July 12, 2025 • 22 mins
Sandy offers a behind-the-scenes look at a major TV show that recently made a surprising mistake—killing off a character twice. How did this happen, and who was responsible? We’ll explore these questions with a focus on "And Just Like That." Even if you haven’t watched the series, you’ll find valuable insights here. Additionally, Sandy discusses how continuity is usually managed in TV production, highlighting Gregg Nations, the talented script coordinator from "LOST," as covered in a New York Times profile.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn, Executive Producer/Creator Sandy Adomaitis, Producer Terry Sampson, with music by Ethan Stoller.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
Hello, my name is Sandy Adamis,the social media director for
the page, internationalScreenwriting Awards, and your
host for the Writer's Hangout.
A podcast that celebrates themany stages of writing, from
inspiration to the first draft,revising, getting a project made
and everything in between.
(00:32):
We'll talk to the best and thebrightest in the entertainment
industry and create a spacewhere you can hang out, learn
from the pros, and have fun.
Hey writers, it's Sandy.
I'm coming to you from StudioCity, the jewel of the San
Fernando Valley.
I'm recording late at night andthe moon phase today is waning
(00:56):
Gibbs.
Writers.
I'm interested in watching themovie, the Salt Path.
The Salt Path came out In 2024,it was written by Rebecca Linky
is based on the book by RainerWynn.
The book was huge.
The movie stars Gillian Andersonand Jason Isaacs.
And it is based on the truestory of a couple's journey
(01:18):
along the England's coast.
After legal troubles leave themhomeless and they receive a
shocking terminal illnessdiagnosis, the couple decides to
walk the 630 miles south widthSouthwest coast Path from
Minehead to pool, battling theelements, physical challenges
(01:39):
and their own fears, Now Isearched, but the movie isn't
streaming in the United States.
I was gonna get a VPN, but thenI decided to just ask you guys
for help first.
does anybody have access to saltpath?
Again, I wanted to rent it.
I can't, I'll watch it on astreamer.
I'm already paying for it, but Ijust can't get ahold of it.
(02:02):
Now, the book, the Salt Path, isdescribed as a true story, but
recent.
Investigations have raisedquestions about the accuracy of
some details regarding thecouple's loss of their home and
the illness.
While the author Rainer Wynnmaintains the story is true and
(02:25):
has provided some supportingdocumentations, others argue
that key aspects of the bookwere fabricated.
Or misrepresented.
Now I remember James Fry kids.
Check that out.
Google James Fry and Oprah.
Oh my.
I'd like to do a deep dive onthis and maybe do an episode
(02:46):
about the book in the movie.
So again, if there's somebodyout there who can give me access
to the movie, I would appreciateit.
Now today we are going to talkabout what the heck is going on
behind the scenes of a majortelevision show that just made a
mistake by killing off acharacter twice.
(03:08):
Now, how did this happen?
Who made this mistake?
The series is and just likethat.
Now, I wanna say upfront, evenif you don't watch and just like
that, you don't need to to enjoythis episode.
I'm also going to get into howcontinuity is usually handled by
(03:29):
talking about.
Greg Nations who was so good athis job as the script
coordinator on, lost the NewYork Times, did a profile on him
okay.
In the HBO series.
And just like that, starringmost of the original cast from
Sex and the City.
Sarah, Jessica Parker, CynthiaNixon and Kristen Davis reprised
(03:53):
the roles as Carrie Bradshaw,Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte
York.
Golden Blatt.
I.
Respectively, no.
Samantha Kim Catrell in sight.
She's supposedly, the characteris supposedly in London and I'm
assuming till HBO backs up themoney truck London.
She shall stay at the helm.
(04:15):
Once again is Michael PatrickKing.
I once tried to make him laughat a party.
He just looked at me horrified.
Now, there are several issueswith and just like that, which I
will not get into here, but thefans of Sex and the City Hate
watch this series, myselfincluded, but we cannot turn
(04:38):
away.
We are loyal to the charactersand we will take.
Any scraps, Michael, PatrickKing, and the writing staff will
throw at us.
So do the creatives behind theseries know this and say to
themselves, oh yeah, thatcharacter we killed off twice,
suck it.
