"The Norm Show" marks a reunion of sorts for Macdonald, Helford and Metcalf. Helford was one of (many) executive producers on that sitcom, and he hired Macdonald as a writer. Together, they put words in the mouth of Metcalf, who played Roseanne's sister, Jackie.
"He taught me how to write for sitcoms," Macdonald said of Helford. "And I always enjoyed writing for Laurie on the show. I thought she was the funniest one. I mean, Roseanne's hilarious, but I like writing for Laurie."I write better for thinner women."
Asked what he learned from Roseanne about being a sitcom star, Macdonald didn't immediately get to answer. "Hopefully, nothing," Helford blurted out.
(Roseanne, of course, battled with producers and writers the way Serbs battle the Albanians. She fired them one after another.)
Still, Macdonald said, "I always really loved Roseanne. Roseanne is a much more powerful presence than I am in a sitcom, so I don't know that I could ever be (like her). I'm more dependent on the ensemble than Roseanne was."
(And she did once offer him some acting advice. "She said, 'Don't take acting classes.' She said, 'When you're happy in a scene, smile. And when you're angry, frown.' ")
Asked to compare the two, Metcalf said, "Well, it's the difference in their delivery as stand-ups, I guess. Roseanne is more sort of aggressive and in-your-face, and Norm's kind of the opposite. His is more subtle and he comes in, like, under the joke."
As far as Helford is concerned, there's very little room for comparison. He has no intention of going through that "Roseanne" experience again.
"I ran the 'Roseanne' show for a year, and I love Roseanne a lot. And I've made no bones about that," Helford said. "But there's no hiding that it was a chaotic atmosphere.
"One of the things that Norm and I agreed on early on -- and something that Drew and I had agreed on and why I think it works so well -- is that we're partners. You can do great work in paradise and have a great time and have a lot of fun. People also do great work out of chaos, but it's not near the fun. And it's a hard job anyway, so I think we're approaching this differently than some shows start up."