"It's a testament to Simon's genius that he can write something as truthful and specific and definitively his, while also knowing that we need to make it ours," the actor said. "Whether they're just humoring us or they're actually going to use it, they always give us time to find our own way into stuff. Much to the chagrin of our bosses, we'll just go off the deep end and talk a bunch of sh** and ruin takes constantly. Some of it makes it onto the TV show. So yeah, it's funny in a bunch of different ways, and it's fun to be there in a bunch of different ways. If we did everything word-perfect, based on the script, it would be just as funny, I'm convinced, but we get to find these weird little things. The more that we contribute, the more handmade and less fabricated it is I think."
Baruchel feels that the material is ultimately universal because, as he points out, "everyone's been dumped."
"The shame and degradation of dating is not the exclusive domain of any gender or any sexuality," the actor said. "It's pretty universal stuff, so I think any guy or girl will watch our show and see at least one thing they went through. I think that's kind of the fun of our show. We want people to see themselves in our stuff. If they don't see themselves, then we're getting our a***s kicked so they don't have to."
We'd spoken to the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia team around the time that we spoke with Baruchel, and one thing the two shows had in common is that - as in many comedies of their nature - much of the humor rests on the characters complete inability to learn.
"I don't think anybody learns their lesson in real life," Baruchel said, reflecting on the tendency. "That's the thing. I think we've been conditioned by books and movies and TV to think that there are acts to our life -- but there aren't. You often have to learn the same lesson over and over again. You have to make the same mistake over and over again. But that's not to say we keep doing the same sh** and there's no originality to it. But yeah, I think like anybody, Josh is trying to find his way, and there's no right way to do that. I think part of that is, yeah, constantly messing up."
For his part, Baruchel isn't so much worried about where the character is going, as where he's been.
"My chief concern when I get there on set is to serve the story we're telling at the moment, as best I can," the actor said. "If I can do that without stepping on anything, then I try to make it funny too. I never want to think about where he has to end up, because nobody knows where they're going to end up -- but we all know where we've been. So I definitely think more about what's behind Josh instead of what's in front of him."Man Seeking Woman airs Wednesdays at 10:30 on FXX.