This is what happened on thelatest episode of and just like
(05:00):
that, which aired on July 3rd onMax, A-K-A-H-B-O-A-K-A-H-B-O
Max, home of the Sopranos.
It's not tv, it's HBO.
Okay.
There was a plot hole regardingthe character Lisa Todd
Wesley's.
Father Lisa is played by NicoleAri Parker, who played the lead
(05:24):
in one of my favorite overlookedmovies.
It is called Dancing.
In September, Nicole played a TVwriter, executive producer,
struggling in Hollywood, and thetitle comes from when your
series gets picked up inSeptember, you're dancing Now in
season one, Lisa mentions herfather's death, but in season
(05:48):
three, the current season, theepisode that just aired.
he dies again.
This isn't an offscreencharacter.
He was played by Billy D.
Williams and when he died inepisode six, titled A Silent
Mode.
Lisa cries on the phone toCharlotte saying Her dad was 90
years old and died of a stroke.
(06:09):
His funeral was being held at alocal theater and she will be
delivering the eulogy.
How did this happen and is itimportant?
Mistakes are made, but I thinknobody cared.
believe it or not, on atelevision show, there are lines
of defense starting with thescript coordinator not to be
(06:31):
confused with the scriptsupervisor who is on set.
The script coordinator takes thedrafts from the writers who are
working on the script, puts themall together with the proper
formatting and after theapproval of the show runner.
This is what goes out toeveryone.
Cast, crew, studio, networkexecutives, hundreds of people.
(06:57):
If a mistake isn't caught in thewriter's room, the script
coordinator should have caughtit.
Now I'm gonna read you anarticle about.
Perhaps the most famous scriptcoordinator in the business
Writer Greg Nations.
Greg and I worked together andbecame friends, and I can attest
(07:18):
to everything that follows.
Greg was the script coordinatoron Lost.
We all remember Lost right backin 2004.
It was the hottest televisionshow created by JJ Abrams It
followed the survivors of acommercial jet flying between
Sydney and Los Angeles after theplane crashes.
(07:41):
On a mysterious island somewherein the South Pacific it had a
interesting format.
The episodes usually focus on amain storyline set on the island
with flashbacks or flashforwards.
that give importance to thecharacter involved that week.
(08:02):
The first episode it blasted outof the gate with this plane
crash and it made televisionhistory Okay, here is the New
York Times article by EdwardWyatt from January 15th, 2009.
and I'll put a link in the bio.
Gonna skip down just talkingabout lost, and then it gets to
(08:28):
A co-producer and the show'slongtime script coordinator, Mr.
Nations, has become the keeperof what has been found on lost
charged with tracking everythingthat has happened And will
happen to the characters on andoff the island, in addition to
charting the many mysteriouscharacteristics of the island
(08:50):
itself.
While most television seriesmaintain a Bible, a guy to
characters and plot lines thatare developed by the creators,
but revealed over multipleseasons, few, if any shows have
twists and turns as byzantine,as those un lost and unlike many
(09:12):
jobs, which get easier as thematerial becomes more familiar,
this one has become morecomplicated and that will be
true this season when the islanditself starts moving through
time as the people who seem tobe the guardians of its secrets,
try to protect it from theshadowy conspirator who could
(09:32):
have a darker use for itspowers.
By the way I did watch loss.
I checked out by this time backto the article before the show's
premier in September, 2004.
The producers were unsure thatloss would last beyond a few
episodes.
They therefore spent little timekeeping track of the
interlocking, overlapping, andoffering confounding storylines
(09:56):
that began to emerge even in thefirst episode.
But when the series proved to bean hit, we quickly realized we
needed some system to keep trackof all the details.
that we weren't going to be ableto do that.
By memory said Carlton Cues, oneof the show's, executive
(10:16):
producers and my old boss.
Enter Mr.
Nations, who has now compiled anarchive that were he ever to
print it out.
Might, as he put it in aninterview at the Lost Production
Office on Disney's BurbankStudio.
Lot give War and Peace a run forits money.
(10:40):
Just how long the entiredocument is.
He does not know.
He has never printed it out infull, in part because he and his
secretive boss do not wantcopies falling into the wrong
hands, But he does keep multipleelectronic copies, which he
keeps in undisclosed locations.
(11:03):
In addition to charting storyarcs and tracking characters,
Mr.
