Leading up to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference March 31 and April 1, Playback will feature Q&As with some of the all-star cast of writers leading the conference, which takes place at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management in downtown Toronto.

Lee Aronsohn is a co-creator and executive producer of Two and a Half Men, and has also served as an executive producer on The Big Bang Theory. He’s a long-time collaborator with Chuck Lorre, dating back to when Aronsohn served as producer on Grace Under Fire and co-exec producer on Cybill, both of which were created by Lorre. Aronsohn has also written for Who’s The Boss and Murphy Brown. He will appear at the TSC as a marquee speaker.

PB: What first drew you to writing for TV?

LA: Money. The thing is,  I have no actual job skills and TV writing turned out to be the one thing  I could do for which people were willing to pay me. Well, the one thing that didn’t involve risking an STD.

PB: With hits like Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory, you make primetime TV look like an easy gig. What’s your secret: working with Chuck Lorre?

LA: It doesn’t hurt.

PB: You must be a prolific writer. How do you manage the workload and executive producer obligations?

LA: It was more daunting when I was doing both Two and a Half Men and the Big Bang Theory simultaneously, but the secret is to have a good assistant who can point you in the direction of the right stage, casting session or editing room throughout the day.

PB: Do you write on your own, or in a team atmosphere?

LA: We gang write. I suppose you’d call that a team atmosphere, but we lack matching shirts and caps.

PB: Do you write with a specific audience in mind?

LA: Yes: English-speaking and dirty-minded.

PB: Do you and Chuck Lorre work on scripts together, or divide the labour?

LA: We divide some of the producing tasks, but all the writing is done en masse.

PB: How important is casting for show concepts and scripts you create?

LA: It’s critical. Great casting can save a mediocre script or concept; a great script or concept can’t overcome a mediocre cast.

PB: Does Emmy attention and critical praise matter to you?

LA: It might – if I ever got either.

PB: What was your best pitch that didn’t make it?

LA: I wanted to do a cop drama with talking police dogs called “NYPD Woof.” Still don’t understand why that one was turned down.

PB: What advice would you give to up-and-coming screenwriters?

LA: Reconsider law school.