The Fake News with Ted Nelms, starring and executive produced by Ed Helms, is a ridiculous, made-up news show that resembles actual news, but is instead a constant stream of jokes delivered with such an extreme deadpan that it will be hard not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. The hour-long Comedy Central satirical news special directed at the current political climate marks Helms’ return to the network, nearly a decade after his run on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ended.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor Ed Helms talked about how this special was one of the most fun things he’s ever worked on, how he ended up back at Comedy Central, what he learned from his time on The Daily Show, why he wants to reclaim “fake news” for what it really is, why he made the decision to play a character on the special, and how he gauges the comedy and whether it’s working. He also talked about his experience making Father Figures and why it’s a dream come true project, as well as what his time on the hit TV series The Office means to him.

Collider:  I’ve seen some clips from the special and this seems like it must have been so much fun to do!

ED HELMS:  This was one of the most fun things that I’ve ever worked on, for sure!

How did this special come about? Did Comedy Central come to you about doing something with them, or was this something you had the idea for and then had to find a home for it?

HELMS:  It was the latter. I was looking for something to scratch my political itch, and this idea came up awhile ago. I started bouncing it around with my producing partner and my agents, and then it just gelled. Suddenly, The Fake News with Ted Helms just pulled it all together. The next question was, “Where do we take it?,” and it was a no-brainer for me. Comedy Central has been such a great partner. It’s where I got my start. I love what they do and thought it would be a great home. Fortunately, they agreed.

How does it feel to return, after all the work you’ve done, in the time since you last worked with them?

HELMS:  I don’t know. I don’t feel like a totally different person. If anything, it’s just a really fun reconnection to a really exciting time in my life. Working on The Daily Show was just one of the most thrilling and eye-opening first jobs that anyone could ever hope for. It taught me so much about everything, including how I conduct myself, in everything that I’ve done since. Jon Stewart was always such a hard worker and he was a real task-masker as a boss, but in a great way. It taught me how to search for the best joke possible and not to settle for anything less. So, it’s a reconnection to a really wonderful time. It’s a little bit nostalgic for me, actually.

When did you first hear the phrase “fake news” and what was your reaction to that phrase?

HELMS:  I don’t know when I first heard it. I feel like The Daily Show used to use it in promos, going back a decade or more. I know Norm MacDonald used to use it on Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. In the beginning, it was an ironic or comedic term. Only since the emergence of the internet has it become a very real and oftentimes very scary term because there is some very real fake news out there, that is not ironic, but is trying to pass off as real news. What’s even scarier than that is when real news is accused of being fake news, which is also happening a lot. It’s happening on both sides, and everybody is doing it. We just saw an opportunity to reclaim the absurdity of fake news. Fake news is made up news. You can’t call news that you don’t like or disagree with fake news, just because you don’t like it. Calling the show Fake News felt like a fun way to reclaim the very literal meaning of the term. It’s getting murky, and that’s not a good thing.

Who is Ted Nelms, in comparison to Ed Helms, and why did you want to create a separate persona for this?

HELMS:  It’s a great question. On The Daily Show, we used our real names. Stephen Colbert used his real name on The Colbert Report. I always felt that that created a little bit of cognitive dissonance with an audience, since I’ve been in lots of movies and I have a public persona. You’re getting at the heart of what sets us apart from so much of the news satire that’s out there. For all of my friends, who also happen to be my comedic heroes, like John Oliver, Sam Bee, Seth Meyers, Colbert, Trevor Noah and Weekend Update, are doing incredible work, but they’re commenting on the news as themselves. They’re telling jokes as themselves. That’s not what we’re doing. We’re actually creating a totally fictional news broadcast, in a fictional world. Me, as a real person to be in that world, felt incongruous and confusing. So, to use the name Ted Nelms was a fun nod to who I am, but also allowed me to be a character that’s outside of myself. Then, I don’t have to react to things, in the world of the show, the way Ed Helms would. I can be a totally absurd, made up character. It just made the whole thing feel a lot more silly and it made me feel a lot more free, as a performer.

