‘Brockmire’: Did Hank Azaria Ad-Lib A Lot On His New IFC Comedy Series?

Although Hank Azaria got to ad-lib on his new IFC comedy series, “Brockmire,” the actor revealed that most of the funny lines he delivered on the show were written by executive producer Joel Church-Cooper.

“Probably more than 90 percent was scripted by Joel Church-Cooper,” Azaria told Parade when asked how much of his lines as old-school sportscaster Jim Brockmire was improvised. “I created this character a long time ago. I wrote the [‘Funny or Die’] short [which inspired the series] with some friends of mine. [But] Joel’s taken over writing the character a few years ago and has done an unbelievable job. I couldn’t come close — certainly from a narrative and a character development and dialogue point of view, even what comes out of the guy’s mouth making jokes as Brockmire — Joel’s the real deal.”

READ: Hank Azaria sues Craig Bierko over Jim Brockmire voice

Azaria also gushed about Church-Cooper in a previous interview with Yahoo TV. “Joel Cooper very much has his finger on the pulse,” the actor said after the website pointed out the shockingly relevant and timely moments on the show. “Not only does he have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of baseball and sports, but he’s a guy who is completely well-versed in the ways of the Internet, and kind of saw these trends coming probably a beat or two before the rest of us did, I would say.”

Although it’s undeniable that Church-Cooper has made a huge contribution in making Jim Brockmire an interesting character, Azaria stressed that the show is a team effort.

“I’m really, really happy with how this turned out,” Azaria said of “Brockmire.” “[And] that’s thanks to Joel Church-Cooper especially, the writer, and our director, Tim Kirkby, as well, not to mention we were smart to cast it the way we did in a bunch of places, where we got actors who really kind of brought a little something more to it than was necessarily on the page.”

In addition to Azaria, Amanda Peet and Tyrel Jackson Williams also star on the show.

“Brockmire” Season 1, episode 3, titled “Kangaroo Court,” airs on Wednesday, April 12 at 10 p.m. EST on IFC. Check out the synopsis for the episode below:

“The players hold a kangaroo court that turns intense; Charles (Williams) tries to figure out why Brockmire thinks he is gay.”