Actor, creator and former magicianNick Mohammedis on quite a roll.
NICK MOHAMMED: Generally speaking, yes.
So, the practicalities of that was a lot more difficult.
You just have a lot better feel for what your show is.
We never had a pilot, actually, which is a slightly double-edged sword.
In a weird way, Season 1 was like a testing ground for quite a lot of stuff.
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But in terms of episode to episode, Season 2 just felt more confident maybe.
Intelligence is quite specific, tonally, and we could find that groove a lot quicker.
MOHAMMED: Well, theyre very different shows, arent they?
Ive been asked this question before, actually.
Im really gonna learn from that, as a showrunner, to take that lesson across.
How does your collaborative relationship with him compare to what you and David Schwimmer have onIntelligence?
The outcome of that is brilliant for Nate.
He ends up building in confidence and getting promoted, at the end of that season.
With Joseph and Jerry, theres an immediate idolization.
Joseph is just looking for a distraction because hes so bad at his job that he needs any distractions.
Jerry is like the older brother that he never had.
From Jerrys point of view, Joseph is someone who buys his bullshit, so theyre co-dependent.
Hes one of the great sitcom actors of his generation.
I just was pinching myself.
Thats a whole different side of it that youre not always privy to.
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you’re free to be a bit choosier as well.
And then, with Jason, hes just such a lovely guy.
We struck up a good friendship, partly because were both big magic fans.
As the creator of that show, we all stopped to listen to him, always.
Now Im curious, how did you get into magic?
MOHAMMED: Its what started off doing, really.
As a kid, I loved it.
I was a professional magician for awhile.
Its only when comedy and acting took over that I became more of a hobbyist.
Occasionally, Ill attempt to weave it into some of my live stuff.
I adore it and still read about magic every day.
I have a magic book by my bedside.
Im hoping to write something about magic, at some point.
Its just a fascinating world.
Theres so much history to it as well.
What advice do you think Nate would give Joseph, to help him find his voice?
MOHAMMED: The problem with Joseph is that hes just absolutely bulletproof.
You could fire anything at him, and it just bounces off him, whether its positive or negative.
Lets face it, Nate has got a lot more layers than Joseph, but that was deliberate.
His interaction with Ted has absolutely given him a voice and allowed him to shine a little bit.
I think its gonna be interesting to see where that goes.
But if I were Joseph, I would take what Nate says with a pinch of salt.
I love that Intelligence has a Valentines Day episode.
What made you want to do that?
I just found that a funny idea.
Would it be in massive abuse of power and resources?
Obviously, the answer is yes.
It is very Jerry to be very in your face like that.
How did you approach the way you wanted to end Season 2?
MOHAMMED: At the moment, we dont know if were doing a third season.
I have started writing.
In some respects, you could end it there, but it would be a bit anti-climactic.
I think we wanted to slightly have our cake and eat it too.
But equally, it felt like a real surprise.
So, lets plunk that in there.
Did you hear from people that really got that, from the beginning?
A lot of them deal with mental health or addiction or sexuality.
Intelligence, particularly, is such an out-and-out farce.
It absolutely brings a smile to my face.
you’re able to only ever do what you find funny.
Fortunately, people are getting it, so thats a good thing.
That just meant that side of it was slightly less pressured.
I really enjoy every element of it.
Youre not always trying to be all three of those things at once.
When youre filming the show, yes, thats quite an intense period of time.
So, that feels a bit more pressured than if youre just acting in the show.
I like flexing those different muscles, and often youre flexing them at different times, which is useful.
Thats what was quite nice, going fromIntelligencetoTed Lasso.
MOHAMMED: Definitely, yeah.
Thats been really fun, and sometimes challenging to play.
I feel very lucky to have these two silly guys to fall into.
Intelligenceis available to stream at Peacock TV.
Ted Lasso is available to stream at Apple TV+.
