Mike Schur, the creator of A Man on the Inside, discusses the transitions from SNL to The Office and his impact on television history.

      Mike Schur, the creator of A Man on the Inside, has followed an admirable and established path to success, similar to that of Conan O’Brien, Greg Daniels, and Colin Jost. He started with the Harvard Lampoon and then secured a writing position on Saturday Night Live.

      However, this was just the start of his career.

      Schur is one of the most productive creators and showrunners in television history. After his time at SNL, he collaborated with Daniels on the American version of The Office and later co-created Parks and Recreation with him. He then partnered with Dan Goor to co-create Brooklyn Nine-Nine and went on to create The Good Place and co-create Rutherford Falls.

      Today, he returns with Season 2 of Netflix's A Man on the Inside, inspired by the documentary The Mole Agent. This new season sees him reuniting with The Good Place actor Ted Danson, who portrays a widowed professor. In Season 1, Danson went undercover in a nursing home to investigate theft, and this season, he will go undercover at a university. Season 2 will also feature Danson alongside his real-life wife Mary Steenburgen, both of whom Schur recognized at the Emmys in September.

      In addition, Schur has been an executive producer for Master of None and Hacks, with numerous other credits that include co-writing the poignant "Nosedive" episode of Black Mirror. He is currently developing the upcoming series Dig with Parks star Amy Poehler.

      Outside of television, Schur is equally prolific. For the past 12 years, he has co-hosted The PosCast, predominantly focusing on baseball but often venturing into various other topics. He also manages the Ken Tremendous social media account, where he cleverly shifts between commentary on baseball, television, and politics. Recently, after Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air at the request of the Trump Administration, he succinctly tweeted: “I’m a single issue voter, and my issue is ‘the government shouldn’t be fascist.’”

      Just how insightful is he? During our interview, when we struggled to recall the term for love of words, he promptly offered: “logophilia?”

      When asked how he has managed to be so productive, he emphasized a practical approach rather than extraordinary recall skills, attributing much of his success to his numerous collaborators.

      **Mike Schur on SNL and Weekend Update**

      (L-R) Jason Mantzoukas as Apollo Lamrkis and executive producer/director Michael Schur on a Season 2 episode of A Man on the Inside. Photo credit: Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix © 2025

      **MovieMaker:** Not every writer at SNL goes on to create or co-create a multitude of shows. How did you become a multiple showrunner?

      **Mike Schur:** I’d say there are two significant leaps. The first was during my time at SNL. Weekend Update operates like a mini-show within the main show, requiring its own team.

      After a couple of years there, my friend Rob Carlock, who had been running it alongside Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, departed to write for Friends. I remember thinking, "Who’s going to take that job? It seems tough." Then SNL producer Mike Shoemaker approached me and said, "We want you to take over Update." I replied, "I don't know how to do that. What do you mean?"

      He explained, “It’s simple — you have a few writers, you come up with some jokes, you go through them, select the best ones, choose graphics, and so forth. It'll be fun.” This was an early lesson in realizing that those in charge often don’t have everything figured out; sometimes they are simply there when they are needed, stepping up to the occasion.

      **MovieMaker:** This occurred at the start of the 2001-2002 season.

      **Mike Schur:** Just two weeks before the premiere, 9/11 happened... I kept thinking, “Surely someone will say, ‘We shouldn’t leave this to him.’” Instead, they insisted, “This is your responsibility. Figure it out.” Tina and Jimmy had been beloved anchors for a year already, and while Mike Shoemaker and others were around to assist, I quickly understood I needed to mature rapidly and manage a small team.

      **MovieMaker:** You were just 25.

      **Mike Schur:** I want to emphasize that I didn’t do this alone. There were three dedicated writers, a wonderful co-producer named Scott Weinstein, and Mike Shoemaker was there too. Tina is also an exceptional producer. This was a significant team effort, but I felt the pressure to grow up quickly or risk failure.

      This transition from writing sketches to taking on actual responsibilities and managing for three years prepared me for a showrunning role. Running a show is far more complex than producing Weekend Update, but that experience involved making quick decisions