Daily Inspiration Quote by Bob Odenkirk

Odenkirk’s line lands with the casual modesty of someone who helped build the house and is still half-surprised people are paying admission. “It’s nice” is doing heavy lifting: a deliberately under-sold reaction that hints at how recently “independent” meant marginal, precarious, or politely ignored. He’s not throwing confetti; he’s noting a cultural shift with the dry, workmanlike tone of a performer who remembers when the alt lane was a dead end.

The phrase “taken seriously” points to more than awards or prestige. It’s about legitimacy: who gets reviewed, funded, staffed, and invited into the broader conversation. For a comedy lifer who came up through sketch and writer’s rooms, seriousness isn’t just respectability; it’s oxygen. It means the weird stuff can survive long enough to become influential, and the people making it don’t have to treat their ambitions like a guilty pleasure.

Then he adds the quiet kicker: “and has been.” That tag resists the usual narrative that indie credibility is a new corporate discovery, minted the moment streaming platforms started mining Sundance. Odenkirk is crediting a longer timeline - decades of small venues, shoestring shoots, and DIY comedy ecosystems that were always “serious” to the people inside them, even if the mainstream only noticed later.

The subtext is both gratitude and a sideways warning. When the independent scene gets taken seriously, it also gets managed, branded, and absorbed. Odenkirk’s breezy phrasing keeps the compliment intact while leaving room for skepticism: recognition is great, but it can come with a price tag and a gatekeeper.