Peter Tolan makes good comedy from people who cannot leave a slight alone. We rate his television work highly, especially The Larry Sanders Show, though his sharpest contribution is often the dialogue.
Fi1m perspective
Someone raises a problem at work; before long, everyone is discussing how badly they have been treated. In The Larry Sanders Show (1992), Tolan belongs to a writing team that includes Dennis Klein and Maya Forbes, making an insecure television star's workplace a reliable source of trouble. We laughed with uncomfortable recognition because these people cannot let even a small slight pass. The pleasure is in how quickly a professional conversation becomes personal, without anyone needing an extraordinary excuse to behave badly.
The earlier Murphy Brown (1988), which he wrote for, offers a useful distinction: a difficult central character is worth more than a supply of recurring gags. Candice Bergen makes that programme worth returning to, while the secretary jokes and musical routines are less rewarding. Those limitations belong to the programme, not necessarily to one writer. Writing and producing The Larry Sanders Show with Garry Shandling was Tolan's decisive step, giving his interest in status and touchy colleagues a more consistently rewarding home.
With Denis Leary, he co-created The Job (2001) and Rescue Me (2004), taking that interest in difficult men towards darker comedy and drama. He also directed on both series, so the shift was not confined to the scripts. On Rescue Me, his direction keeps the humour from sitting awkwardly beside the more serious material. His feature debut as director, Finding Amanda (2008), followed, with Tolan also writing. Across those jobs, the recurring attraction is to flawed men who help to create their own trouble.
We would follow Tolan for the writing before the promise of a particular directing style. His most persuasive work gives difficult people enough wit to keep us listening, and enough recognisable pettiness to stop us admiring them without question. Start with The Larry Sanders Show, and watch how much trouble its characters cause over small differences in status. No knowledge of television production is required; experience of a workplace will do.
Biography
Peter Tolan is an American television producer, director and screenwriter. He was born on 5 July 1958 in Scituate, Massachusetts.
Tolan began his career writing for series including Home Improvement (1991) and Murphy Brown (1991–1993), for which he shared an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1992. He wrote for and produced The Larry Sanders Show (1992–1998), sharing an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1998 for the finale episode.
In 2004 he co-created the FX series Rescue Me with Denis Leary, serving as writer, director, producer and teleplay writer across its run until 2011. His feature screenplay credits include Analyze This (1999), Bedazzled (2000) and Just Like Heaven (2005).