Nations has noted each charactersojourns on and off the island
mapped the research stationsestablished by the Mysterious
Dharma Initiative and recordedthe appearances and
disappearances of polar bearerssmoke monsters.
(11:26):
And an unhealthy array of guns.
It didn't take us very long tolearn to rely on Greg.
When we had to check out anissue of continuity.
Mr.
Q said he had a timeline charts,dossiers.
he took it into a dimension thatexceeded.
Anything we could imagine,Keeping those details straight
(11:47):
is likely to be increasinglyimportant as the series speed
towards its climax, jumping bothoff and back onto the island and
among the past, present, andfuture.
If Mr.
Echo shows up live, or Jack'schest here appears at an
inappropriate time, for example,viewers will notice.
(12:09):
Many have abandoned the showalready.
Oops.
Yeah, That was me.
After it drew an average of 16million viewers per episode in
its first season.
Its audience has steadilydecreased to an estimated 13.5
million per episode last season.
According to the Nielsen Mediaresearch, some of that decline
(12:31):
undoubtedly reflects a drop inoverall network television
viewership.
Oh, we were all so innocent backthere in 2009, weren't we?
Back to the article, but it canalso be traced to a feeling
among one time fans.
that the series has left thembehind without a good reentry
(12:51):
point.
let's skip ahead.
That's not really about Greg.
Let's go down.
Last year's promotional videofeatured Qs and Damon the
creator and executive producerto the series, giving a tour of
the writer's office.
It did not take long beforestills from the video were blown
(13:12):
up and posted online to show thewalls of the writer's work room.
Were cast.
Were divided between sectionstitled Alive, undead, rest in
Peace.
Visitors to One site commentedthat one of the characters
appeared to be.
alive even though he was aboardthe freighter that blew up in
the last season episode.
(13:34):
I dunno.
I thought that was interesting.
Trust me, that was not amistake.
They were messing with theviewers.
There is no way that Carltoncues, Damon Loff, the writers,
Greg would allow a mistake likethat.
They were effing with the fans.
In a good way.
Mr.
Nations acknowledge that hesometimes monitors those sites
(13:58):
there.
See?
You go.
The fans present their theoriesand it's fun to read, but I
usually don't comment on that.
He said, when I do, I am knownfor giving very vague answers.
It drives them crazy.
Born in Texas and raised inMissouri.
Nations graduated with anaccounting degree from Southwest
Missouri State University beforeattending film school at the
(14:22):
University of SouthernCalifornia.
Like many who followed thatpath, he found that a master's
degree qualified him inHollywood to work as a low paid
writer's assistant on the shortlived series on a minor
broadcast network specifically.
Pigsty on the UPN network andsister sister on wb.
(14:46):
Those experiences to however,put him in a position to fill an
opening for a script coordinatoron Nash Bridges.
That is where I met Greg, whichMr.
Qs was a writer and executiveproducer.
A few years later when Mr.
Qs was looking for someone tofill a similar position on Lost,
he remembered Mr.
Nations.
(15:09):
Mr.
Nations now says he might haveapproached the Lost project
differently.
The best thing would've been tocreate a database where
everything's linked.
And if we're talking about Jackand what was established in his
first flashback episode, youcould click on something that
takes you there.
Remember, this is back in 2009.
(15:30):
He's Greg said, but as anaccountant, he was more inclined
just to make notes in a ledger.
I just created these worddocuments and I just write
everything down.
For the most part, Mr.
Nations does not dwell on whatis to come, and in that respect
He is sometimes as much in thedark as any other fan when he
(15:51):
participates in the mini camps.
Each year when the writerssketch out the storylines for
the coming season, Mr.
Nation does not regularly sitwith the writers.
He's often the first reader ofthe completed script, however,
so he can advise the show'sproduction staffs.
Based in Hollywood on what itwill and what it will need to
(16:14):
shoot in the next episode.
Yes, production leaned.
Extraordinarily heavy on GregNations on any show that the two
of us worked on.
Now it's different now, 2025.
I see the script coordinators inthe room and they spend all day
(16:34):
in the room.
And if they have to put a.
Script together, they'll bounceout, but they are sitting in the
room.
I think it's a great idea thatway they know they don't have to
struggle maybe over notes asmuch and what the writer meant
because they were there when itwas being created.
