Editor’s note: The Fourth Wall is a recurring feature and a platform for creators, actors, and industry insiders to bring the readers behind the scenes of the production process. In our latest installment, we removed the curtain on the writers’ room for the second season of Fox’s, The Mick.

At first glance it may not look like The Mick reinvents the wheel. It’s a show where a renegade wild card gets thrown into a family and suddenly needs to be a role model. In fact, sitcoms often tank from that sort of by-the-numbers premise. The Mickembraces these hackneyed tropes and makes them feel exciting and new. It also manages to turn them into strengths. It mixes edgy with sweet in a way that’s easy to do, but hard to do right.

In The Mick, Kaitlin Olson (Always Sunny) plays a derelict human who ends up in charge of her too-affluent estranged family. As the Pembertons cope with this new eyesore in their lives, Mickey simultaneously tries to assert control and reap the family’s benefits. The results are typically messy, unpredictable examples of human failure.

Over the course of its first season, The Mick leaned on strong writing, atypical storytelling, and an unbelievable cast of burgeoning performers that all helped this comedy turn out a surprisingly consistent debut season. Now, with the show’s second year underway, I touched base with the series’ creators and showrunners, Dave and John Chernin, who took me through a tour of the show’s sophomore season. Let’s break down the chaotic world of The Mick!