Tim Meadows relieves his 'Glory Daze'

College comedies hit their heyday in the 1980s, ushered in by “Animal House” in 1978 and carrying on through countless gross-out, crude movies.

TBS is going to help you relive that era with “Glory Daze,” a new comedy series about an incoming group of college freshmen as they navigate the crazy world of ’80s college life.

amNewYork spoke with “Saturday Night Live” alum Tim Meadows, who stars as the ultraliberal Professor Haines.

Do you like reliving the ’80s?
Yeah, I do. It hasn’t felt like a nostalgic trip or anything. Even though those references are in there, it still seems to be more about the relationships between the people.

Your character is very liberal. Do you share all his viewpoints?
Probably not. I don’t think I’m as radical as Professor Haines. But I think he’s probably a lot smarter than me, though.

Do younger cast members come to you for advice?
No, no. We had this press meeting the other day, and they were all talking about how they admired me and were impressed by my work, and I told them it was really uncomfortable to hear. I think I heard three or four times, “I grew up watching you.” I thought they were talking about Tim Conway. They were talking about Tim Meadows.

What are your favorite college comedies?
“Animal House,” definitely. “Porky’s” I thought was OK, but I wasn’t crazy about it. “Back to School,” that was a good one.

Did you research a lot of ’80s college comedies?
I didn’t do any research as far as looking at movies from the ’80s. The only thing I did was I did watch a couple of college films. They weren’t comedies, though. “The Paper Chase” was one I watched. But I prepared for this role like I do all roles, by watching a Bill Murray movie. I watched “Meatballs.”

Why?
Because it always gets me in the mood for [having] the attitude that anything can happen.

On TV: “Glory Daze” premieres tomorrow on TBS at 10 p.m.