But at the end of season 2, the big headline for Richard was top out.
Youre about to find out, as season 3 ofSilicon Valleydebuts Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO.
ALEC BERG:Richard was fired.
MIKE JUDGE:There you go.
What is his journey this season and does it start with a lot of pride-swallowing?
How would they react?
We talked to a few people whod been in that situation.
Would they give a shot to bring Richard along?
all the engineers would say, Well, theres no company without Richard.
Even the industry experts we talked to disagreed on what would really happen.
[Laughs] So we had free rein.
And ultimately from a story standpoint, the answer was no.
And that standard thing seems to be a CTO position.
Those are two different skills.
So they tend to get split off.
And, yeah, the engineers say, Well, that doesnt make any sense.
They really wouldnt do that anymore.
But yeah, we just went with that.
There are plenty of stories to draw from, companies like Twitter actually, dozens of them.
How would you sum this next section of the roller coaster ride for Pied Piper in season 3?
JUDGE: Theyre on a better roller coaster, but better roller coasters have bigger ups and downs sometimes.
And that all depends on the decisions you make, and if you stick up for yourself or not.
BERG:This show is interesting because its really about outsiders.
So we have a lot of discussions about: How much can we allow them to win?
How much can they progress?
And were like, Well just do a few episodes where theyre the belle of the ball.
And it was really hard to write those shows because theres no comedic premise there.
The trick really is finding new and interesting ways that their journey is complicated.
JUDGE:Living happily ever after, thats maybe when the series is over.
Stephen Tobolowsky plays Acton Jack Barker, an accomplished tech exec who is brought in to run Pied Piper.
What can viewers as well as our Pied Piper guys expect from him?
BERG:Jack may have slightly different priorities than the guys do.
Or do you venture to make the big play?
Those are the decisions that have to be made and argued over.
Would you say things get pretty oppositional and heated between Jack and the guys?
BERG:if you find opposition to be highly entertaining and hilarious, then yes.
Any other new faces this season?
We have horses, robots …
BERG:Bulldogs.
JUDGE:Hes not even joking.
BERG:Its a very animal-heavy season.
JUDGE:Theres a little bit of romance, as much as you could expect in this world.
BERG:Attempts are made to speak to women.
[Laughs] … We shot our first graphic sex scene.
Which scene in season 3 might wind up rivaling those?
Would you point to that one?
BERG:Yeah, certainly upfront.
As far as the first few shows.
As far as graphic, penile-related humor.
What can you say about that moment?
JUDGE:That we will have explicit, graphic sex in the show.
BERG:Richard will be involved in a scene in which there is graphic intercourse.
Technically, its involving Richard and another man.
Youll be tempted to look away, but those who watch every frame will be rewarded.
BERG:Theres a long-standing argument among coders, about formatting, whether they use spaces or tabs.
JUDGE:We deal with that very sensitive issue.
Apparently its a real hot-button issue, so we play with that a little bit in one show.
BERG:The Conjoined Triangles of Success we made up.
JUDGE:The compromise is the shared hypotenuse of the conjoined triangles.
Theres just too many words in each box.
JUDGE:Its confusing.
Theres no reason it needs to be a pyramid.
JUDGE:The Conjoined Triangles makes a little more sense.
How did that come about and did T.J. [Miller] have funkicking that thing?
And we used that, actually.
Because he was just unleashing all his anger on that thing.
But yeah, he broke it a couple times, and we had two of them there, luckily.
[Laughs] But its all good now.
That thing is weird, though.
I know that its all just motors and pistons and solenoids, and yet I feel sorry for it.
And when I kicked it myself, I felt bad kicking it because it moves like a real animal.
JUDGE:And the fact that it doesnt have a head makes it even creepier.
When the guy would turn it toward me, it was a little freaky.
It would make you feel uncomfortable.
Yeah, I hope those things dont take over.
BERG:Yeah, the robopocalypse is going to be even scarier than I imagined.
JUDGE:Theres some mustache technology.
BERG:Yeah, 3-D holographic mustaches.
BERG:One of the things that keeps it interesting is they all prove to be hurtful and helpful.
Laurie is both an ally and a nemesis, depending on which way the wind is blowing.
JUDGE:There are some new thorns too.
And Richards own internal thorn.
BERG:Without giving too much away, at one point, the big nemesis becomes the entire world.
[Laughs]
JUDGE:Youre dealing with something that youre putting out to the public, ultimately.
BERG:Gavin is no more self-aware than he is in seasons 1 and 2.
He continues to think very highly of himself, and his methods.
Ill throw out some names and you throw out a tease.
Erlich [Miller]?
BERG:If Pied Piper succeeds, how big of a role does he play in the company?
Thats his struggle this season.
JUDGE:Hes struggling to be relevant and important and have meaning in the company.
Jared [Zach Woods]?
JUDGE:We reveal some of Jareds backstory this season.
BERG:reckon it’s young Jared is a lot more fed up than we first thought.
And we thought he was pretty fed up.
BERG:Yeah, well, now I think we know hes even more fed up than that.
JUDGE:More of a dark childhood than we thought.
Are there moreGerman night terrors?
JUDGE:No, but there are some other things that might have come from his childhood.
BERG:And there is a chance he might not be sleeping alone every night.
But just for the record hes not involved in the graphic sex scene with Richard.
Dont want to confuse anyone.
Gilfoyle [Martin Starr] and Dinesh [Kumail Nanjiani]?
BERG:He continues to be a man of few words.
Dinesh explores his vanity a little bit.
Dinesh starts to peacock a little bit.
JUDGE:He buys a chain.
And Gilfoyle will never ever let him hear the end of it.
BERG:Dinesh and Gilfoyle struggle a little bit with their loyalty to Richard.
Monica [Amanda Crew]?
BERG:She struggles with that same loyalty issue.
Does she back Laurie or does she fight for Richard against her own boss?
JUDGE:Yeah, and whose vision for the company does she believe in for her future?
Is she going to back Richard or the other visions for what Pied Piper should be?
Big Head [Josh Brener] has been promoted so many times, he could wind up bankrupting Hooli.
How high can this guy rise, and how low can his ambition go?
JUDGE:[Laughs] Well, that we find out, I think.
BERG:He continues on a bit of that trajectory.
At some point, Gavin Belsons biggest rival inside Hooli is the dumbest guy in the company.
