The real in the unreal of Gravity Falls

TV: Interview: Comedy Showrunners Week: Alex Hirsch on the real in the unreal of Gravity Falls

Comedy is a more important part of the television landscape than ever before, thanks in part to a generation of highly visible creators, writers, and executive producers who balance the work of maintaining a show's artistic vision while also overseeing its day-to-day operations. In anticipation of the new fall TV season, The A.V. Club spoke to a handful of the people who've made the industry term "showrunner" a household word. Today, we talk to Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls. 

After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in 2007, Alex Hirsch found work as a writer and storyboard artist on Cartoon Network's The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack, before jumping to Disney Channel to help develop Fish Hooks. However, it's Hirsch's first animated effort as a creator, Gravity Falls, that has turned the most heads: The supernatural comedy, which debuted this summer, quickly ...

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