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
Sascha Penn (creator/showrunner, Power Book III) discusses the value of non-industry experience to showrunning, the truth about reps, the storytelling muscle, advice for entering the business at this moment, 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 in...
Jonathan Tropper (creator, Your Friends and Neighbors, Banshee, Warrior) discusses writing a TV show closer in sensibility to his novels, the role of luck in a writing career, writing a non-action show, one key piece of advice about craft, 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 ...
Veronica West (creator of Surface, High Fidelity; Dexter: New Blood; Chicago Fire) discusses why she wrote Surface on spec, the elaborate pitch, working with actors, learning on the job, 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 ye...
Abdullah Saeed (creator, Deli Boys) discusses diligence versus talent, his favorite part of the television-making process, the most important part of your sample script, embracing chaos, 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 ye...
Drew Hancock (writer/director, Companion) discusses being put in a box, tricks for directing on the page, writing from the perspective of a robot, why second drafts always suck, 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,...
Katie O'Brien (creator, The Z Suite; co-creator, Teachers; The Santa Clauses) discusses improv and showrunning, her post-Teachers struggle, optimism in the face of rejection, the bananas sample script she had to write, 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 writ...
Adam Rudman (Carl the Collector; Nature Cat; Sesame Street) discusses pitching and selling pre-school series, the throughline in his shows, carrying on the traditions of Buster Keaton and Spongebob, 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...
Michelle Nader (showrunner of Shifting Gears and Deli Boys) discusses relationships with actors, including her "avatar" Kat Dennings, writing yourself out of your low points, how growing up in the mob prepared her for a career in television, 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 fro...
In our last episode of the year, journalists Joanna Robinson and Dave Gonzales, the authors of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, discuss making a living as a "pop culture pundit," mapping the story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the missing "DC vs Marvel" chapter, lessons the MCU might take from recent successes like Deadpool & Wolverine and Agatha All Along, what other franchises might learn from the MCU, what Kevin Feige r...
Heath Corson (Animal Kingdom; Batman: Assault on Arkham) discussing his new 4-issue comic, The Brood. Set in the “Minor Threats” universe, The Brood is a story about family, the patriarch of which happens to be a criminal mastermind.
Heath Corson talks about writing from a personal place, how good and evil don't apply to family dynamics, human moments in a comic book world, and more.
And after that, a recording from the Minor...
Dana Ledoux Miller (co-writer/co-director of Moana 2; creator/showrunner of Thai Cave Rescue; Kevin Can F*** Himself; Narcos) discusses turning the Moana sequel from a TV series to movie, learning the rules of musicals, wrong turns, trusting herself, creating a work worthy of 101 years of Disney features, and lots more.
THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.
Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Bla...
In this craft-centered episode, Roma Roth (creator, Sullivan's Crossing; Virgin River) discusses finding and adapting IP.
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: benb...
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 t...
In this craft-centered episode, The Lincoln Lawyer showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez (Queen of the South; The Night Shift) discusses writing procedurals. Dailyn has worked in that genre frequently, including The Glades, Lie To Me, In Plain Sight, and others.
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...
Gremlins: The Wild Batch's Tze Chun and Brendan Hay discuss the smooth sailing of their show, writing animation scripts, bringing little monsters to the Wild West, keeping a stress-free environment during lockdown, 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 wri...
Soo Hugh (showrunner, Pachinko; The Terror) discusses international filmmaking, the translation process, rewriting, her first second season, mild, medium, and spicy takes, and more.
Come see The Thrilling Adventure Hour at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater on October 13, 6pm and 8pm, or stream it live or on demand!
"An Evening Beyond Belief" stars Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster as married mediums. It's kind of like The Thin Man...
Colin from Accounts creators and stars Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer discuss falling into making this show, writing for themselves, creating flawed and funny characters, who's allowed access to the shared document, and more.
Come see The Thrilling Adventure Hour at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater on October 13, 6pm and 8pm, or stream it live or on demand!
"An Evening Beyond Belief" stars Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster as ...
Charlie Covell (creator of Kaos and The End of the F***ing World) discusses their influences in retelling classical myths, creating a "contemporary kinked" world, threading the tonal needle, why they love first drafts, their playlists, and more.
Want to check out one of the playlists Charlie made as they were creating the characters? Visit benblacker.substack.com
Come see Ben Blacker's live show, RETROSPECS, on Sunday, September ...
Sherman Payne (creator, Emperor of Ocean Park; Shameless) discusses how to tell a great story, the different kinds of writers in TV, adaptation, what it takes to thrive as a TV writer, "prestidurals," and more.
Come see Ben Blacker's live show, RETROSPECS, on Sunday, September 29, 2-4pm PT at the Elysian Theater in LA! In Retrospecs, we dig those old scripts by established writers out of their drawers and expose them to the warm...
Producer Ashley Jay Sandberg (Twisters; The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) discusses what a producer does, the art of giving and receiving notes, putting together the team, the future of movies, and lots more.
Come see Ben Blacker's live show, RETROSPECS, on Sunday, September 29, 2-4pm PT at the Elysian Theater in LA! In Retrospecs, we dig those old scripts by established writers out of their drawers and expose them ...
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