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. Produced by the Forever Dog Podcast Network.
76
Alena Smith (Dickinson) and Tony McNamara (The ...
Ben talks to Alena Smith (Dickinson) and Tony McNamara (The Great) about revolutionizing the TV period drama.
60 min
77
Writers Panel Throwback: Survivor's Jeff Probst
Survivor premiered 20 years ago this week and has been a ratings juggernaut and CBS stalwart since, heading into its season 40 finale this month. Host Ben Blacker is a big fan of the series and, specifically, of host and showrunner Jeff Probst and his intuitive, empathetic, and conversational interview style. In 2016, Blacker got the opportunity to sit down with Probst to talk about showrunning, storytelling in the non-scripted medium, Probst's YA book "Stranded," and lots more.
89 min
78
Dana Fox (co-creator, Home Before Dark); Jeffre...
Being a boss, quarantine hacks and exciting new technology with Dana Fox (co-creator, Home Before Dark); Jeffrey Howard (The Haunting of Hill House; Midnight Mass); Jessica Amento (upcoming: creator, Obsessed).
67 min
79
Liz Benjamin (What/If; Man in the High Castle; ...
Old sample scripts with Liz Benjamin (What/If; Man in the High Castle; 13 Reasons Why); Jessica Gao (Rick and Morty; upcoming: She Hulk); Micah Schraft (Mrs. America; Jane the Virgin; Jessica Jones)
58 min
80
Dahvi Waller (creator, Mrs. America); Julia Yor...
Dahvi Waller (creator, Mrs. America); Julia Yorks (Puss in Boots; Skylander Academy)
41 min
81
David Hemingson (creator, Whiskey Cavalier, Kit...
Pilot limbo and cancellation heartbreak with David Hemingson (creator, Whiskey Cavalier, Kitchen Confidential); Carla Kettner (The Blacklist; Bones); Jenna Lamia (Good Girls; Awkward)
49 min
82
Michael Grassi (creator, Katy Keene); Michael W...
Getting it on the page and turning it in with Michael Grassi (creator, Katy Keene); Michael Waldron (upcoming: Loki; Rick and Morty); Nico Raineau & Lauren Schacher (director/co-writers, Hooking Up)
49 min
83
Little Fires Everywhere
The writers of "Little Fires Everywhere" (Liz Tigelaar, Nancy Won, Raamla Mohamed, Attica Locke, Harris Danow, Shannon Houston, Amy Talkington, Rosa Handelman) sat down with Ben a year ago before production began to talk about adapting the 2017 novel into a Hulu series.
57 min
84
Writers Panel Throwback: Dan Levy (creator, Sch...
As we reach the end of Schitt's Creek, the scrappy, addictive, charmball of a show, enjoy this throwback episode from 2016, just before season 2, in which co-creator Dan Levy discusses being a first-time showrunner, creating a happy work environment, learning from his father Eugene Levy, and more.
50 min
85
Pamela Ribon (Moana; Ralph Breaks the Internet)...
Finding the right opportunity with Pamela Ribon (Moana; Ralph Breaks the Internet); Mark Fergus (creator, The Expanse; Children of Men; Iron Man); JD Dillard (Sweetheart; Sleight).
61 min
86
Writers Panel Throwback: Breaking Bad Season 5 ...
Better Call Saul is back! The new season began this week on AMC. What better time to revisit co-creator/showrunner Peter Gould, co-creator Vince Gilligan, writer/producers Thomas Schnauz and Gordon Smith, along with then-Breaking Bad writer/producers George Mastras, Sam Catlin, Gennifer Hutchison, and Moira Walley-Beckett as they looked back at the pivotal penultimate season of Breaking Bad in 2012? The Bad/Saul rooms have been instructive and fascinating, changing very little in their process of over ten years of making incredible television. Lots to learn here.
71 min
87
Mark Frost (co-creator, Twin Peaks); Steven Can...
Creating and following through on ground-breaking television with Mark Frost (co-creator, Twin Peaks), Steven Canals (co-creator, Pose), Harley Peyton (Project Blue Book; Channel Zero; upcoming: Child's Play).
72 min
88
Ilana Peña (creator, Diary of a Future Presiden...
Show-running and failed networks with Ilana Pea (creator, Diary of a Future President), Joshua Safran (creator, Soundtrack) and Maggie Levin (My Valentine).
50 min
89
"Cut and Run": Behind the Audible series by Ben...
