Jokers Wild

Comedian Jermaine Fowler takes on costar and TV veteran Judd Hirsch.

- John Russell

JUDD HIRSCH IS a two-time Emmy and Tony winner, not to mention an Oscar nominee, best known for his star-making turn as Alex Rieger on the hit late-1970s sitcom Taxi. But that’s not how comedian Jermaine Fowler remembers the TV vet.

“Taxi? I know Judd Hirsch from Independence  Day!” the 28-year-old Fowler says with a laugh.

The unlikely pair—one a veritable icon, the other a fresh voice in the world of stand-up and television— costar in CBS’s new buddy comedy Superior Donuts. Hirsch, 81, plays Arthur, the owner of an old doughnut shop in a rapidly gentrifying Chicago neighborhood, and Fowler stars as Franco, the millennial employee who pushes Arthur out of his comfort zone.

We asked Fowler to grill his costar about what went into making these Superior Donuts—and their different perspectives on comedy.

FOWLER: I got involved with Superior Donuts because the script was hilarious and I loved the topics they were tackling. Why did you get involved?

HIRSCH: I had nothing else to do! [