Gaffigan Will Get You Laughin' Again

For Indiana native Jim Gaffigan, the star of the new CBS sitcom Welcome To New York, living in New York is a dream come true.

"I remember when I was eight years old, just looking around and thinking that there had been an enormous mistake," said Garrigan. "I was incredibly bored where I grew up, and the New York that I saw on TV was a city absent of boredom."

Now the 33-year-old Gaffigan has a show called Welcome to New York in which he plays a TV weatherman for a local morning show. It's been said that the show is loosely based on David Letterman's early career as a weatherman from Indiana.

Garrigan asked CBS News Entertainment Correspondent and weatherman Mark McEwan if he had any tips about playing a weatherman.

McEwan warned Gaffigan that, "They blame you for everything. Do they blame Dan Rather for unrest in the world? No. Do they blame you for the rain on their mother's parade in Pasadena? Yes."

Gaffigan stoically promised to live up to this kind of pressure, adding that doing the weather with McEwan was "kind of like playing guitar with like, Keith Richards."

When Welcome To New York premiered on Wednesday, October 11, The New York Times praised his "engaging demeanor" and the series' "sharp writing."

Gaffigan admitted that he'd be "thrilled to be on any show" but he's "flattered to be on such a smart show."

He says he's not intimidated that Welcome To New York is on at the same time as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

"People will win $3 million on our show," he joked.

A successful stand-up comic, Gaffigan has also appeared in the movie Three Kings, as well as the TV shows Law & Order, The Late Show With David Letterman, and Comedy Central's Dr. Katz.

Being on The Late Show was particularly beneficial to Gaffigan.

"After my first appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Mr. Letterman and Rob Burnett asked to meet with me. Before I knew it, they had signed me up for a television development deal and a year-and-a-half later, here I am with my very own sitcom."

Gaffigan recently finished shooting the feature film No Sleep Til Madison, in which he plays the lead role.

He's lived in New York for 10 years now, and says the city continues to amaze him.

"I'd go out to Sheepshead Bay [in Queens] and people would look at me like I was from Sweden. They were used to Andrew Dice Clay," says Gaffigan.

"There are no set of laws to living here and it really is just full of weird New Yorkers."