Okay.
(16:54):
Back.
To Greg, Mr.
Nations has had his own smallhand in determining some
outcomes of the series He wrote.
And Greg wrote a really goodepisode with Elizabeth Sarnoff,
the fourth episode of SeasonFour Egg Town, in which viewers
(17:15):
learned that Kate, one of thecrash survivors is raising
Aaron, the baby, born to Claireon the island, but being
sometimes privy to writingsessions has created a few
complications.
In terms of maintaining theBible, sometimes I remember
things from the writer's roomthat went through the script
(17:37):
stage, that went through variousrewrites that they shot, that
made it into the editing room,but didn't make it into the
final cut.
Mr.
Nations explained that becomesan issue.
Do we consider that canon?
Is that part of the mythology?
Is that part of the makeup ofthe character or because it
didn't ear?
(17:57):
Do we take that away now?
The answer he said, depends.
Sometimes Damon will say, ohyeah, that's part of what is
going on.
Even though we didn't say it inthe script, we all know it, and
that's going to be dealt withsometime down the road.
So I have to be aware of thosethings.
Too, I can just imagine Damonwanting to go home for the night
(18:20):
and Greg chasing him in theparking lot, asking him random
questions that Damon doesn'twanna answer.
No one back to the article.
No one is infallible, of course.
And fans of Lost have createdextended lists online of Con.
(18:40):
Annuity errors and bloopers.
Mr.
Nations emits that Without hisdatabase, he would have trouble
remembering everything about theseries.
There you go.
I guess that's the answer.
Even with a Greg Nations, thingshappen, and Back to the article.
(19:02):
Mr.
Nation admits that without hisdatabase, he would have trouble
remembering everything about theseries.
That was evident when a reporterasked him a question that had
been suggested by a colleague.
What became of the body ofNaomi, who in season four was
one of the rescuers from thefreighter sent to search for the
(19:25):
island.
She died after Locke threw aknife into her back.
She died in the jungle.
Mr.
Nation said, so she must stillbe on the island.
But wait, didn't Sayeed insiston taking Naomi's body back to
the ship?
You know you're right.
I'm trying to do Greg's voice.
You know You're right.
(19:47):
Greg Nation said she was on theship and the ship exploded.
I guess she's fish food.
You found something that Iwasn't tracking now.
I guess I had better.
There you go, Greg.
Always a gentleman.
Okay, so I had notes on my wrapup.
And maybe I'm gonna be a littlebit softer on them now, because
even with all the stop gaps lostput into place, things happened.
(20:11):
And so back to and just likethat.
I guess it's okay.
perhaps Michael Patrick Kingdoesn't have a Greg Nations,
Heather, McDonald's.
Of Juicy Scoop had aninteresting theory regarding
Nicole Ari Parker and the factthat, why didn't she step up and
(20:33):
say, Hey, my father alreadydied.
Heather was saying she probablydidn't want her storyline cut,
so she just kept her mouth shut.
And in defense of Nicole, Shewants to be a team player, and
if nobody else is making a bigdeal about it, she's not gonna
(20:53):
make a big deal about it.
Or maybe she did and the peopleshe went to just said, eh, let
it go Now.
Michael Patrick King, I willintroduce you to Greg Nations if
you would like, and I'll explainthe joke I did at that party
that you looked at me horrifiedand walked away.
(21:15):
one more thing before we wrapup.
Just last Monday, July 7th, theproduction team on, and just
like that clarified to theHollywood Reporter, the Dead Dad
reference in season one of showwas referencing Lisa's
(21:36):
stepfather.
Okay, now I'm back to somethingis going on behind the scenes
because that is bs.
Also, why isn't the writerMichael Patrick King, the
creative side coming out andsaying something looks like they
(21:57):
didn't want to come out and sayanything.
So they got the production team,which means.
Not the creative team and theycame out and made a statement
okay, I'm not buying it.
what do you guys think is goingon over?
And just like that, would loveto hear what you think.
(22:20):
And that's a wrap for theWriter's Hangout.
Thanks so much for listening.
If you enjoyed the show, pleasetake a moment to leave us a
review on Apple Podcasts.
Your positive feedback will helpus keep the show going so we can
continue bringing you morefuture episodes.
