Phil Rosenthal

I wrote a book.

I did the Exporting Raymond documentary.

But always in the back of my mind, and not even the back of my mind, in between those things, I was pursuing this dream.

Exporting Raymond was the first time I was on camera.

I was the guy trying to get his show done in Russia.

And people saw that.

I even put a scene in, totally improvised by the way, of my parents on Skype from another Russian family's home.

And they stole the movie because they were so funny on the Skype.

i had something to show that i could be in the show traveling to a new land i also did other small videos when i did travel so i had something to show people still a very tough sell but when i walked into pbs i sold the show with one line by the time i got there which is the first place i actually wanted to go because i thought that they would be receptive to a travel show more than the travel channel more than the food channel

PBS.

So first, my agents made me exhaust every commercial possibility, not wanting to go to PBS because they say there's no money there.

But when I walked in, I sold the show with one line.

This is the line.

I'm exactly like Anthony Bourdain if he was afraid of everything.

And they said, we've been looking for a food and travel show with humor for years.

So all of a sudden, I was in the right place at the right time after 10 years of trying.

But that was, you know, in my childhood and high school and college even, I was in plays.

This is an improvised show of... Now, I am, my advantage that I might have over someone else making this type of show is that I have this now long career in television that I can draw from.

So I'm using all the tools of writing a sitcom

and structuring a sitcom in the service of this food and travel show.