Along with Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske, Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme are best known for their work with the Broken Lizard comedy troupe. The group is responsible for a string of comedy films in the 2000s, like the first Super Troopers and Beerfest, that shaped American comedic sensibilities at the movies for a decade.

With their original truTV series Tacoma FD, however, Heffernan and Lemme wanted to do something a little different. The show premiered in late March and gradually, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter, gained a niche following that has resulted in some pretty good ratings for the network. Ahead of the season finale next Thursday, the longtime friends and collaborators spoke to Den of Geek about the inspiration for the series, its surprisingly familial themes, and more for The Fourth Wall podcast.

“An important element that we learned in the TV writing world is that you need a little bit more in the world of sustained arcs over the course of a season,” says Heffernan. “We talked about that, and one of them was this family dynamic. I think that’s something that’s maybe not in Super Troopers.”

On Tacoma FD, the man famous for playing Vermont State Trooper Rod Farva portrays Chief Terry McConky, an equally goofy character who’s a bit nicer around the edges. He’s also on high alert, for aside from managing Lemme’s Captain Eddie Penisi and the other firefighters, McConky is also overseeing his daughter Lucy (Hassie Harrison), the station’s first female firefighter.