Time for TV: after knocking around Europe and working for Prince, Kathy Busby is developing sitcoms for production house Carsey-Werner-Mandabach.

THERE'S a traditional way to get to the top in the entertainment business." start out in the William Morris mailroom, become a "suit" on the Paramount lot, then spin enough ideas to get noticed. Kathy Busby, on the other hand, took the scenic route. The Harvard grad was an advertising executive, a bartender in Paris and even worked for Prince before she landed at what is now Universal to develop comedies. These days', she's the development guru for Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, the production powerhouse behind such hits as "Cosby" and "That '70s Show." Besides developing the Whoopi Goldberg sitcom. "Whoopi." she's also completed work on a family show starring former "Saturday Night Live" cast number Tracy, Morgan.

Question: "Whoopi" doesn't fit the family-show mold that Carsey-Werner is known for. What led to it?

Answer: We felt people wanted a show with a lead character who speaks her mind. We don't have much of that on now. And there are some family relationships. Whoopi's character has a brother and his wife. The people in the hotel she manages are also like family. So it fits.

Q: You also developed "Grounded for Life." How did the show manage to survive getting axed by Fox and make it on the WB?

A: We were very lucky that we had a great relationship with the WB and we were looking for shows to develop for them. So when "Grounded for Life" got canceled, Marcy (Carsey), Tom (Werner) and Caryn (Mandabach) brought it to them. They knew it and liked it when it was a pilot. I was upset when Fox canceled it because I worked so hard on it and so did the rest of the team.

Q: It is tough just getting on the air, isn't it?

A: It's like what the guys who created "Cheers" said when they were asked how they got a hit show that lasted so long. You have to have great scripts, great characters and win the lottery.

Q: How does a producer create a television show?

A: We start with the intention. What do we want to do, what do we want to say? We try to fine-tune it. We try to think about who would be great to write it. We see if they're receptive. We brainstorm with them. We say we want to do a show about divorce and they'll say, "The president leaves his wile and marries his secretary. That was terrible pitch." We talk about what networks it should be on. That can take a week, it can take two months.

Q: Where do the ideas come from?

A: Most of our ideas are self-generated. I've never even counted how many ideas I surf through. Things get pitched. I see movies or plays or articles or books that might make good shows. One-man shows, monologues. We have staff writers who come to us with ideas. I saw something at Sundance that may have a good sitcom in it. I hope.

Q: Does it matter which network you approach with a project?

A: It's really important. If you want to know where your show should go, just look at their most successful shows and you get the tone. CBS' best shows are "Everyone Loves Raymond," which is similar to "King of Queens." So you sell a show that fits. We have a show called "Game Over" which is now on UPN. UPN was the only network to pitch it to because it was the best place.

Q: You didn't exactly imagine yourself in TV, did you?

A: No. After I graduated from Harvard, I was recruited into the account management branch of (advertising firm) D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles to work as an assistant account executive. It was too much business, not enough art. In my head, I was always an artist. So it was important to feel creative fulfillment.

Q: And travel, right? You went to Paris first.

A: I always aspired to be a photographer, so if I was going to be a broke photographer, I might as well be a broke photographer in Paris. So I moved there and lived with friends. I actually had pictures published. Took photos of jazz festivals there as well.

Q: But?

A: But I needed daily money. So I got a job waiting tables at a jazz club and restaurant. The competing guy asked me over and then offered me a job managing his club. I took it.

Q: What was that like?

A: It was fun. I also doubled as a bartender, which was

funny. I had to learn to bartend and I don't drink. We had a lot of big, fancy drinks named after jazz musicians. So I had to serve a Miles and a Sassy, which was named after Sarah Vaughn. We also served a lot of straight whiskey and vodka tonics. which we called "vodka toniques."

Q: How did you decide to go into the record business?

A: So I'm 25, living in Paris, managing this jazz club and bartending. I loved the music and loved seeing singers and thinking if they dressed better or sang the right material, they would be a hit. I didn't think I could be in the music business in Paris. So I moved back to New York and wrote three cold letters. Within a week, I got a job as an assistant at SBK, which is now part of EMI publishing.

Q: After moving back to London, you joined MCA.

A: A job was there, to plan releases and expose new artists to the city. Nirvana was there before they were huge in the U.S. When they were in our office, I told them that I didn't like their music, but I liked them. It was wonderful. It was hard work. It was great. London's a small city and easy to know everyone in industry.

Q: Then it was back to Hollywood, where you worked for Prince.

A: The thing about living abroad is that you wake up one day and realize you have to go home. So you do. I spent the summer in L.A. I remembered it fondly. So when I decided to move back, I chose L.A. and there was a job at [Prince's former record label] Paisley Park.

Q: How was it?

A: It was a bit odd, it was when he changed his name to a symbol. He was fighting with Warner Bros. He was trying to buy his catalog back. So the job didn't last long. But it was great being around him. I remember when I had to go to his studio in Minneapolis to promote Mavis Staples. I remember at 5 in the morning at a party, someone told me to go to the rehearsal room. Prince was playing guitar, Lenny Kravitz was playing drums. And a lot of people were hanging around. I didn't think it would get better than that. But it did. Soon his horn men came and Mavis sang and started jamming.

Q: After a stint with another label, you soured on the record business.

A: It wasn't very professional or buttoned-down. A pop star might say they are producing an album in December and it may not happen. You've got to keep expectations low. I don't keep expectations low. So I thought about television and I liked it.

Q: Was that an easy transition?

A: It was tough to do. I felt that there was no one smart enough or stupid enough to hire me. I had no experience. It helped that I knew a lot of people. Friends helped me set up interviews for executive jobs, because I didn't want to start at the bottom again.

Q: You were trying to write scripts before catching on at what is now Universal Television.

A: They were horrible. I got a call from Maria Grasso, who was the head of comedy at Studios USA [now Universal Television]. I thought she was calling me about a Seinfeld script. Instead, she offered me a job developing comedies.

Q: Did she ever see the script?

A: Maria told me, "I saw the script and decided you'd make a good executive." [Laughs.] She hated it. I saw her remarks on it once and decided to throw it out into the trash. I can't have that floating around town, you know.