tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley.tonight, a conversation with morgan spurlock. he made his reputation with "super size me." he now takes the concept of personally experiencing a situation to cnn with "inside man." we then pivoted to a conversation with michael mckean, known as part of the christopher guest repertory inns -- in films like "this is spinal tap." he is now in a new play here in los angeles based on one of the most popular television series in the uk. it is called "yes, prime minister." we are glad you have joined us. those conversations are coming

up right now. it is a beautiful day and i cannot stop myself from smiling i know there is no denying it is a beautiful day you won't hear this boy complaining it's a beautiful day ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: morgan spurlock first caught our attention by eating nothing but big mcdonald's meals available at the store for

his film "super size me." he is now placing himself in the middle of situations in a series with cnn. it debuts this sunday, called "inside man." the first episode has him working at a medical marijuana dispensary here in california. let's look at a clip from that episode. >> a lot of seniors thinking it was something only a jazz musician would do. but we have all evolved. the whole country is evolving. will see you tomorrow? >> yeah, i will be here. >> thanks, have a good night. this place is all about the love. that is what i like. no angry people coming in, nobody screaming or yelling. cool, collected. it is nice.

to stand in front of a liquor store for an hour and see who comes in, it is filled with angry people. this is not happy people wandering into a liquor store. very different vibe. tavis: i wonder why you are so happy. >> that is right. tavis: i wonder why. let me ask whether or not the woman in the clip is right. have we evil on this question or is this california? >> i think we, as a nation, have evolved. there are a lot of people that would love to have this in this state. how do you circle away from the federal government and let this be a state issue? tavis: tell me how this project came to be. you are known for putting yourself in the center of these stories. how did that begin? been speaking with

cnn and they want to do original documentary series. i said, what do you think of this? they loved it. we jumped at the chance. anytime you get a chance to do a smart show that gets people to think, those are few and far between in tv. tavis: tell me about the decision to create this style you have of putting yourself at the epicenter of the story. >> i am just a glutton for punishment. what i really enjoy about doing doingand i do enjoy these episodes, it changes the perception over the course of telling these stories. when i experience something or feel something, that is transferred to the audience. there are a lot of great moments that come out of that. tavis: talk to me about specifically a marijuana dispensary. >> wheeled have been met -- as a nation, we have been medicating robins. the people coming in were filling five or six or seven prescription medication. now that they started going to this clinic am a they are off

those medications. soldiers had tremendous ptsd and were drug to the nines. they are now off that medication and can be more functional with the family. it changes the way you look at the impact that this drug can have. tavis: what is your point in doing this series? specifically this episode. is it just to show what happens when people are working inside these marijuana dispensaries or is it about impacting the debate? >> it is much more about the latter. what is this truly about? once you put faces to the issue and take it away from pundits and screaming heads, it changes the way you look at the problem. i talking to real people who are dealing with this on a day by day basis, it changes your own perception. , when give me some sense you said a moment ago that this gives you a chance to be at the ,elm of a smart show

challenging folks to re-examine their assumptions and inventory of ideas, we will come back to why there is not enough smart television in a moment, but give me a sense of some of the issues you hope to tackle on this show. >> the first episode is about medical marijuana. we are dealing with guns. i go work for a gun retailer and sell in a gun shop. we are doing one about migrant farm workers and illegal immigration. end of life issues, where i move in with my 91-year-old ran mother. for me, it is doing things that will get people to look at stuff differently. it is good. , i am your grandmother not sure she wanted you hanging out with her every day with tv cameras. >> when i called her, i said, you like towould have a roommate for a week and

10 days? she goes, come on down. tavis: cameras in tow. with you hanging out with her. but how did other people respond? reasons ione of the love you is because i love mike wallace. he is so good. it people see mike wallace coming and they start running. now michael moore kind of has the same impact. the you reach out to medical marijuana dispensary or some gun shop, what kind of response is it? >> a lot of times, we get no. people say, we do not want you bringing cameras. you call six or seven people and one of them will want you. people realized that what is happening is that the debates we have right now are so one-sided read you argue the -- you are either way over here or way over on this side and there are

a tremendous people in the middle who want to have an educated conversation. tavis: let me ask you two questions about this comment earlier, smart television. i would like to think that that is what we try to do. there are two questions that raises for me. number one, there is a lot of talk these days, i do not want to put you in position as a spokesman for cnn, but there is a lot of talk about how mr. zucker is going to work at cnn and how they will get their ratings up. people are saying, no matter what you do, be true to the cnn brand. msn is spinning this way. fox news is spinning this way. no matter what you do, be true to the brand of the internet. >> when it comes down to what he is doing at the network, there is still plenty of news. part of what you can do is tell longer form, investigative

journalist shows like we are doing. is series that ridley scott doing about capers that have happened over time. there are great stories that live and breathe with news journalism that are not the same type of stuff. what he is doing is saying, how can we grow that brand in a way that is inherent to our brand? recently took a beating in the ratings. them in the behind. fox news one out, even headline news. i am not saying that to bash them. these artifacts. as a result, the president of msnbc has a press conference with the new york times and basically said we got killed because we do not do news so well. that was an astonishing statement, very honest. they do spin.

