Working with Non-Writers
New pod! Q&A info! More!
Live Dead Pilots!
I don’t post a lot about Dead Pilots Society, the podcast I produce, mostly because it’s one of the million things I do. But I am frequently very proud of it!
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, my partner on it, Andrew Reich, former writer for Friends, Worst Week, and other sitcoms, has the perfect description:
In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Nobody gets fired, there are no notes, and everybody has a fun time.
You can subscribe to the podcast and check out past episodes here.
If you’re in LA, please come out to the Lyric Hyperion this Sunday July, 16, from noon-2pm for live reads of a couple of dead pilots! Tickets here.
We’re doing a dead pilot by my friends Amanda Lund & Maria Blasucci (Ghost Ghirls; Neighbors 2) which is ridiculously funny, in which Amanda and Maria star as stereotypical (male) talent agents. The rest of the cast includes the great Andy Daly (Review), Flula Borg (Pitch Perfect), Taran Killam (SNL), Patty Guggenheim (She-Hulk), and more!
We’re also doing a terrific script from Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky (Only Murders in the Building) about an aging comedian accused of murder. We’ve cast Mark McKinney (Kids in the Hall; Superstore), Khary Payton (The Walking Dead), Ritesh Rajan (Russian Doll), Vinny Thomas (Platonic), and more great folks.
Would love to see some of you there!
Tool Time
In today’s craft-centered Writers Panel episode, Matt Williams (co-creator of Home Improvement, Roseanne, and more) discusses collaborating with non-writers.
PLUS: Shoshana Sachi (Doom Patrol) talks about trying to be creative while on strike.
Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.
Socials
I haven’t had the issues with social media that a lot of other folks have. Part of that is my privilege, and part is that I kept a pretty curated list of people I followed, and so I mostly saw a really lively, kind writing community on Twitter. That said, when that one prick took over, my timeline filled up with ads and entities I didn’t follow. So, I’m mostly out of there, which is a bummer, because Twitter had been my primary means of promoting my shows and meeting other writers online before taking it to the real world.
I am over on Bluesky, if any of you all are there. I like it, the vibes are very positive, it;s still pretty small, so it’s where I’ll be both cross-promoting my bullshit and making my funny little jokes. Follow me there, if you’re there.
I’m also planning to join two theme pickets this week. Today (Tuesday) I’m at Universal for The Great WGA Bake-Off. We hate bake-offs on studios’ projects, but this is the kind I can get behind. I made a fig-almond cake that I’ve been pretty pleased with in the past. There are a lot of really good bakers in the union, and I’m just hoping to not embarrass myself.
And Wednesday 7/12 is the Friends picket at WB. We’ve come up with some very Friendsy signs, and I hope to catch up with some of my Friends-writer friends there. Friends was a big topic in the first few years of The Writers Panel. You can listen to an episode with some season 1 writers here and with the show’s co-creator Marta Kauffman here.
SMASH
Finally, our live Zoom Q&A with She-Hulk showrunner Jessica Gao (Rick and Morty; Silicon Valley) is on Saturday at 11am PT/ 2pm ET! Link and info are below.
I love the questions you’ve been bringing to these meet-ups, and I’m excited to hear the great advice Jessica will have to offer. If you’re not a paid subscriber and want to join the Q&A, or listen to the recording later, do what the button says:
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