Remember, keep writing.
The world needs your stories.
The Writers Hangout is sponsoredby the Page International
(22:42):
Screenwriting Awards, withexecutive producer Kristen
Overn, producer Sandy Adamides,and myself, Terry Sampson.
And our music is composed byEthan Stoller.
Hello, my name is Sandy Adamis,the social media director for
the page, internationalScreenwriting Awards, and your
host for the Writer's Hangout.
A podcast that celebrates themany stages of writing, from
inspiration to the first draft,revising, getting a project made
and everything in between.
(00:32):
We'll talk to the best and thebrightest in the entertainment
industry and create a spacewhere you can hang out, learn
from the pros, and have fun.
Hey writers, it's Sandy.
I'm coming to you from StudioCity, the jewel of the San
Fernando Valley.
I'm recording late at night andthe moon phase today is waning
(00:56):
Gibbs.
Writers.
I'm interested in watching themovie, the Salt Path.
The Salt Path came out In 2024,it was written by Rebecca Linky
is based on the book by RainerWynn.
The book was huge.
The movie stars Gillian Andersonand Jason Isaacs.
And it is based on the truestory of a couple's journey
(01:18):
along the England's coast.
After legal troubles leave themhomeless and they receive a
shocking terminal illnessdiagnosis, the couple decides to
walk the 630 miles south widthSouthwest coast Path from
Minehead to pool, battling theelements, physical challenges
(01:39):
and their own fears, Now Isearched, but the movie isn't
streaming in the United States.
I was gonna get a VPN, but thenI decided to just ask you guys
for help first.
does anybody have access to saltpath?
Again, I wanted to rent it.
I can't, I'll watch it on astreamer.
I'm already paying for it, but Ijust can't get ahold of it.
(02:02):
Now, the book, the Salt Path, isdescribed as a true story, but
recent.
Investigations have raisedquestions about the accuracy of
some details regarding thecouple's loss of their home and
the illness.
While the author Rainer Wynnmaintains the story is true and
(02:25):
has provided some supportingdocumentations, others argue
that key aspects of the bookwere fabricated.
Or misrepresented.
Now I remember James Fry kids.
Check that out.
Google James Fry and Oprah.
Oh my.
I'd like to do a deep dive onthis and maybe do an episode
(02:46):
about the book in the movie.
So again, if there's somebodyout there who can give me access
to the movie, I would appreciateit.
Now today we are going to talkabout what the heck is going on
behind the scenes of a majortelevision show that just made a
mistake by killing off acharacter twice.
(03:08):
Now, how did this happen?
Who made this mistake?
The series is and just likethat.
Now, I wanna say upfront, evenif you don't watch and just like
that, you don't need to to enjoythis episode.
I'm also going to get into howcontinuity is usually handled by
(03:29):
talking about.
Greg Nations who was so good athis job as the script
coordinator on, lost the NewYork Times, did a profile on him
okay.
In the HBO series.
And just like that, starringmost of the original cast from
Sex and the City.
Sarah, Jessica Parker, CynthiaNixon and Kristen Davis reprised
(03:53):
the roles as Carrie Bradshaw,Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte
York.
Golden Blatt.
I.
Respectively, no.
Samantha Kim Catrell in sight.
She's supposedly, the characteris supposedly in London and I'm
assuming till HBO backs up themoney truck London.
She shall stay at the helm.
(04:15):
Once again is Michael PatrickKing.
I once tried to make him laughat a party.
He just looked at me horrified.
Now, there are several issueswith and just like that, which I
will not get into here, but thefans of Sex and the City Hate
watch this series, myselfincluded, but we cannot turn
(04:38):
away.
We are loyal to the charactersand we will take.
Any scraps, Michael, PatrickKing, and the writing staff will
throw at us.
So do the creatives behind theseries know this and say to
themselves, oh yeah, thatcharacter we killed off twice,
suck it.
This is what happened on thelatest episode of and just like
(05:00):
that, which aired on July 3rd onMax, A-K-A-H-B-O-A-K-A-H-B-O
Max, home of the Sopranos.
It's not tv, it's HBO.
Okay.
There was a plot hole regardingthe character Lisa Todd
Wesley's.
Father Lisa is played by NicoleAri Parker, who played the lead
(05:24):
in one of my favorite overlookedmovies.
