Dead Pilots Society

Episode 206: Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow

This month, Dead Pilots Society presents Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow, a returning guest who previously appeared on the podcast with her pilot Assisted Loving, featured in Episode 13. Claudia has had a long and impressive career as a writer and producer. She has created four television series including How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life), Accidentally On Purpose, Rude Awake...

Episode 205: Kathryn Borel Jr Interview
 

This month's aftershow features a conversation with writer Kathryn Borel Jr., whose ambitious adaptation of On the Road was featured in last week's episode. Kathryn has written for Rush, American Dad!, Anne with an E, and Kung Fu, and is currently working on Damon Lindelof's upcoming limited series The Chain.

Kathryn talks about her remarkably unconventional childhood, her windin...

Episode 204: On The Road by Kathryn Borel Jr

This month's dead pilot is On the Road, Kathryn Borel Jr.'s daring reimagining of Jack Kerouac's iconic novel. Instead of trying to recreate a literary classic beat for beat, Kathryn takes its spirit and builds something entirely her own. It's exactly the kind of ambitious swing we love celebrating on Dead Pilots Society.

Kathryn's credits include Rush, American Dad!, Anne with an...

Episode 203: Joel Kim Booster Interview

This is the aftershow for Here, After, featuring a conversation with writer, actor, and comedian Joel Kim Booster. Joel is known for writing and starring in Fire Island and for his work on The Other Two and Big Mouth. As an actor, he's appeared in Loot, Search Party, Shrill, and more.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Joel talks about his early days as a playwright, the television shows an...

Episode 202: Here, After by Joel Kim Booster

This month, Dead Pilots Society welcomes back writer, actor, and comedian Joel Kim Booster, whose pilot Birthright was previously featured on Episode 34. Joel wrote and starred in the hit Hulu movie Fire Island. He was a writer on The Other Two and Big Mouth, and as an actor, you've seen him on Shrill and Search Party.

Joel's pilot Here, After, never actually sold, despite being develo...

Episode 201: Christian Duguay Interview
 

This is the After Show for Valley Heat, featuring Andrew’s interview with creator Christian Duguay.

A longtime admirer of Valley Heat, Andrew finally gets the chance to sit down with Christian for a conversation about the unusual path that led to the creation of the podcast. Unlike many guests on the show, Christian didn’t come up through traditional TV comedy writing...

Episode 200: Valley Heat by Christian Duguay

This month marks the 200th episode of Dead Pilots Society, which feels like a real milestone for a show that requires considerably more coordination than a couple of people just turning on microphones and talking. Every pilot episode means finding a pilot, assembling a cast, and putting together a live reading, so reaching 200 episodes feels genuinely significant.

While this is the sho...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 1

As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.
 

The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the...

Episode 199: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview Part Two

This is the After Show for Gimme Five, featuring part two of Andrew’s conversation with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, creators of How I Met Your Mother.

The discussion digs into the real-life inspiration behind Gimme Five, a project shaped as much by nostalgia as it is by firsthand experience. Carter and Craig reflect on the writers’ rooms that shaped the p...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 2

As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.
 

The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 3

As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.

The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time of ye...

Episode 198: Gimme Five by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas

This month’s second dead pilot from Carter Bays and Craig Thomas is Gimme Five.

Best known as the co-creators and longtime showrunners of How I Met Your Mother, Carter and Craig previously wrote for The Late Show with David Letterman and produced American Dad. They co-wrote this pilot with legendary writer Peter Tolan, whose credits include The Larry Sanders Show, Rescu...

Episode 197: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview

This is the After Show for New York Mythological, featuring Andrew’s conversation with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, creators of How I Met Your Mother.
 

As part of this MaxFunDrive run, Dead Pilots Society is featuring two pilots from Carter and Craig. In a few days, the second one, Gimme Five, will be released, followed by part two of Andrew’s int...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 4

As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.

The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time ...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 5

As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.

The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time of ye...

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters.

In this episode, Ben Blacker (Dead Pilots Society), Hal Lublin (Tights and Fights & We Got This with Mark and Hal) and Alonso Duralde (Maximum Film!) take listeners behind the scenes and swap stories about the ups and downs of podcasting. Plus, why does every TV reboot have a ch...

Episode 196: New York Mythological by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas

This month’s dead pilot, kicking off the 2026 MaxFunDrive, is New York Mythological, written by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.

Best known as the co-creators and showrunners of How I Met Your Mother, Carter and Craig previously wrote for The Late Show with David Letterman and produced American Dad. Carter is the author of the novel The Mutual Friend, Crai...

Episode 195: Georgia Pritchett Interview

This After Show features Andrew’s interview with Emmy and WGA Award–winning writer Georgia Pritchett, the writer of this month’s dead pilot, Bump.

Georgia is best known for her work on Veep and Succession, and has also written for The Thick of It and Avenue 5. She created and showran The Shrink Next Door and is the author of the memoir My Mess Is a Bit of a Life: Adventur...

Episode 194: Bump by Georgia Pritchett

This month’s dead pilot is Bump, written by Emmy and WGA Award–winning writer Georgia Pritchett. Georgia is widely known for her work on Veep and Succession, and has also written for The Thick of It and Avenue 5. She served as creator and showrunner on The Shrink Next Door and is the author of the memoir My Mess Is a Bit of a Life: Adventures in Anxiety.

Bump follows a British co...