 He is a Buddhist.At one point he leaves the show to develop a pilot for the network about a band from Seattle only to have his writing criticized by the network executives and by the future star of the show, Dave Chappelle, who says that Phil shouldn't be writing a "black show" even though it was never Phil's intention to write one.Wendy Traston, played by Sarah Silverman, "(seasons 5–6)" is brought on as a staff writer in the episode "The New Writer".