When you’re doing something that you clearly want to be a bit ridiculous, what’s your gauge? How do you decide whether you’ve gone too far? Is it instinct, or do you rely on the opinions of other people?

HELMS:  It’s a lot of both. I have very strong instincts and very strong opinions for how jokes should be written and how they should be performed. I’m also not always right. Sometimes that’s glaringly obvious to me, and sometimes it’s a fight with some of my really trusted comedy friends and/or writers and staffers on the show. I’m not arrogant enough to force my way, every time. I know there are certain things that I find super funny that other people that I admire don’t find funny, at all. It’s worth trying to mix it up a little bit. We have such an incredible staff on this show, with some of the greatest comedy writers that I know, so I would be a fool not to be as collaborative as possible.

Did you spend a lot of time watching real news shows or studying specific anchors to get inspiration for this, or did you try not to jump too far down that rabbit hole?

HELMS:  We tried to watch as many sources as we could, just to get more of an overall feel for what’s happening rather than any specific person, show or network. It’s so funny how people look at NBC and Fox News or even CNN as just being on these polar extremes. They all have so much more in common than they have different, in how they sensationalize things and how they present things. When I was on The Daily Show, my boss at the time, Jon Stewart, went on a show on CNN called Crossfire, and he said, “Your show is hurting America.” I don’t know that it was because of Jon, but CNN looked inward and it was a moment of clarity for them, where they canceled that show. They said, “This is not helpful. This is not a good way to deliver information.” Now, you can turn on any cable news network, at any time of the day, and it’s a version of Crossfire. That’s a dramatic shift, and it happened very gradually. I feel like nobody noticed, but every single show is Crossfire now, and that’s bizarre. So, all of the cable news networks have more in common than they have different. That’s what makes them all fun targets for us.  We just wanted to inject a little bit of silliness and joy, hold up a mirror and chuckle a little bit, and think a little bit about the role that we’re playing as consumers.

You also have Father Figures coming out on December 22nd. Could you ever have imagined a world where you and Owen Wilson would be playing the sons of someone like Glenn Close?

HELMS:  No, absolutely not! I’ve been such a fan of Owen’s, ever since Bottle Rocket, and I’d never met him. So, walking on set with Owen, right at first, I was a little starstruck, and with Glen, too. They’re both such warm, hilarious people that we found a really fun vibe together. There’s certainly a dream come true element to a project like that. We had a ridiculous amount of fun, and we got to shoot it in my hometown of Atlanta. It’s not always fun. Movies are incredibly demanding and there are days where you feel like you’re just in the trenches trying to get through something. Every project has fun days, but it’s a job. But then, a project comes along where you’re just so thrilled to go to set, every day, and laugh with these people that you really like and really admire and who inspire you, creatively. That was certainly the case on Father Figures, and the movie is all the better for it. It’s an outrageously funny movie, but it’s also strikingly warm and affectionate. I’m really happy to be putting some positive energy into the world. I think it’s just perfectly positioned for the holidays, as a reminder that families can be tough, but they’re worth it.

Looking back on your time on The Office, what did you think of what you got to do on that show, with all of the wild character swings that ranged from sweet and supportive to angry, childish and self-indulgent?

HELMS:  It’s hard to overstate how fondly I look back on The Office. Andy was just such a fun character to play. He was outrageous at times, but his heart was always in the right place and he was always trying to be a better person. And the writers just seemed to really have fun with Andy, in a way that felt like a fun feedback loop. I’d give Andy some weird trait on set, and then the writers would take that and run with it. And then, I’d take that and run with it, in some way. It was such a fun universe to play in. And then, of course, it was the greatest cast you could ever hope for. They were the funniest, warmest, kindest people. I feel like the luckiest person, ever.

The Fake News with Ted Nelms airs on Comedy Central on December 13th.

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Image via Comedy Central