On today's show:

How to make a network sitcom that makes you think

(Starts at 7:43)

Baked into the premise of the NBC series, "The Good Place," is a discussion around ethical behavior. It's a rare comedy that balances laughs with a meaningful exploration that feels particularly timely. Audiences find themselves watching the show in part for the laughs – after all, the cast is hilarious and the writing is spot-on – but also to see people grapple with what we're all grappling with on some level: how to be a better person. John Horn travels to the Universal lot to talk with "The Good Place" creator Michael Schur and one of the show's key writers, Jen Statsky, about the ways that the cast and crew take their own ethics and philosophy research and turn it into a hit show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaynKNZAKkc

Can trans TV characters teach audiences what it means to be trans?

(Starts at :45)

As the Trump Administration reportedly considers rolling back civil rights protections for trans people, we revisit The Frame's 2017 roundtable discussion on transgender representation on television. "The Fosters" co-creator Peter Paige participated in the discussion along with "Transparent" writer and producer Zackary Drucker and actor Brian Michael Smith, who plays Toine, a trans cop, on the OWN network series, "Queen Sugar."