One thing I am grateful for in today’s television landscape is the availability of smart, adult oriented animation coming across the cable box.  Without the constraints of live action budgets, animation grants creative minds the opportunity to break into the industry with hilarious and irreverent looks at society.  The Life and Times of Tim is one such example.

If you haven’t seen Tim, do yourself a favor and resolve that issue.  Tim is a lovable loser, bouncing from failure to mediocre success and back to failure.  The show is layered with hilarious one liners and situations, like Tim possibly losing his job to a homeless man because he looks better than Tim does with a beard.  It is weird and wonderful.

Blending traditional 2D animation with razor sharp writing, Tim began as a short film with the colorful title, Angry Unpaid Hooker.

 It walked away with Best Animated Short at the Aspen Comedy Arts Festival in 2006, enticing Fox to develop the show only to have what would become The Life and Times of Tim premiering on HBO in 2008.

On June 4th, HBO announced they were canceling Tim after just two seasons, leaving fans confused and angry.  I had the chance to catch up with creator Steve Dildarian this week about the show and where they might be heading.

Real TV Addict:  Tell our readers a little about how your background.

Steve Dildarian:  I grew up in New Jersey, then moved to New York after college to start my advertising career.  Over the years I’ve written commercials for Little Ceasers, Staples, and Budweiser, most notably the Budweiser Lizards commercials, as well as the Superbowl ad where the donkey dreamed of being a Clydesdale.  Somehow that led to me creating an animated short film called Angry Unpaid Hooker, then everything just kind of took off.

RTA:  The Life and Times of Tim is very funny and relatable material.  I know some ideas can float in your head a long time before you get it all out on paper, how long did you work on Tim before it was ready to show the world?

SD:  As an idea it kind of sat there in my notebook for a year or so, then I spent another year tinkering around trying to make the short film.  The whole thing was really just for fun, so it was a slow process turning it into a TV show.  Even I wasn’t sure how to do it, I kept debating whether the show should be about the guy or the prostitute.

RTA:  Some might describe the animation as crude, but for me it seems to lend itself to the tone of the show, not unlike an Aqua Teen or South Park.  What led to your choice of animation style?

SD:  It wasn’t a choice really, it was the best we could do. I was trying to make it look great, to be honest.

RTA:  When and how did HBO let you know they were passing on future seasons?

SD:  They called about four episodes into the second season. It was a pretty big surprise because the reviews were so positive and we were finally starting to feel some momentum.

RTA:  Tim was HBO’s first foray into animation in almost a decade, do you think they understood what you were going for and how to market that to its audience?

SD:  They very much understood the show, more than any network we had pitched it to. While most networks were telling me how they’d want to change it, HBO said don’t touch a thing, the short films are great how they are, so just keep making them.

RTA:  Do you think HBO was the right place for Tim, or could it be a blessing to move off a premium pay channel to somewhere like Comedy Central where the audience would likely be much larger?

SD:  To launch the show I think HBO was the perfect place, and I really appreciate the opportunity I was given there. The creative freedom they give you and the patience they have is rare in television.  Moving forward though, I think there might be a network that’s a better fit, where we can play a more prominent role in their line-up.

RTA:  What’s your pitch to a new network?  Are you searching for the chance to do one season and prove yourself all over again, or are you selling the show and yourself as a creative force with five, six, even more seasons in your arsenal?

SD:  Anyone that buys the show now needs to believe in it for the long haul, and assume it was just the victim of under-promotion. In early talks, the overall vibe is that we’d essentially be re-launching the show and exposing it to a new and bigger audience.

RTA:  Are there any roadblocks in place making a new deal problematic (DVD rights etc.)?

SD:  There aren’t any roadblocks really, but as the show keeps getting passed around (Fox, HBO, the next place?) more and more people own a piece of it, so it’s tricky to stay profitable.

RTA:  Besides networks, what other options would you consider for Tim and the gang?  Would you ever take the show online or is that the wrong direction at this point?

SD:  With a different project I’d love to do a web series, but with Tim there wouldn’t be enough production money to produce it the same way.  The last thing I want to do is continue the show but have people feel like it’s changed, or is lesser in any way.

RTA:  What’s the fan response to the cancellation been like?  Are Facebook groups and Twitter armies rising in your name?

SD:  Right now we have a small but very vocal army.  There’s a Facebook page called SAVE THE LIFE & TIMES OF TIM, where you can see their responses.  Everything from sad to angry to hopeful to violent.  I love reading the posts, and responding when I can.

RTA:  I think the fans want to know, as we speak today, how confidant are you a deal to keep Tim on the air is possible?

SD:  In one form or another I’m pretty sure we’ll keep making Tim.  There’s even talk of a movie now, which could be interesting.

RTA:  On a positive note, one of the great aspects of an animated series is getting amazing guest voice actors and Tim is no exception.  You’ve had the likes of Daniel Tosh, Aziz Ansari, and the great Bob Saget.  Who are some of the people still left on your wish list when you find a new home?

SD:  Oh man, there are so many but I’d have to put Larry David at the top of the list.  If that ever happened, I’d be happy to end the show right there and quit while I was ahead.