with greatness (can be a celebrity encounter or just being exposed to someone being brilliant at what they do): Working with Dustin Hoffman. That was good.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: I’ve never heard of any two people doing it the same way. You have to play to your strengths and be true to yourself. If you know what you’re good at and determine your own self worth, people will see that. But if you pretend to be something just because it’s in vogue or something otherwise you are not, people will see that, too. I couldn’t pretend to be a romantic comedy writer, for instance.

Next move: I’m in a fortunate position where I can wait and make things happen that are meaningful to me, as opposed to going for a “job.” This goes back to my earlier comment about if you’re doing something that you like and feel passionate about, people can sense that and the work is more fulfilling.

Become a Your Industry Insider Facebook fan for updates on when you can see Doug’s work on the small screen and on the big screen.

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Your Industry Insider originally profiled TV producer Herb Ankrom in mid-2009. He had recently left “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to work with one of the other producers, Denise Cramsey, as she launched a production company. They had just gotten a second season pickup for their first project, “True Beauty.” We wanted to check back in to see what Herb was now up to.

Current Position: I am Executive VP, Production/Senior Producer at DC/TV.

Current Projects: We have four or five series in development being pitched to networks and larger cable channels in the coming weeks and are finishing a feature documentary on breast cancer called “Expedition Inspiration,” which will be making the film festival rounds next year for distribution. We’re also venturing into scripted television, docu-reality (scripted reality), and also feature films. With regard to the last one, we’re finalizing financing on a feature project about a straight man who finds himself married to his gay best friend a week prior to his wedding to a conservative judge’s daughter.

The second season of “True Beauty” will air on ABC this summer. (Editor’s note: It’s a television series in which contestants are competing to see who is truly the most beautiful. They think they are only being tested on outer beauty, though.) This season, Beth Ostrosky Stern and Carson Kressley were part of our judging panel. We’re very excited about how it turned out.

We have also just had an order from NBC for a two-hour pilot for a project called “School Pride” which will be shot in April. The show, which is like “Extreme Home Makeover” for schools, is being produced by Denise Cramsey, Cheryl Hines, and myself, and features us facilitating a community rallying around a school to make it over in whatever ways it needs most, whether it be a new roof and carpeting, a science lab, a library, outfitting the music program, etc. It was inspired by a principal in South Central Los Angeles who got a tennis court donated to her school, among other things. Six months later, when the students were tested, the scholastic scores were up 50 to 60%. It seems that when attention is paid and the school is respected as a valuable commodity in the community, the students pay more attention to their studies. So we’re going to go back to the school we help several months after our makeovers and test the students and see what other changes have resulted.