This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

PBS' "America in Primetime" is absolute must-see TV for anyone interested in the creative process.

Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore talk about "The Dick Van Dyke Show." David Chase talks about "The Sopranos." Diane English and Candice Bergen talk about "Murphy Brown." Alan Ball talks about "Six Feet Under" and "True Blood." Alan Alda talks about "M*A*S*H." David Lynch talks about "Twin Peaks." Mike Judge talks about "Beavis & Butt-head."

And they — along with dozens of other writers, actors, producers and network executive producers — all talk about each other's shows. It's absolutely fascinating.

Roseanne Barr talks about how she brought her real-life experience to "Roseanne." Judd Apatow talks about how the questionnaire he gave to the "Freaks & Geeks" writers about their worst high-school experiences became the show. English talks about how network execs wanted Murphy Brown to be 30 and just back from a spa, not 40 and just out of rehab.

But "America in Primetime" isn't a history of television. "That wasn't our goal," insisted executive producer Tom Yellin. " 'America in Primetime' is an attempt to explore the creative process that great artists who work in the prime-time, scripted entertainment medium go through."

It's as close as you can get to understanding the magic that's behind a hit TV show.

Each of the four hourlong episodes looks at TV through the prism of its own history. Episodes about male archetypes, female archetypes, misfits and heroes contain a through-line in which later series are built upon the work done by earlier series.

"We all stand on the shoulders of everything that came before us," said "Everybody Loves Raymond" creator/executive producer Phil Rosenthal.

That is, TV producers, writers and actors reveal their inspirations. "One of the things these guys can talk about very powerfully is the shows that have inspired them and that they rely on as they think about how to create the shows they're working on today, both as actors and as writer/creators," Yellin said.

"America in Primetime" suggests that popular television reflects popular culture, it doesn't necessarily lead it.

"We worked really, really hard not to make this series into an exercise in sort of didactic social history in which the clips and the TV shows are meant to affirm the evolution of the culture because we don't see the process as working that way," Yellin said. "We see it actually working the opposite, in which people's real lives, their authentic experience, informs what they bring to the dramas and comedies that they put on television."

It's fascinating stuff. This is a show for people who love TV. It analyzes the medium but doesn't over-analyze it.

"We get so cynical in television sometimes," says "Nurse Jackie" creator/executive producer Linda Wallem, "so to actually [say], 'Hey, I'm proud of being in television and watching it' " is great.

"America In Primetime" isn't exactly what you might expect from PBS. It's fast-paced, and, while there are plenty of talking heads, there are tons of amazing clips. "I was thinking 'PBS — OK,' " said Liz Brixius, executive producer and co-creator with Wallem of "Nurse Jackie." "It will be cool. It will probably be dry. It will certainly be intelligent. We'll be nicely represented in a brainy kind of way. And then I watched it, and it was glossy and smart and heartbreaking at times."

Wallem added: "It's a beautiful valentine to television."

spierce@sltrib.comTwitter: @ScottDPierceFacebook.com/nowsaltlake —

Behind the TV screens

"America in Primetime" airs on Sundays at 7 p.m. on KUED-Ch. 7.

Independent Woman • (Nov. 6) reveals how women have transformed from model housewives to complex, and sometimes controversial, characters.

The Misfit • (Nov. 13) celebrates the unique characters who defied comic stereotypes and societal expectations to reflect America's diverse personalities.

The Crusader • (Nov. 20) delves into the increasingly gray area between right and wrong as television heroes confront internal demons while seeking their own forms of justice.