Share
The Writers Panel
Dean Lorey (Creature Commandos)
•
In this craft-centered episode, Dean Lorey (showrunner of Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, Poppa's House, Creature Commandos, and Harley Quinn) discusses running multiple shows, writing drama so that the comedy shines, defining Harley Quinn as a solo act, shepherding James Gunn's vision for Creature Commandos, relying on his collaborators, when to stop fiddling, and more.
Come see Dead Pilots Society live on Sunday, November 17, 2-4pm at the Elysian Theater in LA! Also available to watch on demand.
In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve.
The November 17 show features scripts by John Enbom (co-creator, Party Down) and Brendan Scannell (Loot) & Amy Reed (Diary of a Future President).
Cast includes: Martin Starr (Party Down; Spider-man), Olivia Liang (Kung Fu), Maria Bamford (Kite Man: Hell Yeah!), Ryan Hansen (Party Down; Veronica Mars), Anna Seregina (The Civil Dead), Chris Witaske (The Bear), Brendan Scannell (Heathers), Ellie Reed (Diary of a Future President), Patrick McDonald (Smosh), and more to be announced.
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: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social
Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker
More episodes
View all episodes
Rachel Shukert (The Burbs)
43:10|Rachel Shukert (The Burbs; creator, The Baby-Sitters Club; The Handmaid's Tale) returns to discuss relearning to write to act breaks, why mysteries are so hard to crack, finding the heart of The Burbs, dreams of the Golden Girls house, 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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
52:33|Star Trek: Starfleet Academy co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman (creator, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Mission Impossible III) and Noga Landau (creator, Nancy Drew and Tom Swift; The Magicians) discuss meeting for the first time, what each looks for in a collaborator, story from the inside out, learning storytelling through Trek, the special sauce of Starfleet Academy, how the strike helped season 1, mastering craft through watching, reading, and listening, 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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/Alex Russell (Lurker; Beef)
33:55|Writer/director Alex Russell (Lurker; The Bear; Beef) discusses why he directed his own script, writing the unspoken, an apt metaphor for discovering story, his Frankenstein approach to outlining, 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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/Ponies
52:46|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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/Gordon Smith (Pluribus)
46:57|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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/Craig Brewer (Song Sung Blue)
54:44|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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/Benito Skinner (Overcompensating)
35:13|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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/The Running Man
47:27|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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/Leslye Headland (Russian Doll; The Acolyte)
50:19|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.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/