Ponies creators Susanna Fogel and David Iserson (The Spy Who Dumped Me) discuss how they collaborate, the long road to Ponies, comedy with stakes, American culture through a funhouse mirror, genre as a way of writing about relationships and politics, why pitching is a scam, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/director Gordon Smith (Pluribus; Better Call Saul) discusses what gives Pluribus legs, story as algorithm, a non-mystery mystery, some great directing advice that's really storytelling advice, parsing notes, getting sand in your eyes, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/director Craig Brewer (Song Sung Blue; Hustle and Flow; Dolemite Is My Name) discusses making a narrative out of the Song Sung Blue documentary, how it's autobiographical, finding career inspiration in Amadeus, his writing process, "The Shelf," non-musical musicals, the beauty of "Save As," the Faustian bargain of making art, and lots more. Don't skip this one.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benito Skinner (creator/star of Overcompensating) discusses creating an honest coming-out story, translating his stand up show to a TV pilot, learning from Shonda Rhimes, writing about gray areas, inhabiting characters, the state of TV comedy, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Running Man writer/director Edgar Wright (Last Night in Soho; Baby Driver) and co-writer Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs the World; 21 Jump Street) discuss adapting Stephen King's novel and what the author's approval meant to them, writing readable scripts, learning from past experiences, world-building, deploying Glen Powell as a secret weapon, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/director Leslye Headland (creator, The Acolyte; co-creator, Russian Doll; Dying for Sex) returns to discuss individuality and authenticity, loving Star Wars, creding her team, how Russian Doll began, auteurism, and lots more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebecca Cutter (creator, The Hunting Wives and Hightown) returns to discuss why she thinks people have responded so positively to The Hunting Wives, hiring the writers' room, regulating tone by instinct, quality without "prestige," and more.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour celebrates its 20th anniversary with shows in London!

Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more this fall! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DMV showrunners Dana Klein (9JKL; Fresh Off the Boat; Friends) and Matt Kuhn (Doogie Kameāloha, MD; Fresh Off the Boat) discuss pitching and selling the show, keeping a positive and open writers' room together, what they look for in samples when staffing, how comedy has changed since Friends and How I Met Your Mother (where each began), keeping inspired, and more.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour celebrates its 20th anniversary with shows in NY and London!

Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more this fall! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.