The Writers Panel
The definitive insider's guide to our current golden age of television, Ben Blacker's The Writers Panel is an ever expanding anthology of live convention panels and intimate in-studio interviews with the writers, producers, and show runners responsible for all the shows you can't stop watching. Over the course of nearly 500 episodes and counting, The Writers Panel has sat across from guests such as Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad), Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (Key and Peele), Liz Meriwether (New Girl), and Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) to talk about the art and business of creating great television. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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.
Foll...
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 f...
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 s...
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 ...
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! h...
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...
Shane Black (writer/director, Play Dirty, The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; writer, Lethal Weapon,The Last Boy Scout) returns to discuss his connection to Donald Westlake, the writer on whose work Play Dirty is based, what he and his co-writers each bring to a script, how he pushes through imposter syndrome, respectful but playful actors, how production is just "shopping for ingredients," and lots more.
Nnamdi Asomugha (director/co-writer, The Knife) discusses going from playing in the NFL to becoming an actor and now writer and producer, embracing new skills, imposter syndrome, teamwork, and just how hard it really is to get a movie out into the world.
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, a...
Niya Palmer (co-creator, Miss Governor; Run the World) discusses working with Tyler Perry, being quiet on set, getting inspired by D.A.R.Y.L., how growing up sparring prepared her for some very bad writers' rooms, driving in the wake of an ambulance, and more.
LIVE STUFF!
A live Dead Pilots Society in LA (or available to stream on demand) on Sunday 9/14 2-4pm at the Elysian Theater. With scripts by Lisa Muse Bryant (Th...
Writer/director Macon Blair (The Toxic Avenger; I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore) discusses managing a bigger production for his second feature, "handmade" films, balancing tones, writing a movie that's not "accidentally stupid," and lots more.
LIVE STUFF!
A live Dead Pilots Society in LA (or available to stream on demand) on Sunday 9/14 2-4pm at the Elysian Theater. With scripts by Lisa Muse Bryant (The Fou...
A double-header today!
First, Jen Statsky (co-creator, Hacks) returns to discuss maintaining the high quality of the show four seasons in, staying honest while staying funny, season 4's big emotional moments, Carol Burnett, being raised by television, and more.
Then, Severance creator Dan Erickson discusses the challenges of season 2, finding "things you can only do on this show," early comedy influences, "Bad Pitch Mondays," and...
Michael Seitzman (creator, The Rainmaker, Intelligence) discusses selling his John Grisham adaptation three times, shooting Dublin for Charleston (for Memphis), his approach to adaptation, storybreaking a conspiracy, hiring a writers room of Finders, Minders, and Grinders, 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 y...
Nicholas Stoller (writer and/or director, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Muppets, Neighbors) and novelist Francesca Delbanco created and run Apple TV+'s Platonic. Ahead of the new season on August 6, they discuss writing a show called "Platonic" as a married couple, the importance of set experience for writers, not taking their work home, balancing character and plot, Nick's resistance to writers' rooms, and lots more.
THE WRITE...
The Naked Gun writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers) discuss the real stakes of a very silly movie, comedy fight scenes, not being referential, why Liam Neeson is integral to remaking The Naked Gun, having on hand an ungodly number of alt jokes, 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'...
I Know What You Did Last Summer writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge; Someone Great) returns along with co-writer Sam Lansky to discuss their continuation of the 1997 horror film, modernizing a morality tale, playing plot Jenga, "trauma but make it popcorn," and justifying THAT TWIST.
THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.
Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, R...
James DeMonaco (writer/director, The Home, The Purge) discusses co-writing during lockdown, collaborating with Pete Davidson, the movie he passed on that got The Home made, advice from Francis Ford Coppola, and news of maybe a new Purge movie!
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 th...
Stefanie Leder (Faking It; Boo Bitch) discusses her debut novel, Love, Coffee, and Revolution, a coming-of-age/political adventure/rom com. the long road of writing the book, setting reasonable daily goals, the most important thing to getting published, why "TV is Jewish," 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, wh...
Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz (creators, Murderbot; American Pie; About a Boy) discuss working with actors and what Alexander Skarsgård brought to the titular role of Murderbot, who your audience is, writing and directing together after a two-decade break, 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 ...
David Joseph Craig & Brian Crano (writers/directors of I Don't Understand You) discuss the personal story behind the movie, writing the truth vs writing honestly, scenes you need, who your competition is, why knowing actors is a good thing, poking the turkey, 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...
Leon Chills (Shadow Force) discusses writing his way out of a low point, working things out in the first draft, his approach to action scenes, when to ask someone to read your script, 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 year...
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