if that is how you make money, god bless you. if i do not like your spin, i am going to fox news. of msnbcthat the head can say we do not do news too well, we got killed, because there were so many breaking stories and that is why cnn goes to the top, what do you make of the fact that we live in an era where certain heads of cable network said, we took a shellacking? >> this is what sells. opinions sell more than facts and real news. some of theseof breaking stories. fox always has somebody on the ground. these people react. -- abc,ople at cbs, abs nbc, they are always there. what does that say about the state of, the lack of smart television? >> a lot of what has happened

when it comes to these overrun of reality tv, that is where a lot of the networks are pushing their money. a lot of that is not for the people who read books. there is a dumbing down of television that happens. and you have a chance to, raise the narrative or conversation that hopefully this will open the door for more of those things to happen. whenever something like this happens, it is a great thing for television. tavis: tell me why you think can beand of information successful at a network like cnn? you are not brian williams. you are not scott kelly. you are on a news network with a show. how does that work? >> it is

not news. we hope the show opens up to topics that are news, whether it be the drought or bankruptcies or unions in america. those are still real news stories that are not being covered. long point investigative journalist shows have just vanished. ,he front lines like 60 minutes those shows are gone. this can open the dialogue in a way that will benefit the overarching goal of the network. tavis: what is the joy in this opportunity for more? >> you mean it is not fun to just go pick all day with mike farnsworth? it is fun. i enjoy telling the stories. for me, i enjoy that. i enjoy getting people to change their perspective, pushing mike belt in pushing and learning things from a different point of view. it is scary.

tavis: what happens to your documentary work? >> still doing it. we are doing a movie right now. here we are, doing this tv show about immigrant labor and unions and medical marijuana and guns. over here, a film we have coming out about the boy band one direction. i have pretty much cover the gamut of what i should be doing this year. i have this show that is really smart and challenging. i have this movie that will come out on more screens than any film i have made in the history of my career. it is exciting. tavis: you get a chance to do it all and you do it well. morgan spurlock's new show is called "inside man," premiering this sunday on cnn. coming up, a conversation with actor michael mckean. stay with us. tavis: michael mckean has inhabited so many funny

"laverne androm shirley" to "this is spinal tap." he is now working on a series called "yes, prime minister -- anded "family tree" "yes, prime minister." let's take a look at a scene. >> dinner went well, i thought. a loved my speech. >> and they liked the food. they loved your speech, too. i am sure they did. >> do you think he can come up with this loan? >> it is all about personal relationships. trust, confidence, respect. plus, he really liked the good loss. that is a good start. >> remember the world economic forum in. most? that worked because bob gale dorff came out in support of it.

>> we are working on that. and annie lennox and bono. >> did you enjoy dinner? >> i was not there. i was busy with other things. >> pity. you would have enjoyed my speech. i heard the goulash was good. tavis: pleasure to have you here. how are you? >> i am good. thank you. tavis: tell me about "yes, prime minister." >> it is based on a series they created that was on back in the 1980s. i was mr. green and i did not do it. so we are going to work together every 28 years. that is the plan. tavis: this play takes place at the height of thatcher is him. -- thatcher-ism. >> well, the series.

we are happening right now. we are all about the euro, world trade questions, all kinds of backstabbing and makes politics and government so interesting. tavis: what attracts you to a role like this? >> i am a little bit political. i am wise enough to know -- tavis: how little political? knowledge that there are fools on both sides of the aisle and geniuses as well. as my father put it, there are angels and a-holes everywhere and there are no other dividing lines. i am not fervently one way or the other. i have a tendency to be kind of a lefty. it is interesting for me to see this different kind of structure that the brits have. it is a nice, old democracy. it is a very interesting society. jonathan is a very smart man.

