By Jamie Ruby

Robert Carlock has produced television series in the past, such as Friends and Joey, both of which he wrote for. He has also written for Saturday Night Live. His newest series, which he executive produces and writes for, is NBC's 30 Rock.

Jack McBrayer, who stars in 30 Rock and has worked on series in the past such as Arrested Development, has also done a lot of voice work, such as for The Simpsons and Archer, and more recently as Felix in the film Wreck-It Ralph.

The two recently talked to the digital media about the seventh season of 30 Rock.

NBC Conference Call
30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer and Executive Producer Robert Carlock

October 2, 2012

QUESTION: Jack, can you talk a bit about the impact that Catherine O'Hara and Bryan Cranston had on set and you as an actor?

JACK McBRAYER: I do have to say that was one of my favorite days of shooting. Catherine O'Hara played my mother and Bryan Cranston played my step-dad and actually Robert Carlock directed that episode and it was an entire day of me laughing and sometimes - oftentimes unsuccessfully not laughing and ruining takes, but they were both so fun and so funny and so just pleasant to be around that it really will go down as one of my sincere absolute favorite days of shooting, they were just amazing.

QUESTION: And with Bryan Cranston's character, what exactly is his relationship to Kenneth?

JACK McBRAYER: Well he does play my step-dad - or he plays my mom's friend Ron and it ends up he is the sweetest, kindest person in the world, but I think Kenneth just has so much baggage with his mom and with his family that Ron can do no right in his eyes. But we learn more and more about that relationship throughout the episode and it was a real treat for me.

QUESTION: Can you tell what the atmosphere has been like on the set shooting this final season?

ROBERT CARLOCK: Well, McBrayer is always trouble so it's been, you know, we always have our head down and do the work, it hasn't yet I think sunk in. I think in those last couple episodes maybe people will start to act out and pick fights to make breaking up easier. But so far, correct me if I'm wrong Jack, we're trying to just normal 30 Rock stories and while at the same time driving towards endings for everybody, so there's a lot that we're trying to take into account.

But in terms of the day-to-day, we're used to always feeling like tomorrow's going to be the last day, so it hasn't felt too different.

JACK McBRAYER: That is true, but it is weird knowing that there are finite episodes and stuff, to me it feels like your senior year of high school where you're having fun and oh it doesn't matter, I already got into college and things don't matter. But you know that there on graduation day, you're going to be choking back tears and hugging people that you never even spoke to, but it has been great fun and business as usual so far but towards the end it's going to get real emotional.

QUESTION: Guys, what's your favorite memory of working on 30 Rock over the years?

ROBERT CARLOCK: Doing these phone calls with Jack McBrayer. It's such a fun show, Jack was just talking about working with Bryan and Catherine and we just shot a thing today where Kellan Lutz from Twilight plays our character and lets his grand-nephew and it's like - this show is so fun because there's these constant things. We had Muppets come and we had Elvis Costello and then all those musicians come one year and there's so many weird things that have happened and every time you say, “Okay, I can retire happy, my comedy life can end and I'll be able to say I did that,” and it's hard to choose just one.

JACK McBRAYER: I do have to say very generally it is absolutely true that we have gone for seven - eight - we've gone for seven years, but being that we've gone so long and we've had so many amazing guest stars and storylines and stuff, and everyone has been onboard, everyone has been game. People you would not expect to say yes to this kind of stuff and it's very flattering for all of us that they would join us for this nonsense.

But honestly, one more specific thing for me is we would have this Halloween party every year and it's real fun because everybody's kids would come and there would be like little costume things and they would set up little trick or treat things and a fake graveyard and that has been a real marker for me of seeing how long the show has gone and how long people have been onboard.

Because when people started they had infants and now it's like you're watching these seven-year-olds walking around in their - I don't know, Pokemon outfits or whatever seven-year-olds do, but it has just been crazy to watch the progression of time from that perspective too - because time marches, closer to my death.

