Season 3
April 25, 2024
Take 122 - Writer, Producer, Showrunner Wendy West, Law and Order SVU, Dexter, FBI: Most Wanted
We talk to Emmy-nominated writer and producer Wendy West. She talks about researching murder, her love of morgues and being the only woman in the room early in her career. Wendy talks about mentoring young female writers, su…
April 18, 2024
Take 121 - Producer, Director, Showrunner Eddie Schmidt, Good One: A Show About Jokes
We talk to Oscar and Emmy award nominee Eddie Schmidt. He talks about being comedy adjacent, his time in an improv troupe and how he moved into the showrunning part of Hollywood. We discuss leadership style, the fun of worki…
April 11, 2024
Take 120 - Comedian Ray Ellin
In a slightly different style of episode we talk to comedian Ray Ellin. We discuss how social media has changed comedy, hear some magnificent failure anecdotes from comedy clubs and bars and talk through the process of creat…
April 4, 2024
Take 119 - Writers and Producers Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy, The Fighter, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
We talk to Oscar-nominated writing partners Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy, They talk about their fight to get the Fighter written, battling both the mob and Hollywood, the joy of an Oscar nomination and the slog of the promot…
March 7, 2024
Take 118 - Writer Tom Vaughan, Winchester, The Haunting of the Queen Mary
We talk to screenwriter Tom Vaughan who opens up about his Hollywood journey. He talks about his early career, the arrogance and refusal to take notes even from Disney and the mistakes he made. He talks candidly about being …
Feb. 29, 2024
Take 117 - Director, Writer, Showrunner Matthew Carnahan, Dirt, House of Lies
We talk to the fascinating Matthew Carnahan. He tells us about his early work with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, why he didn't want to work in TV and how he broke in to that world. He talks passionately about choosing mean…
Feb. 22, 2024
Take 116 - Writer, producer, showrunner Ted Cohen, Friends, Veep, Succession
The One with 4-time Emmy winner Ted Cohen. We speak to Ted about his time on Friends, what’s it like to win an Emmy and how we coped after coming off Friends and spending ten years in the development wilderness. We talk abou…
Feb. 15, 2024
Take 115 - Steven O’Neill, Head of Casting, Universal Content Productions
We talked to Head of Casting at Universal Content Productions, Steven O’Neill. He proudly talks about his work helping people achieve their dreams, how he fell in love with casting and what the pandemic did to change the pro…
Feb. 8, 2024
Take 114 - Writer and Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, Luke Cage, Creed II
We talk to legendary showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker. He talks about his journey from music journalist to writer, what he learned from the tough world of hip-hop and how he used those skills in Hollywood. Cheo talks about the s…
Jan. 25, 2024
Take 113 - Showrunner and Executive Producer Keith Geller, Wipeout, The Floor, Floor is Lava
We speak to Keith Geller who talks us through his unscripted journey. We talk game shows versus docu-follows, shrinking budgets and higher expectations and picking only proven formats. He talks about his journey from Shakesp…
Jan. 18, 2024
Take 112 - Writer Daniel Kunka, 12 Rounds, Lift
We talk to the lovely Daniel Kunka, writer of Netflix number one movie Lift. We talk zombie apocalypses, impregnating wolves and the unlikely demise of a great script. He tells us about his 15 year gap between movies, writin…
Jan. 11, 2024
Take 111 - Producers Marc Benardout, Hugh Broder - He Went That Way
Back from the winter break and we have another 'case study' episode of the podcast. We talk to Marc Benardout and Hugh Broder, producers of He Went That Way, a new movie out tomorrow. They talk about working with Jacob Elord…
Dec. 21, 2023
Take 110 - Ashley Michel Hoban - Marco Polo, Girl from Plainville
We talk to the effervescent Ashley Michel Hoban. She talks about the excitement for her new show coming out today, her journey from assistant to showrunner and what she learned along the way. She tells about self belief, imp…
Nov. 16, 2023
Take 109 - Writer and Showrunner David Slack - Person of Interest, Law and Order, Teen Titans
We speak to the excellent David Slack. We talk about how an independent movie failure led him to Hollywood, the path from animation to live action and getting fired from Law and Order. David tells us about the shows that did…
Nov. 9, 2023
Take 108 - Producer, director, songwriter, writer Adam Anders, Glee, Rock of Ages, Journey to Bethlehem
The day before his new movie hits 3000 theaters in 38 countries, we talk to the talented Adam Anders. He tells us about his transition from a very successful music career with shows like Glee to his 17 year journey to writi…
Nov. 1, 2023
Take 107 - Producer, Writer, Illustrator David Kirschner, Hocus Pocus, An American Tail, Frailty, Chucky
Must. Listen. Episode. We have the legend that it David Kirschner. He talks getting his break designing an album cover for Neil Diamond, pitching Steven Spielberg at his July 4th party and Hocus Pocus going from abject failu…
Oct. 26, 2023
Take 106 - Writer and producer Jeremy Adams, Supernatural, Lego Scooby-Doo
We talk to Jeremy Adams about his life in animation. He tells us about the difficulties animated writers face, how they are treated compared to TV writers and how hard it is to break out of the mould. Jeremy tells us about h…
Oct. 19, 2023
Take 105 - Writer, actor, showrunner, director Deborah Pratt, Airwolf, Quantum Leap
We talk to the extraordinary Deborah Pratt. She tells us about how she got her break in Hollywood, her period of homelessness even after Quantum Leap and what she did to get her career back on track. Amazingly, we also cover…
Oct. 12, 2023
Take 104 - EVP IP Management Jordan Moblo, Universal Studio Group
This season we seek to explore failure and rejection in different parts of Hollywood. We have Jordan Moblo, EVP IP Management and Creative Acquisitions of Universal Studio Group. He talks why he is plans to be an agent didn'…
Oct. 5, 2023
Take 103 - Executive, writer and showrunner Lisa Morales, Shameless, Two Sentence Horror Stories
We talk to the fantastic Lisa Morales. She tells us about crashing James Cameron's Hummer, her role as an executive and then giving that up to become a writer. She walks us through being fired for not being confident enough,…
Sept. 28, 2023
Take 102 - Writers Aaron and Jordan Kandell, Moana, Adrift
We have the the amazing ‘Jewaiian’ twins who tell us about writing Moana, their early failures and why poetry didn’t pay the bills. They talk about representation in native Hawaiian storytelling, being down to their last 12 …
Sept. 21, 2023
Take 101 - Showrunner Mike Scully, The Simpsons
Season 3 Premiere We have legendary Simpsons showrunner Mike Scully on the show. He talks about being pigeon-holed as ‘Cartoon Boy’, losing out on an Emmy to the Rugrats Passover special and writing jokes for $25 for Yakov S…
Sept. 14, 2023
Prologue - Season 3
After a season break and, not withstanding the strike, the podcast returns. In this pre-season show, we talk about the strike, what people can expect this season and how much Noah surfs. We talk writers, execs and who you ca…