Molly McNearney on Comedy Writing, Rejection, & Keeping Hope

Our first guest of 2025 is the incredible Molly McNearney, the Emmy-winning Co-Head Writer and Executive Producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! With over 20 years at the late-night show, Molly is the powerhouse behind iconic segments like “Mean Tweets” and “Handsome Men’s Club,” and has written for the Emmy Awards and the Oscars. 

While Molly’s work has a massive audience, she usually plays a behind-the-scenes role and there’s quite a lot of mystery around what her job technically entails. Today, we’re excited to get into it all, including:

-what the work of a writer and producer for one of the biggest late-night comedy shows actually looks like.

-what prepared Molly most to navigate a male-dominated field with confidence.

-writing comedy, even in the face of constant, intense breaking news.

-the best way to handle rejection...and when to push back, too.

-and, learning to give yourself the same pep talk you would give to your best friend.

For more Molly, check out her Work Friends profile: https://argentwork.com/blogs/work-friends/molly-mcnearney

Work Friends is produced by ARGENT (www.argentwork.com), a women’s clothing label on a mission to redefine workwear and drive forward women’s progress.

For more, follow ARGENT on Instagram, @ARGENT, and subscribe to the ARGENT YouTube channel, @ARGENTWork, for clips and bonus content.

To be featured on a future episode, email your work questions and dilemmas to [e-mail] for a chance to have one of our amazing guests weigh in with advice.