The ABC sitcom Better Off Ted is funny due in large part to the bromance between scientists Lem and Phil. Drones in thankless jobs at a fictional corporation called Veridian Dynamics, the two men, played by actors Malcolm Barrett and Jonathan Slavin respectively, are a part of one of the most perfectly yoked, non-sexual couplings on television.

When the show returns for a second season on Tuesday, Lem and Phil will once again battle unforeseeable forces in the world around them. This time, the enemy is the company's employee matchmaker test.

"The storylines are usually Lem and Phil against you name it," says Slavin, formerly of Andy Richter Controls the Universe fame, "and how they get through it with absolutely no coping skills."
"And no social skills," chimes in Barrett, who finishes Slavin's sentences when Slavin isn't returning the favor.

A couple of comedic misfits, it's easy to see why Lem and Phil are so enjoyable to watch. The men who play them are, too. Like the human versions of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie or Lenny and Carl from The Simpsons, Lem and Phil (and Barrett and Slavin) are all perfect for each other.

The latter became abundantly clear when Barrett and Slavin sat down and talked to The Detroit News about the comedy during a recent set visit at the Los Angeles Center Studios. This is the same studio where AMC's Madison Avenue drama Mad Men shoots, but the two series could not be more different.

"The dialogue is funny, the situations are really funny and the actors are fantastic," says Portia de Rossi, who plays Lem and Phil's overbearing boss Veronica. Their other boss is Ted (Jay Harrington), the show's namesake. "And their timing is fantastic."

When asked how they established such great timing, Barrett and Slavin say they don't know. "We just get along," says Slavin. "I mean I genuinely enjoy his company and so it's easy to do. I don't know how they cast us. I guess they just lucked out. We had never worked together before." Barrett says their pairing also has been a success because he and Slavin recognize themselves in their characters.

"We came here knowing that our characters are very insecure and the only way they're able to survive in life is through the other person," says Barrett, a improvisational comedian who, before joining the cast of Better Off Ted, enjoyed guest spots on My Name is Earl and Monk. "I think we know how to be outcasts," Barrett says. "Because we're unorthodox, it's really easy for us to play these types of characters. In real life, we're more confident."

In real life, Slavin has had to battle prejudice because he is gay. Barrett, who grew up in New York, battled racial insensitivity as one of a few African-American students at the predominately white Stuyvesant High School. To make matters more challenging, both men are self-professed nerds.

But where Lem and Phil only have science and each other, Barrett and Slavin have their senses of humor, acting careers and families. Like his character Phil, Slavin is married. This season, viewers will meet Lem's mom/roommate, played by Khandi Alexander (CSI Miami and NewsRadio), but we will probably never meet Phil's wife.

"It's like Vera from Cheers," says Barrett. "Or Maris from Frasier," Slavin says.