Judd Apatow on new Netflix series ‘Love’

PASADENA, Calif. – Judd Apatow thinks love is funny.

The prolific writer/director/producer is one of the creators of “Love,” a modern and unblinking look at dating that premieres Friday on Netflix.

“I think people want to see characters struggle to find happiness,” Apatow told reporters at the recent winter TV press tour in Pasadena, Calif. “We all feel that way; that it’s a bumpy road and we’re trying to figure ourselves out.”

“Love” stars Gillian Jacobs (“Community”) opposite series co-creator Paul Rust.

“I’ve been a big fan of hers for a long time,” says Apatow. “Women who are amazing actresses who can play drama and comedy are rare.”

They’re also in big demand, he adds.

“I was tracking her ‘Community’ contract very carefully!”

Apatow has had good luck lately with funny women. This decade alone, he’s helped spin hits for Amy Schumer (“Trainwreck”), Kristen Wiig (“Bridesmaids”) and Lena Dunham (“Girls”).

He wasn’t surprised — although he was disappointed — when Schumer did not pick up an Oscar nomination this year for her performance in “Trainwreck.”

“For some reason comedies never get much attention at the Oscars,” says Apatow. He thinks it’s because “when comedies work well they seem effortless. Nobody’s wearing a big costume from the 1700s or getting attacked by wild animals.”

He doesn’t feel bad for Schumer. “She’s been recognized a lot this year. She won a Peabody, she won an Emmy.”

Apatow is surrounded by funny ladies at home. His wife, Leslie Mann, has been in several of his films, including “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “This Is 40.” Their teenage daughters, Maude and Iris, played the couple’s children in “This Is 40” and Maude has also appeared on “Girls.”

“They’re hilarious and I’m very proud of them,” says Apatow, who nonetheless says he wants them to take things slow “and have a normal childhood.”

The 48-year-old has always had an eye for talent, going back to the first series he executive produced, the high school comedy “Freaks and Geeks.” That one-year-wonder, launched in 1999, featured a young cast of future stars, including Canadian Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps and Linda Cardellini. “SCTV” veteran Joe Flaherty played a dad.

“We knew it at the time,” says Apatow of the cast’s potential. “That’s why it was so heartbreaking” when the series was cancelled. ABC pulled it off the air after 12 episodes.

Apatow’s second try at a network series was “Undeclared” (2001-02). The college comedy again featured Rogen, who also contributed as a writer, as well as fellow Canadian Jay Baruchel (“Man Seeking Women”). It lasted 17 episodes.

He went on to create a couple of failed network pilots, including one called “Julie,” which starred Rogen, Segel and Kevin Hart.

“ABC couldn’t turn it down fast enough,” says Apatow. “As we were making it we already knew they had lost interest in single-camera television.”

Apatow has been amazed to see Rogen, Baruchel, Franco and Segel all grow as actors, producers, writers and directors. “I’m very proud of everybody,” he says.

As for his own TV projects, he’ll take them to HBO and Netflix first. He says he would “never take anything to the networks” again.

First, he says, “the pressure they’re under to get viewers is impossible for my style to navigate. I’ve just never been able to do it.”

Then there’s the change in executives during the development of a show. Suddenly, says Apatow, “I’m with some new guy who doesn’t really like what I do and that’s the next year of my life.”

He likes the elastic storytelling at HBO and Netflix, where episodes can run long or short within reasonable limits.

His next project for Netflix is “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” coming March 18.

Apatow and Paul Reubens have been trying to restart the Pee-wee franchise for years.

“I always wanted more Pee-wee Herman movies and TV shows so I’m very excited to see the film,” he says. Recognizing this was a world Reubens invented, Apatow did his best to curb his own notes and help him in any way he could. Making the film, he adds, “was a dream come true.”

— Bill Brioux is a freelance TV columnist based in Brampton, Ont.