Pod Fill-Ups

Eps You May Have Missed + the Sera Gamble recording

I was recently given access to the backend of my Writers Panel feed and was not at all surprised to see that listenership severely dropped off during Covid lockdown. I don’t think I listened to one podcast in that time, since I usually listen in my car, and suddenly I was going nowhere.

So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to spotlight a few episodes from 2020-21 that I thought were particularly helpful. Links are to the specific episodes.

Twin Peaks, Pose

This episode with Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost, Pose creator Steven Canals, and Harley Peyton (Chucky; Twin Peaks) quickly became an all-time favorite. I loved discovering that Frost and Canals were admirers of each other’s work.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Forever Dog

Steven Canals on creating opportunities:

I have a hard time patting myself on the back when it comes to the show. I get that the show is critically beloved and we've received accolades, and all of that's really nice. But, at the end of the day, like, I wrote the show specifically because there was a gap in programming, and I was like, I'm going to come in and fill that gap.

Mrs. America, Puss in Boots

Sometimes we get a no-show at a recording (this happened much more frequently when I was doing them in studio) and that frustrating situation turns into a advantage. Like this episode, in which my pal Julia Yorks, then a rookie who’d been working in animation (with me on Puss in Boots as well as other shows) got to ask questions of the more experienced Dahvi Waller (creator of Mrs. America, also of Mad Men, Halt and Catch Fire, and more). Dahvi had so much good, practical advice, and Julia and I both took so much from the conversation.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Forever Dog

Dahvi Waller on putting together her writers’ room:

The most toxic writer in a writer's room—and they say that you just need one to really mess up the entire room—is the narcissist. So, I say, no narcissists. They're very easy to spot. When you sit down to meet with them, if you just stay quiet for 10 minutes, they’re revealed to you. You know, if they have keep talking 20 minutes in and haven't asked you any questions…

What I looked for [when hiring]… I know this sounds really cheesy, but: kindness.

Dear White People, Happy Death Day, and Bill & Ted

While the panel-style episodes are the most fun to record, it’s the one-on-one interviews with writers whose work I both admire and am familiar with which yield the best advice. These, too, are more conducive to virtual recording, and I was lucky enough to do a bunch of good ones during lockdown. Three of my favorites:

Justin Simien (creator of Dear White People) on specificity and universality:

As a Black person making movies, it's already in me to know that the specific becomes universal, because I spent most of my life seeing myself through the eyes of white protagonists or, you know, fairytale creatures.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Forever Dog

Christopher Landon (writer/director of Happy Death Day, Freaky, We Have a Ghost) on what draws him to a script:

I like the Trojan horse. These nice themes and really fucked up dark movies. With Happy Death Day, that was a movie about a really selfish person who's forced to repeat the same day over and over again in order to take inventory of her life and then to change. The way that you behave in the world and the way that you treat others matters.

I like a good hook. Freaky [a movie in which a college girl and a serial killer switch bodies, Freaky Friday style] was a weird collision of movies, like, the idea of taking a very sweet, cute, traditionally kind of Disney-ish idea and then mashing that together with a really violent slasher movie… that just was too good of an opportunity for me.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Forever Dog

Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted movies, Men in Black, No Sudden Move) on believing in yourself:

I had agents that fired us when they read the Bill and Ted script. Hated it. I remember one of the agents [saying] “I beg you, do not send this to anyone. I beg you. Do you hear this sound? It's the sound of me falling on my knees, begging you not to send it to anyone.”

I was going to give the rallying cry. You know, "if you guys don't believe in this, then maybe I'm with the wrong people because I believe in this.” And they said, “well, maybe you are with the wrong people.” And they fired me. And so I thought it was over, over, over.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Forever Dog

It was so heartening during those dark times (which, y’know, we’re still very much in) talking to folks like Ed, writers who’d found enormous success but had also faced crushing defeat. I hope you’ll find inspiration in these overlooked episodes too!

You, Supernatural, The Magicians

Speaking of inspirational and helpful: below, paid subscribers can get the recording of the terrific Q&A we did with Sera Gamble, creator of You and The Magicians. Here’s just one jewel of advice from Sera, from this conversation:

There’s this idea that things have to be a certain category. It’s so irritating that there’s sort of “indicators” of comedy and “indicators” of prestige drama. I always encourage people to ignore that. I’m so pleased to watch the supremacy of Everything Everywhere All At Once because it is all the things.

With The Magicians, it’s a family drama. It’s extremely emotional. It’s surreal, it’s hilarious, it’s scary. My thing is always just, like, be greedy; be greedy and push against people who are scared to have it be what you want it to be.

Want to listen to the entire Q&A and join our next one with a soon-to-be-announced guest? Become a paid subscriber! You’ll also be supporting the podcast!