It is called Dancing.
In September, Nicole played a TVwriter, executive producer,
struggling in Hollywood, and thetitle comes from when your
series gets picked up inSeptember, you're dancing Now in
season one, Lisa mentions herfather's death, but in season
(05:48):
three, the current season, theepisode that just aired.
he dies again.
This isn't an offscreencharacter.
He was played by Billy D.
Williams and when he died inepisode six, titled A Silent
Mode.
Lisa cries on the phone toCharlotte saying Her dad was 90
years old and died of a stroke.
(06:09):
His funeral was being held at alocal theater and she will be
delivering the eulogy.
How did this happen and is itimportant?
Mistakes are made, but I thinknobody cared.
believe it or not, on atelevision show, there are lines
of defense starting with thescript coordinator not to be
(06:31):
confused with the scriptsupervisor who is on set.
The script coordinator takes thedrafts from the writers who are
working on the script, puts themall together with the proper
formatting and after theapproval of the show runner.
This is what goes out toeveryone.
Cast, crew, studio, networkexecutives, hundreds of people.
(06:57):
If a mistake isn't caught in thewriter's room, the script
coordinator should have caughtit.
Now I'm gonna read you anarticle about.
Perhaps the most famous scriptcoordinator in the business
Writer Greg Nations.
Greg and I worked together andbecame friends, and I can attest
(07:18):
to everything that follows.
Greg was the script coordinatoron Lost.
We all remember Lost right backin 2004.
It was the hottest televisionshow created by JJ Abrams It
followed the survivors of acommercial jet flying between
Sydney and Los Angeles after theplane crashes.
(07:41):
On a mysterious island somewherein the South Pacific it had a
interesting format.
The episodes usually focus on amain storyline set on the island
with flashbacks or flashforwards.
that give importance to thecharacter involved that week.
(08:02):
The first episode it blasted outof the gate with this plane
crash and it made televisionhistory Okay, here is the New
York Times article by EdwardWyatt from January 15th, 2009.
and I'll put a link in the bio.
Gonna skip down just talkingabout lost, and then it gets to
(08:28):
A co-producer and the show'slongtime script coordinator, Mr.
Nations, has become the keeperof what has been found on lost
charged with tracking everythingthat has happened And will
happen to the characters on andoff the island, in addition to
charting the many mysteriouscharacteristics of the island
(08:50):
itself.
While most television seriesmaintain a Bible, a guy to
characters and plot lines thatare developed by the creators,
but revealed over multipleseasons, few, if any shows have
twists and turns as byzantine,as those un lost and unlike many
(09:12):
jobs, which get easier as thematerial becomes more familiar,
this one has become morecomplicated and that will be
true this season when the islanditself starts moving through
time as the people who seem tobe the guardians of its secrets,
try to protect it from theshadowy conspirator who could
(09:32):
have a darker use for itspowers.
By the way I did watch loss.
I checked out by this time backto the article before the show's
premier in September, 2004.
The producers were unsure thatloss would last beyond a few
episodes.
They therefore spent little timekeeping track of the
interlocking, overlapping, andoffering confounding storylines
(09:56):
that began to emerge even in thefirst episode.
But when the series proved to bean hit, we quickly realized we
needed some system to keep trackof all the details.
that we weren't going to be ableto do that.
By memory said Carlton Cues, oneof the show's, executive
(10:16):
producers and my old boss.
Enter Mr.
Nations, who has now compiled anarchive that were he ever to
print it out.
Might, as he put it in aninterview at the Lost Production
Office on Disney's BurbankStudio.
Lot give War and Peace a run forits money.
(10:40):
Just how long the entiredocument is.
He does not know.
He has never printed it out infull, in part because he and his
secretive boss do not wantcopies falling into the wrong
hands, But he does keep multipleelectronic copies, which he
keeps in undisclosed locations.
(11:03):
In addition to charting storyarcs and tracking characters,
Mr.
Nations has noted each charactersojourns on and off the island
mapped the research stationsestablished by the Mysterious
Dharma Initiative and recordedthe appearances and
disappearances of polar bearerssmoke monsters.
(11:26):
And an unhealthy array of guns.
It didn't take us very long tolearn to rely on Greg.
