Very involved. His daughter Isa [Dick Hackett] is one of our executive producers, and Kalen [Egan] is the curator, so to speak, of the estate. And they’re both executive producers, and they have great notes and they’re very encouraging on taking liberties. You know, it’s fantastical, and that’s what her father was. If nothing else, fantastical, and he would allow it just to open up your mind and have an experience. And so, in the spirit of that, she has blessed the concept of just going, opening.

Does Isa ever talk about her memories of her dad? She must have been very young when he died.

Not specifically, as far as, “I remember once when he”, so to speak. But in a general sense. And in talking about the tonality of his work. And again, to reinforce the nature of experimentation. And that he was all for that, and wanted to be able to embrace, to go into that place, you know? Um, because no one could say, like if I did a show about Henry VIII, and messed with history, there would be an uproar. Like, ‘What are you doing? You can’t do this!’ But if I go into the future, and did whatever, no one could say, ‘What? That’s not how it’s going to be! How dare you?!’

So we have to keep an open mind to that, and it’s like, ‘Wow, could it be that way? Could life be that simple, or that devoid of that human contact?’ In some ways, artificial intelligence taking over, and we see some examples of that now, of course.

You can’t deny that technology has marched on since he wrote these stories.

Yeah, for example, we are here in the Gillette Building. They used to make razors here. They used to make things here, and now they don’t make things here. They make these somewhere else. Robots make razors now. Not people.

Does that worry you, or does that intimidate you, or do you embrace it?

No, I’m set, so… [laughter] um, no, I think, as storytellers, it’s my interest – I don’t say it’s my job – it’s my interest to continue telling the human story. And that’s why, in my company, it’s character character character. And then, when you’re done focusing on developing character, develop more character. I can give you a plot, and I’ll put the plot in, but if you don’t like these characters, or if you’re not invested in them, it doesn’t matter what the plot is.

You’ve got four projects being developed at the moment. Is this the one that you’re most interested in? Are other people in your company looking after the others? Or are you this hands on with everything?

I’m schizophrenic. I’m working with all four. I don’t play golf. I don’t do anything else but work and be with my family. I’m a lonely, lonely man. [Laughter]

And what’s the play you’re doing, Bryan? You’re doing a play in London, right?

I’m gonna do a play, in London, yeah, I’m very excited about it. Remember the movie Network? Paddy Chayefsky. This is, Lee Hall has adapted that screenplay into a play. Ivo van Hove is going to direct, and it’s going to be at the National at the end of this year. I hope you can come, it’s like… it was first regarded, and it was, a satire. Fake news, and all that. Making news an entertainment program was a satirist kind of approach. It’s no longer that. This is the real world.

Bryan Cranston, thank you very much!