QUESTION: One of those things with this show, it's never really attracted high ratings and I just want both of you to reflect on why you think that is. I don't understand why it is, but maybe you have some ideas as to why it is.

ROBERT CARLOCK: I think it's a question we get a fair amount and if we had the answer we would’ve fixed it. We always wanted the show to be as broad-based as we can, but at the end of the day we only want the people who want us, so we'll take our beloved fans. But honestly it's something every year, including this year, we ask ourselves how can we make it the show that we wanted it to be back in 2006 in terms of being a giant hit and we may be whistling in the wind at this point, but if we could answer it we would of done it - less McBrayer.

JACK McBRAYER: All right, nobody wants that.

QUESTION: I'd love to know if there was any episode you could write that hasn't been written for your comedic character, which is so brilliant, what would you want to see happen and what would you write?

JACK McBRAYER: Okay, I would love it if for some reason Kenneth was sent to Hawaii.

ROBERT CARLOCK: We could green screen that, that's a great idea - we'll do it on the roof.

JACK McBRAYER: No, me Jack McBrayer. I'm just such a sucker for sunshine and beaches and swimming pools and all that. Oh come on, the Bradys did it, Modern Family did it - I even think the Jeffersons did it, send Kenneth to Hawaii.

QUESTION: To get married?

JACK McBRAYER: Yes, to get married, to blow up something - I don't even care why…just send Jack McBrayer to Hawaii.

No, of course I've been so fortunate with any storyline, any script that I've not been wanting for anything, but if I had my dithers, it would have been one time that I've been sent to Hawaii. But who knows? We still got a few more episodes.

QUESTION: That's the spin-off.

JACK McBRAYER: That's right, Kenneth in Hawaii.

QUESTION: Jack, I recently saw your film The Brass Teapot at your actual film festival and...

JACK McBRAYER: No way.

QUESTION: Yes, I had a talk with your director, had a great time, enjoyed the film, it got a great reception and I'm wondering what your plans are post-30 Rock and would you prefer to continue in TV or are you looking more towards film work at this point?

JACK McBRAYER: You know sir, that is a very good question. I have to say I am a fan of television, my concern is what is the future of television right now. The good news is there's so much great stuff on all these cable channels, but I know that I do prefer comedy and the bar has been set pretty high for me working on 30 Rock for seven years. So I have to be prepared for the next thing to maybe not live up to expectations creatively, but of course make it work.

But I think in a very general sense I want to work on fun projects with fun people. Now whether that's movie or film, I'm down for anything, really and truly I just enjoy the work, but I'm a fan of television. I just - I don't know what the future of television is.

QUESTION: That's fair. And Robert you've worked with Tina Fey for many, many years of course, what do you like working about her? It may be obvious, but what does it do really well?

ROBERT CARLOCK: Boy, she kind of does everything well, but one of the best things that she does or the thing that she has a sixth sense for is her initial reaction to an idea or to a joke. If she thinks it's going to work, it does - her taste is just really good in a way of sensing how performance works and how an audience receives something. And if it's (pre-natural), her ability to hook into something, even if it's not fully formed, if she likes it, it's going to work and it makes you really trust when she doesn't like something.

So because so much of what I do is grinding out the ideas and trying to form them, having her parachute in and be a genius is an amazing thing.

QUESTION: Can you block out the final episode? How are you going to end this? Are Liz and Jack going to get together, for example? I think it's sort of a standard question, a joke question anyway that's been played with for six seasons.

But really there are a lot of loose ends - Chris and Liz and Jack and Avery are divorced or something, I guess that was kind of a divorce ceremony, and Jen and Paul and on and on, there are a bunch of things that are in the air and Kenneth and Hazel, so there's a lot of things to be wrapped up in the next few episodes, but to that one point Jack and Liz - I'm sure it's facetious, but maybe it's not. Can you give me a general sense of where you guys are heading this last round up?