When we had to check out anissue of continuity.
Mr.
Q said he had a timeline charts,dossiers.
he took it into a dimension thatexceeded.
Anything we could imagine,Keeping those details straight
(11:47):
is likely to be increasinglyimportant as the series speed
towards its climax, jumping bothoff and back onto the island and
among the past, present, andfuture.
If Mr.
Echo shows up live, or Jack'schest here appears at an
inappropriate time, for example,viewers will notice.
(12:09):
Many have abandoned the showalready.
Oops.
Yeah, That was me.
After it drew an average of 16million viewers per episode in
its first season.
Its audience has steadilydecreased to an estimated 13.5
million per episode last season.
According to the Nielsen Mediaresearch, some of that decline
(12:31):
undoubtedly reflects a drop inoverall network television
viewership.
Oh, we were all so innocent backthere in 2009, weren't we?
Back to the article, but it canalso be traced to a feeling
among one time fans.
that the series has left thembehind without a good reentry
(12:51):
point.
let's skip ahead.
That's not really about Greg.
Let's go down.
Last year's promotional videofeatured Qs and Damon the
creator and executive producerto the series, giving a tour of
the writer's office.
It did not take long beforestills from the video were blown
(13:12):
up and posted online to show thewalls of the writer's work room.
Were cast.
Were divided between sectionstitled Alive, undead, rest in
Peace.
Visitors to One site commentedthat one of the characters
appeared to be.
alive even though he was aboardthe freighter that blew up in
the last season episode.
(13:34):
I dunno.
I thought that was interesting.
Trust me, that was not amistake.
They were messing with theviewers.
There is no way that Carltoncues, Damon Loff, the writers,
Greg would allow a mistake likethat.
They were effing with the fans.
In a good way.
Mr.
Nations acknowledge that hesometimes monitors those sites
(13:58):
there.
See?
You go.
The fans present their theoriesand it's fun to read, but I
usually don't comment on that.
He said, when I do, I am knownfor giving very vague answers.
It drives them crazy.
Born in Texas and raised inMissouri.
Nations graduated with anaccounting degree from Southwest
Missouri State University beforeattending film school at the
(14:22):
University of SouthernCalifornia.
Like many who followed thatpath, he found that a master's
degree qualified him inHollywood to work as a low paid
writer's assistant on the shortlived series on a minor
broadcast network specifically.
Pigsty on the UPN network andsister sister on wb.
(14:46):
Those experiences to however,put him in a position to fill an
opening for a script coordinatoron Nash Bridges.
That is where I met Greg, whichMr.
Qs was a writer and executiveproducer.
A few years later when Mr.
Qs was looking for someone tofill a similar position on Lost,
he remembered Mr.
Nations.
(15:09):
Mr.
Nations now says he might haveapproached the Lost project
differently.
The best thing would've been tocreate a database where
everything's linked.
And if we're talking about Jackand what was established in his
first flashback episode, youcould click on something that
takes you there.
Remember, this is back in 2009.
(15:30):
He's Greg said, but as anaccountant, he was more inclined
just to make notes in a ledger.
I just created these worddocuments and I just write
everything down.
For the most part, Mr.
Nations does not dwell on whatis to come, and in that respect
He is sometimes as much in thedark as any other fan when he
(15:51):
participates in the mini camps.
Each year when the writerssketch out the storylines for
the coming season, Mr.
Nation does not regularly sitwith the writers.
He's often the first reader ofthe completed script, however,
so he can advise the show'sproduction staffs.
Based in Hollywood on what itwill and what it will need to
(16:14):
shoot in the next episode.
Yes, production leaned.
Extraordinarily heavy on GregNations on any show that the two
of us worked on.
Now it's different now, 2025.
I see the script coordinators inthe room and they spend all day
(16:34):
in the room.
And if they have to put a.
Script together, they'll bounceout, but they are sitting in the
room.
I think it's a great idea thatway they know they don't have to
struggle maybe over notes asmuch and what the writer meant
because they were there when itwas being created.
Okay.
(16:54):
Back.
To Greg, Mr.
Nations has had his own smallhand in determining some
outcomes of the series He wrote.
