Jerrod Carmichael

“Performing for Dick Van Dyke once was fun.”

“I knew I wanted to do a show on NBC - it's rooted in its history; it's part rooted in nostalgia and part rooted in the potential of it. For me, there was no other choice.”

“You know, 'Cheers,' you didn't have to leave the bar because what they were saying in the bar was important. 'All In The Family' is the same rule. On 'The Golden Girls' they didn't have to leave the table. And 'Friends' - the coffee shop. You can contain it if it's interesting.”

“I didn't choose to like Chik-Fil-A - I was born this way.”

“I want everything to be an honest extension of me. What better way than me talking? It's a direct connection with everyone. With film and television, you make great projects, but stand-up is the thing that is completely yours.”

“I'm inspired by people who are unapologetically themselves, from Bill Cosby to Fahim Anwar. Just funny people.”

“I grew up in what my mom will always dispute as 'the hood.' She just doesn't like the name. But it had its similarities to any neighborhood like that. The all-black neighbors and the all-black problems and the all-black happiness. And I really loved it.”

“If you've ever liked an artist or someone who then does something or is accused of something extremely corrupt, and your moral conscience won't allow you to accept that artist, the truth is then that creates a void in your life. Because then something you loved was taken from you.”

“A lot of times, us within the industry, we can put this bubble around ourselves and create what a show is supposed to look like and sound like, and we're seeing so much content. The best compliment is, 'I finally found something to watch with my family,' or, 'This is how I really feel, and I can't believe they're showing this on television.'”

“When you see U2 or the Rolling Stones, after years of knowing each other, they don't have to look at each other to connect.”

“Eddie Murphy did '48 Hrs.' because that was the only movie offered to him. And he killed it. Bill Cosby did 'I Spy' because that was the TV show he was offered. But now, there are networks dedicated to comedy, and the Internet... it's so easy for comedians to not do things that aren't true to them.”

“Broadcast television is designed to reach as many people as possible, right? There's an obligation that we as creators have to advertisers, and it is an advertising medium.”

“I want that Sinatra type of fame. It's not the 'Whoever's the hot pop star at the moment' fame. It's the 'Walk into a room and everybody just kind of politely nods their heads' fame. Sinatra fame.”

“I don't think all comedy should be mindless. Have something that's thoughtful. Maybe some things are tongue-in-cheek; maybe some things are very direct. I like that people have to think about things. That excites me. Because if you say certain things, it starts a dialogue. Even if you disagree, it's still a dialogue.”