he directed the play as well. he is schooling us how it is done and how governance is done in the uk. hence, in europe. a lot of it is about the euro. the world of europe as a market. tavis: since you are just a little bit political, are you political enough to not have an opinion about what is happening in europe? >> a play has a lot of different angles to it. jonathan likes to quote tom i writed when he says, " plays so that i can contradict myself the bank -- myself." , you have an actor to take both sides as well and at least be able to understand things. no bag guy wakes up and says, i am going to be a bad guy. he goes what he is after, just like a good guy. you kind of have to take a

stand. a lot of times, you take the writers stand or the stand of the character the writer has created. tavis: what do you make of some ?" the cast of "downton abbey >> do not tell me about the last two episodes. i still have not seen them. another one dead. tavis: this is nothing new, but it just seems that the pendulum is really swinging of the success. in the uk that we end up in the of the successful stuff in the uk that we end up getting. month there and watched a lot of tv because i had some downtown -- some down time. i had broken my legs a few months before. london is a good walking down.

i was not walking around london like it usually do. i watched a lot of british tv and we really do get the best stuff. there is a lot of junk no matter where you go. you not just run out and buy every property. abbey" is kind of the child of the foresight saga. saga. forsythe that showed on pbs in the early 1970s. it was the same thing. the nominal, serious, about -- serious drama about what people go through. it is just far enough away from they are all speaking english that we can pretty much understand. also, really good acting in both of those. it seems like -- i got kind of put on the english version of "law and order."

mainly because the supporting actors were so phenomenally good. i have never seen her before. she is awesome. it is a really high standard. tavis: going back to "family tree," without giving the play away, what is the take away from this play for an american audience? to point outrtant that they do not need a lot of schooling. it is an actual circumstance and the situation in which this particular prime minister finds himself is just damn funny. not to him. it is the worst night of his life easily. that is what jonathan lynde says, this farce is what happens on the worst day of your life. that is really how it plays. andous and dire and big scary, hopefully. reallyust a really, funny play. i think people take away from an experience

that will have a laugh for 2.5 hours. that is all i care about. tavis: i wonder if that is the antidote to the crisis that we face economically. it has got to be more than just laughter. for those who have not seen "family tree," tell me about that. >> chris o'dowd lays a young man named tom who finds himself with a lot of time on his hands. he also receives a chest all of aunt,es from his late victoria. he uses that as a navigation device to find out more about his family, his father. ever really talked about it much. it is a way of examining families from the outside through the eyes of the person who is examining his own. and it is very funny. chris has put together a lot of the usual maniacs, but a couple of newbies. just amazing. tavis: what is the relationship

that you have with christopher that has kept you guys working together? >> it is mainly a physical relationship. tavis: [laughter] to worke are also able together, which is a really big plus. a couple of 19-year-old guys, just another bb king fan. we were all about guitars in those days. we became really tight friends and have been ever since. he is a remarkable guy and a great talent. it is just awesome. that is our relationship. and he keeps finding ways to use me in films and on tv. i have such a great time doing this, working with chris o'dowd nina, she is a great talent and a lovely girl. how fortunate do you

feel, and this might be an overstatement, so let me go there, how fortunate do you feel to have a sort of use -- , somebodyis business that continues to like your work enough to bring you back? >> i would like to think of myself as chris' muse, if you don't mind. if there is anything special about the relationship, it is that we have that kind of shorthand. i have been working with david on and off since the 1970s, my partner on "vern and shirley." it is just those people that you see for a long time and develop those relationships. tavis: i love these tv land channels and metv, i love the old stuff. when you see "laverne and still laugh?you

>> sometimes. there is one place that shows them and they cut so much out of these shows so they run commercial promos for their other shows. you see me pick up a guitar to start a song and they cut to commercial. chunks of scenes where the rest of it does not make sense because of what they chopped am not an inside tv guy, but how do you cut chunks out of a sitcom? >> because they have no soul. tavis: you may have cut the good lines, the jokes. i saw one episode recently, i cannot watch it anymore, but there was one episode where we saw a punchline for a joke that was not set up. there were two scenes missing and at the end, it was like, we are paying off something that they do not know.

with all the variable things going on in the world, it is not much to complain about. michael mckean, if you are in the l.a. area, he can be seen in "yes, prime minister" at the geffen theater and on hbo, "family tree." good to have you back. good to see you, my friend. that is our show for tonight. as always, keep the faith. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with india arie. she just released her first

album in four years. that is next time. we will see you then. a beautiful day and i cannot stop myself from smiling i know there is no denying it is a beautiful day you won't hear this boy complaining it's a beautiful day ♪ to youry contributions pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. >> be more. pbs. music ♪) pbs.

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