And Greg wrote a really goodepisode with Elizabeth Sarnoff,
the fourth episode of SeasonFour Egg Town, in which viewers
(17:15):
learned that Kate, one of thecrash survivors is raising
Aaron, the baby, born to Claireon the island, but being
sometimes privy to writingsessions has created a few
complications.
In terms of maintaining theBible, sometimes I remember
things from the writer's roomthat went through the script
(17:37):
stage, that went through variousrewrites that they shot, that
made it into the editing room,but didn't make it into the
final cut.
Mr.
Nations explained that becomesan issue.
Do we consider that canon?
Is that part of the mythology?
Is that part of the makeup ofthe character or because it
didn't ear?
(17:57):
Do we take that away now?
The answer he said, depends.
Sometimes Damon will say, ohyeah, that's part of what is
going on.
Even though we didn't say it inthe script, we all know it, and
that's going to be dealt withsometime down the road.
So I have to be aware of thosethings.
Too, I can just imagine Damonwanting to go home for the night
(18:20):
and Greg chasing him in theparking lot, asking him random
questions that Damon doesn'twanna answer.
No one back to the article.
No one is infallible, of course.
And fans of Lost have createdextended lists online of Con.
(18:40):
Annuity errors and bloopers.
Mr.
Nations emits that Without hisdatabase, he would have trouble
remembering everything about theseries.
There you go.
I guess that's the answer.
Even with a Greg Nations, thingshappen, and Back to the article.
(19:02):
Mr.
Nation admits that without hisdatabase, he would have trouble
remembering everything about theseries.
That was evident when a reporterasked him a question that had
been suggested by a colleague.
What became of the body ofNaomi, who in season four was
one of the rescuers from thefreighter sent to search for the
(19:25):
island.
She died after Locke threw aknife into her back.
She died in the jungle.
Mr.
Nation said, so she must stillbe on the island.
But wait, didn't Sayeed insiston taking Naomi's body back to
the ship?
You know you're right.
I'm trying to do Greg's voice.
You know You're right.
(19:47):
Greg Nation said she was on theship and the ship exploded.
I guess she's fish food.
You found something that Iwasn't tracking now.
I guess I had better.
There you go, Greg.
Always a gentleman.
Okay, so I had notes on my wrapup.
And maybe I'm gonna be a littlebit softer on them now, because
even with all the stop gaps lostput into place, things happened.
(20:11):
And so back to and just likethat.
I guess it's okay.
perhaps Michael Patrick Kingdoesn't have a Greg Nations,
Heather, McDonald's.
Of Juicy Scoop had aninteresting theory regarding
Nicole Ari Parker and the factthat, why didn't she step up and
(20:33):
say, Hey, my father alreadydied.
Heather was saying she probablydidn't want her storyline cut,
so she just kept her mouth shut.
And in defense of Nicole, Shewants to be a team player, and
if nobody else is making a bigdeal about it, she's not gonna
(20:53):
make a big deal about it.
Or maybe she did and the peopleshe went to just said, eh, let
it go Now.
Michael Patrick King, I willintroduce you to Greg Nations if
you would like, and I'll explainthe joke I did at that party
that you looked at me horrifiedand walked away.
(21:15):
one more thing before we wrapup.
Just last Monday, July 7th, theproduction team on, and just
like that clarified to theHollywood Reporter, the Dead Dad
reference in season one of showwas referencing Lisa's
(21:36):
stepfather.
Okay, now I'm back to somethingis going on behind the scenes
because that is bs.
Also, why isn't the writerMichael Patrick King, the
creative side coming out andsaying something looks like they
(21:57):
didn't want to come out and sayanything.
So they got the production team,which means.
Not the creative team and theycame out and made a statement
okay, I'm not buying it.
what do you guys think is goingon over?
And just like that, would loveto hear what you think.
(22:20):
And that's a wrap for theWriter's Hangout.
Thanks so much for listening.
If you enjoyed the show, pleasetake a moment to leave us a
review on Apple Podcasts.
Your positive feedback will helpus keep the show going so we can
continue bringing you morefuture episodes.
Remember, keep writing.
The world needs your stories.
The Writers Hangout is sponsoredby the Page International
(22:42):
Screenwriting Awards, withexecutive producer Kristen
Overn, producer Sandy Adamides,and myself, Terry Sampson.
And our music is composed byEthan Stoller.
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