quoting his foul-mouthed father’s observations on Twitter. After @shitmydadsays took off, Halpern turned the Twitter phenomenon into a New York Times best-seller, Sh*t My Dad Says.

Next comes $#*! My Dad Says, the new sitcom he’s producing that stars William Shatner as the proverbial shit-talking Dad. In a Wired.com exclusive, Halpern describes what it’s like working with the Star Trek legend on the show.

By Justin Halpern, guest blogger

LOS ANGELES — I was sitting in my office on the Warner Bros. lot, writing/watching a video someone sent me of a bear racing a monkey on a bicycle, when one of the producers of the show walked in.

“William Shatner just did an impression of you, onstage during rehearsal,” she said. “It was kind of nasal-y and high-pitched,” she added. “So … pretty accurate.”

The last year of my life has been one unbelievable turn of events after another. I went from living at home and writing for Maxim.com, to publishing a book, to writing and producing a television show.

I am, as my father likes to say, “the luckiest of assholes.”

But nothing cemented how ridiculously fortunate I am better than hearing that William Shatner did an impression of me. At any given moment, it’s safe to say that somewhere in the world a stand-up comedian is doing an impression of him.

Shatner has four shows currently on the air and yet he talks about each one with the excitement of an 8-year-old raving to his older brother that the smelly kid in class peed himself that day at school.

His enthusiasm is infectious. It’s a joy to watch him put his spin on a line we’ve written. It’s as if the line enters Shatner, and Shatner’s brain and the line flirt for a few moments before his brain grabs the line and begins to make sweet love to it.

Shortly after, the line has been impregnated. It has a short gestation period until he speaks the line aloud and the live studio audience witnesses the miracle that is the child of the written line and Shatner’s brain, covered in amniotic fluid and waiting to be loved … and applauded.

My father came to the taping of the second episode of the show, and afterward, I asked him what he thought.

“You know,” he said, “I didn’t know what to make of the Shatner beforehand, but fuck me, guy can act.”

“Do you want to talk to him?” I asked.

“No. But make sure he’s happy. Your future depends on it. Don’t forget that shit.”

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$#*! My Dad Says debuts Thursday at 8:30 p.m./7:30 p.m. Central on CBS.

Follow us on Twitter: @hughhart and @theunderwire.

See Also:

• Shit My Dad Says: Twitter Got Me a Sitcom Deal
• Clip: Cranky William Shatner Stars in Twitter-Based Sitcom

Authors: Justin Halpern, guest blogger

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