Pilot

Farino: The hard thing with a pilot is that there’s a lot of introductions to do. You start with Ben and Cam and let the audience know they’re your principals. You put together a set piece [like Gingy’s party] that allows interactions. The Ben-and-Rachel thing was always meant to be a season-long idea, so it seemed like a good arena to see her with a new bloke because you’ve got some built-in tension and Cam’s got to get involved with that.

Rasuk: There was stuff that [Ben and I] were doing in the audition that wasn’t even on paper in the pilot. We were starting to make shit up. Then we found out later, when we actually got the roles, that they added a lot of the shit he and I did in the audition. The whole thing where I’m knocking on the door like, “Time to get paid,” none of that shit was in there. Dude, the chemistry between me and Bryan was probably some of the best chemistry I’ve had with another actor—even to this day. We literally hung out on and off camera. Even Lake—out of all the actors, she was always the busiest. She always had something going on outside How to Make It in America. But when we could hang out, we would.

Bell: We definitely became friends. We were single in New York and all in a space where we allowed ourselves to party.

Greenberg: We started living the show; it was crazy. Cudi and I made music together. Vic and I, we’d play ball. I don’t remember where we were, maybe it was SOB’s or something, but Cudi was doing a show and there was nobody there. And I just remember him saying, “Oh, you guys don’t know me yet, but you will.” Nobody was there, but you know who was? JAY-Z. It was kind of an empty bar, but JAY was at the bar, just watching Cudi.

Cudi: It’s dope that my music career and How to Make It took off at the same time. [via Complex, 2011]

Rasuk: One of my favorite scenes [in the pilot] is when I grabbed these jackets and ran. We were at Orchard [Street]. Right after I did that, I came back and got the ticket from the cops, and Bryan looked at me like, “You’re right. We’re on the same boat.” Ben saw something in Cam that changed his mind. The reason that’s one of my favorite scenes is because you can tell that’s the beginning of their journey.

Farino: I think it’s a brilliant character moment because, apart from being entertaining, it completely describes, through action, how these two approach life—the impulsive, somehow naively optimistic Cam versus the slightly world-weary Ben.

Greenberg: I just remember how passionate Vic was in that scene. He really sold it, and all I had to do as an actor was listen.

Rasuk: One of the toughest things to catch in a pilot or TV show is the moment where you want to take the audience on a ride with you. When I shot that scene, I worked on it so many times that the take they actually used was one of the very last takes. We did it so many times you can hear the exhaustion in my voice. It came off as Cam being so ready to do something with his life.

Farino: The day we finished shooting the pilot was the day Obama was elected. We’d finished by lunchtime and had an extra half-day. We were drinking and waiting for the election results, and we were like, “If this show ever has any legs, it’s because it’s an Obama-generation show and not a Bush-generation show.”

Edelman: The show is kind of about hope, aspiration, and love. You love your friends, and I wanted it to feel good. I didn’t want it to feel like a depressing show.

Farino: You wonder about how to end the show: Do they get the money? The reason we chose that moment [with Cam and Ben pushing a shopping cart full of denim] is because it’s like, “Now we’ve got a future.” But there’s also a little bit of naiveté. The shopping cart is a reminder that they are a little bit low-rent. There’s a reason to celebrate, but there’s also a steep journey ahead. We were hoping HBO might say, “I want more of this.”

Greenberg: It was an upswing to show that these friends were fully committed, but also clueless to the hardships that await them. That's why I like the symbolism of the cart falling over.