A quick photo op on the set of The Crazy Ones.

This past Thursday, I had an experience I never expected to have. I discovered that The Crazy Ones was filming in my hometown at a location I know very well, and I visited the set. It was incredible, and I was lucky enough to meet some really amazing people.

I found myself at the location (which will not be disclosed to protect the cast and crew to use it again in the future if they so choose) while the main cast was still on their lunch break. My sister had been there already with a friend of hers, so I joined them and we chatted and watched the crew work to prep for the next scene they’d be shooting. During that time, a few crew members came over to say hi, so we chatted with them, and I casually mentioned that I love the show, I’m a television major in college, and that I review the show and am eagerly awaiting the news that The Crazy Ones was picked up for a full season. The crew members were very happy to see such enthusiastic fans of the show and echoed our sentiments about a full season pick up.

Around this time, the cast started returning from lunch, so my sister, her friend, and I watched them arrive and directly prepare to get back to work. Robin Williams arrived first, and my sister’s friend became very excited, as she’s a huge fan of his. He gave us a smile as he headed to the set. Next, Sarah arrived with a couple of others. I have met her make up artist before due to a mutual friend, so I called his name and waved at him. He smiled and waved back. I didn’t notice when James Wolk came back, but I soon saw him on set as well.

Another shot from the set of The Crazy Ones.

Very quickly, scenes from the eighth episode of The Crazy Ones were being set up and shot. My little group stayed out of the way to prevent causing any issues for the crew as they worked to be as efficient as possible. However, while scenes are being shot, not everyone is working. A couple of actors who were only there for the episode came over to say hi to us, so we chatted with them, keeping our voices low so they didn’t carry to the boom mics picking up dialogue for the episode. One of the people who came over asked if we were fans of the show, and I once again explained that I’m a fan of the show and write the reviews for it on Whedonopolis and that I grew up watching Robin and Sarah in their various endeavors. I asked him what it was like working with them, and how much Robin improvised his lines. He said that Robin improvs about 20% of his lines, but always starts out with what’s in the script, and as there are writers on set at all times, when they like one of Robin’s lines better than theirs, they tell him to keep it. In regards to Sarah, he said that she’s a pleasure to work with and always comes in saying ‘hello’ and ‘good morning’ to everyone. After that, our conversation continued until another crew person came over to ask us to move a little so we weren’t in the shot. We complied and moved out of the way.

The filming continued, and my little group was joined by one other. Together, we watched what little we could see shooting and continued to stay out of the way. About three hours after I’d arrived at the set, Robin and Sarah were released for the day to go home. Robin came over first, said hi, and chatted with us briefly. My sister is a huge fan of his, so she took a photo with him, as did her friend and the third member of our group. I was perfectly content with the handshake and conversation I enjoyed with Robin. However, my sister’s friend had her Hook DVD with her, and with trembling hands, asked Robin to sign it. He did so, and she was thrilled.

After that, Sarah walked straight out, and was guided towards us very quickly. I called out a hello, and she responded by saying hello back and apologizing for not noticing us immediately. She and I had a short discussion about how much I admire her, and then I asked for a picture. As you can see from the photo at the beginning of the article, Sarah indulged me. Being shorter than Sarah by a few inches, I commented that she made me feel tall, and I heard a few snickers from behind us by her coworkers. Then, right before she left, I realized that I had my Buffy box set in my bag (in preparation for an event that will be posted in an upcoming article), so I asked Sarah to sign it. She did, then said goodbye and headed off.

Sarah Michelle Gellar signed my prized Buffy box set.

A couple of minutes after Sarah left, James Wolk walked near us, but hesitated and didn’t come all the way over. Instead, he waited until my sister called his name, then came over to say hi to everyone. I once again introduced myself and told him how much I enjoy his work on The Crazy Ones and that he plays a really fun character to watch. He thanked me, then posed with me for the second photo above. James was really sweet and very playful as he posed with my sister and her friends as well. Then he went back to work, and another crew member came back to talk with us again. He thanked us for being out of the way and for being so patient while they worked. Shortly after that, my sister, her friends, and I headed to our respective vehicles to leave and continue our days.

I’ve been on many television and film sets due to where I live, and this is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The cast and crew of The Crazy Ones are hard working, kind, and very respectful of fans so long as they respect the rules of being on set. If you’re lucky enough to have an experience of your own, remember to keep quiet and out of the way so that the set isn’t interrupted by your presence.

If you have any questions about what I experienced on the set of The Crazy Ones, please feel free to ask in the comments. If you want to leave a general comment, that’s cool too.