"Cut and Run" is a new Audible Original series available now! http://bit.ly/CutRunAudible It's about best friends who are kidney thieves and the havoc that wreaks on their relationships. The series stars Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally...), D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place), Sam Richardson (Veep), Thomas Lennon (Reno 911), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and lots more. Listen now!
60 min
90
Bo Yeon Kim, Erika Lippoldt, Zahir McGhee, Tayl...
Breaking into the business through contests and fellowships with Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt (Star Trek: Discovery; Reign); Zahir McGhee (Stumptown; For the People); Taylor Cox (Single Parents; Abby's).
47 min
91
Writers Panel Throwback: Mike Schur, Carlton Cu...
As we near the end of the brilliant "The Good Place," look forward to the premiere of Netflix's anticipated "Locke & Key," and marvel at the height of ABC sitcom "Single Parents," revisit the first appearance of Writers Panel favorites Michael Schur, Carlton Cuse, and J.J. Philbin. Recorded in April 2013, this episode features Schur who, at the time, was best known as the co-creator of "Parks & Recreation" with "Brooklyn 99" awaiting pick-up by Fox. Cuse was everywhere post-"Lost", executive producing pilots and series with other writers, including "Bates Motel," which he co-created with Kerry Ehrin. And Philbin was a key writer/producer on Fox's hit "New Girl."
100 min
92
Paul Tremblay
Paul Tremblay is the author of the horror novelsThe Cabin at the End of the World, Disappearance at Devils Rock and A Head Full of Ghosts, and the short story collection Growing Things. He has a masters degree in mathematics and teaches high school AP Calculus. Paul sat down in a quiet coffeeshop with a loud bar attached to talk about horror, his writing process, rejection, math, and lots more.
59 min
93
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is the writer/director of "Someone Great," a movie everyone who enjoys movies ought to see. Having learned the ropes as the creator/co-showrunner of MTV's "Sweet/Vicious," Jenn turned her hand to directing a personal story that's warm, funny, charming, and brimming with truth. Watch "Someone Great" on Netflix.
54 min
94
Alexandra Kleeman
Alexandra Kleeman is the author ofIntimations, a short story collection, and the novelYou Too Can Have A Body Like Mine, which was awarded the 2016 Bard Fiction Prize. She is an Assistant Professor at the New School and her second novel, Something New Under the Sun, is forthcoming from Hogarth Press. Alexandra sat down outside of a busy coffeeshop near Central Park to talk about being trapped in our own bodies, her process, teaching creative writing, and more.
58 min
95
Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson, Lauren Lefranc, S...
Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson, Lauren Lefranc, Sara Saedi
62 min
96
Mark Verheiden, Dayna Lynne North, Tamara Beche...
The perfect writers' room lunch order and the psychology of pitch approval with Mark Verheiden (creator, Swamp Thing; Daredevil; Battlestar Galactica); Dayna Lynne North (Insecure; Veronica Mars); Tamara Becher (Doom Patrol; Covert Affairs); Kai Yu Wu (creator, Ghost Bride; The Flash)
78 min
97
Megan Martin, Diane Ademu-John, Ian Deitchman
What does it take to run a writers' room? Megan Martin (creator, Apple+'s Brie Larson CIA show; Animal Kingdom); Diane Ademu-John (Empire; The Originals); and Ian Deitchman (Carnival Row; Suits; Parenthood) talk show-running and transitioning from features to TV to streaming.
64 min
98
Deric Hughes, Jose Molina, Gennifer Hutchison, ...
Recorded at San Diego Comic Con, July 19, 2019: Writing the Rules of Magic panel w/ Deric Hughes (Arrow; The Flash), Jose Molina (Magic: The Gathering; The Tick), Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad; The Strain), Kieron Gillen (The Wicked & the Divine; DIE), Julie Benson & Shawna Benson (Wu Assassins; The 100), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex), Chris Dingess (Doom Patrol; Agent Carter), Adam Rogers (Wired magazine).
50 min
99
Greg Nicotero, Rob Schrab, Byron Willinger, Phi...
The writers and showrunner of Shudder's new CREEPSHOW series...Greg Nicotero (showrunner; co-wrote the story Lydia Laynes Better Half), Rob Schrab (wrote the story Bad Wolf Down), Byron Willinger & Philip De Blasi (adapted the Stephen King story Gray Matter), and Brian Witten (executive producer).
62 min
100
Sunil Nayar, Erin Maher, Kay Reindl, Shoshana S...
Sunil Nayar (The Red Line; All Rise); Erin Maher and Kay Reindl (Swamp Thing; Scream); Shoshana Sachi (Doom Patrol)
61 min