Anyone But Me is in its third season. Check out our interview with behind-the-scenes info from the show’s creators.

If The L Word was a show for the masses, Anyone But Me is a show for the people. The show, which chronicles the life of both gay and straight teenagers in suburban New York, is enjoying its third season in large thanks to its fans. We caught up with Tina Cesa Ward and Susan Miller, both the writers and producers behind the show. Read up on what they had to say about the show’s third season.

What’s the process of idea to the final cut? How do you decide who writes which episodes?

Susan Miller: We hang out around my dining room table—our office—or we brainstorm on Skype. The first thing we do is talk about the characters in depth before we arc out their stories. What’s going on with them? What are they dealing with? And, what do we want them to deal with in the upcoming episodes? Our characters and their relationships really dictate the direction of a season. But there are also situations we just want to explore because we think they’ll grab the fans and push the limits of our own creativity. So we take our amazing ensemble into new territory just to challenge them and ourselves. This can also take the form of a new structure—an episode outside everyone’s comfort zone. Like the fantasy sequences that appeared in the first episode of Season Two.

What were the challenges of writing and producing Season 3?

Tina Cesa Ward: Besides the challenges that come every year, you want to make sure you’re telling the best stories you can the best way you can. You also want to explore new avenues of storytelling if you can as well. Also with a third season, you know what exactly it is that really excites your audience and you want to be able to give them those elements but you also want to move the story into new areas. So it’s a balancing act to continue with the stories you’ve developed while creating new ones.

SM: Fulfilling expectations. This is the fan’s season. They made it possible through contributions to our webathon. We wanted to give them something special. I hope we pulled it off.

The response to the series has been positive and the fan base is certainly large and committed. Did you expect Anyone But Me to be such a success?

TCW: I think it’s hard to expect your show will be a success. There are many thoughts on why shows are hits and misses, and a lot of those reasons don’t necessarily have to do with whether the show is great or not. Timing is also a big issue I think. And our timing was pretty good considering South of Nowhere had just ended and The L Word was about to. We were there when there was very little to watch, and delivered a show people really connected to. Plus, I know I still can’t fully comprehend the passion fans have for Anyone But Me. It’s kind of mind-blowing to be a part of the show that means so much to people.

SM: Whoever knows? Tina and I do everything we can to make it a show we’re proud of. We’re totally invested in it. I think that’s what attracts our following. It’s the quality and appeal of our cast, our production, our realistic take on young people, our scripts. Winning the Writers Guild of America Award for Original New Media really brought home the high regard people have for Anyone But Me. It’s something we never could have imagined. Reaching as many people as we have is truly inspiring.