Hey Michael Schur, Is A Hot Dog A Sandwich?
Imagine the thrill of making something you think is pretty good, and then people start calling it one of the greats and saying things like arguably the best sitcom of the decade and/or century. It would be a trip, right? Something to be proud of.
Michael Schur, that son-of-a-bitch. He has three.
Item one:
Item two:
Item three:
Not bad, Schur. Not bad.
Schur, a writer, showrunner, producer, and occasional actor, is the force (in the case of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Dan Goor, the co-force) behind three surefire hall-of-fame sitcoms—the good-hearted, Amy Poehler-starring Parks And Recreation; the thoughtful, daffy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, led by Andre Braugher and Andy Samberg; and the philosophic marvel that is The Good Place, the closest thing to appointment-viewing television to be found this side of Westeros, which stars Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. All are remarkable.
A fourth series joins Schur's quiver this month on NBC (though here he's an executive producer, not the creator): the Natalie Morales-starring Abby's, a warm, multi-camera sitcom about a veteran who opens a bar in her backyard. That warmth doesn't come exclusively from the California sun—although some of it does, as Abby's claims to "TV's first outdoor sitcom." That bar looks wonderful. Magical. Like a great place to have a hot dog.
That's the transition. Hot-diggity-dog, let's do this.
The Takeout: Is a hot dog a sandwich?
Michael Schur: I think two things about this. Number one, yes, 100 percent, it's a sandwich. It's an "object of meat," essentially between two "sides" of bread, let's call them. So yes, 100 percent, it's a sandwich.
TO: Okay, got it.
MS: But my favorite part of this is when I lived in New York, there was a deli near where I lived. There was a sign in the window that said, "Hot Dog Sandwich With Garnishing, $1.99."
TO: Amazing.
MS: Yeah, "Hot Dog Sandwich With Garnishing" made me laugh every time I saw it. So, I'll I hold that up as proof that yes, a hot dog is a sandwich.
Abby's premieres on March 28 at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC. It's a charmer, with or without objects of meat.