ROBERT CARLOCK: Boy - yes and I was just saying McBrayer we don't quite know what the ending is before we got on here because we have a shorter runway than usual to do a lot of stuff and we do want to give everyone closure, even if it's in our own weird way. And in the first season at one point Jack said that either everyone would - Jack the character, every one would die by Kenneth's hand or they'd all be working for him and we want to try and achieve one of those goals at least.

And in terms of Jack and Liz, the core of the show, the spine of the show, the reason the show has worked has always been the chemistry between the two of them. The idea of them getting together always feels a little like an uncle and a niece to me.

But we are certainly gratified that there are people who are so invested in that chemistry and in that relationship that they would want to see that go further, but I think they both have other goals for each other. McBrayer's laughing at me and just disgusted at the thought of it.

JACK McBRAYER: That's funny.

ROBERT CARLOCK: But that said, we want to, play that relationship and that chemistry and that what's been built for the last going on seven years so it's to it's hilt and we'll see where that takes us.

QUESTION: So what episode are you filming right now?

ROBERT CARLOCK: We have a tandem day which is two episodes - four and five, right.

JACK McBRAYER: So we’re on our fifth episode of our final season.

ROBERT CARLOCK: Yes.

QUESTION: And how many episodes is going to be the final season?

ROBERT CARLOCK: Thirteen.

QUESTION: Thirteen, okay, so you do have a shorter run this time around.

ROBERT CARLOCK: Yes, exactly.

QUESTION: Wow, so are you all moving a lot quicker, is it a faster pace to get it done or...

ROBERT CARLOCK: No. I think maybe those 13 will have - we always have a lot of story and event in our episodes but I think that maybe it will be more event per episode to episode then even ordinarily and what we try to as I said earlier, we try to take a step back in these 13 and do stories that feel like normal 30 Rock stories and we're trying to get the election to do a couple political stories with Jack and Liz and stuff, but yes, for the most part we're packing it in, it's going to be done.

QUESTION: Was there always a thought to make this a seven-season show? Were there thoughts of another season maybe, or was this it?

ROBERT CARLOCK: I think we always thought creatively it would be around seven or eight, somewhere in there, so it's not much of an answer. And the one thing that Tina and I said from the beginning was just let this end on our own terms, the fact that we're doing that at the end of seven years, those slightly truncated seven years is all we could ask for.

JACK McBRAYER: Well and plus considering that I have been expecting this show to end immediately since season one, it is a miracle that it's lasted as long as it has.

QUESTION: Well the reason I asked it that Kurt Sutter who does Sons of Anarchy said that his plan’s for seven years too, but he mentioned that after a seventh year a show becomes more expensive to do because of licensing and all stuff like that. So it seems like everybody keeps seven in mind, but of course if it's a great big hit they go as long as they can go, so I guess that's true in all cases.

JACK McBRAYER: Sure.

ROBERT CARLOCK: Yes probably.

QUESTION: Would NBC go, “Yes” if you all had another two or three episodes that you could finish up, or is it 13 or nothing?

ROBERT CARLOCK: Maybe we could beg for 14, but we're focusing on 13 or 13 ½ - 13 and we'll ride off into the sunset, 13 and promos.

QUESTION: Who has been your favorite guess star to work with?

JACK McBRAYER: Oh gosh, after seven years it's going to be tough. With that being said really and truly most recently working with Katherine O'Hara and Bryan Cranston has been pretty - that was a game changer. They're so talented but just nice people, that has been a big lesson for me as we've had these huge stars on our show but they're all such lovely human beings and that has been a real treat, a wonderful discovery for me.

With that being said, I have to say working with Tim Conway in Season 2 was a biggie for me as well. I love that dude, but we're buddies now.

ROBERT CARLOCK: I have to say maybe throw Buzz Aldrin in there just for sheer...

JACK McBRAYER: That's right.

ROBERT CARLOCK: ...weirdness of it, having Liz Lemon and Buzz Aldrin yelling at the moon together was certainly a highlight for me.