One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s 30th William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television’s creative community. This PALEYFEST 2013 seminar honors “2 Broke Girls,” the comedy series about an acerbic Brooklynite and an Upper East Side socialite who try to fund their cupcake-shop dreams by waitressing at a diner.

Host Betsy Scolnik (vice-president, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks before acknowledging William C. Paley, son of the festival’s namesake, in the audience. Scolnik then welcomes moderator Christina McLarty (correspondent, “The Insider”) to the stage. McLarty introduces executive producer/creator Michael Patrick King, who sets up the episode “And the Temporary Distraction,” which is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 110645.)

After the screening, McLarty moderates the following panelists: King; and cast members Kat Dennings (Max Black), Beth Behrs (Caroline Channing), Jennifer Coolidge (Sophie Kachinsky), Garrett Morris (Earl), Jonathan Kite (Oleg), and Matthew Moy (Han Lee).

The panelists discuss topics which include: the cast’s worst jobs in real life, including child actor Dennings’ role in an embarrassing commercial; the unflagging memorization skills of Behrs and Dennings; the ongoing “conversation” provided by the live studio audience; a memorable scene in the episode “And the Broken Hip” with guest star Andy Dick; CBS president Nina Tassler’s appreciation of the show’s “high-lowbrow humor”; whether the actors are similar to their characters in real life; Coolidge’s inspiration for Sophie’s accent; Kite’s creation of his unique costume; Morris reflecting on being part of the original “Saturday Night Live” cast; Behrs’ longtime love of “Sex and the City,” executive produced by King; Dennings’ first role, playing a promiscuous teen on “Sex” in the episode “Hot Child in the City”; King’s desire to write female characters that are not “entitled”; Dennings’ genuine “outsider” role in the 2008 film “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”; the importance of the characters experiencing a “big fail” in their financial dreams; the “revolving door” of romances for Max and Caroline; Dennings’ apprehension of performing in front of an audience; the symbolic meanings of the girls’ beloved cupcakes; and their vintage waitressing uniforms.

Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics among others: cast members’ most embarrassing bawdy punchlines; the Super Bowl ad which featured the entire cast; changing jokes at the last minute based on the audience’s reaction; censored lines of dialogue; Max’s trademark dark lipstick; inspiration from the writers’ various experiences with minimum-wage jobs; the decision to introduce Max’s bizarre family solely through her descriptions; the actors’ lack of improvisation on set; the character of Chestnut, played by Rocky the horse, and the actors’ familiarity with his quirks; and the cast’s dream jobs if they weren’t actors.