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.

TV & Film
226
Shawn Ryan & Eric Kripke
The creators of NBC's Timeless discuss their collaboration, the tricks of writing time travel, how creating their own showsThe Shield and Supernatural, respectively as young writers informed their process, and more.
64 min
227
Humans
Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent, creators of Channel 4/AMC's Humans, talk about artificial intelligence in storytelling, what Westworld does well, their earlier work on MI-5, and lots more.
68 min
228
Incorporated's Ted Humphrey and David Pastor
The showrunner and co-creator of the Syfy series Incorporated discuss their working relationship, their show's relevance, and more.
56 min
229
Will Beall, Dan Newmark and Ben Newmark
Will Beall (developer/showrunner, Training Day); Dan Newmark and Ben Newmark (Gigi Does It; Coupled).
61 min
230
Escapist Comedy from ATX
Take a break from reality with a double header from ATX, a Television Festival. First, Jennie Snyder Urman (creator, Jane the Virgin), Kevin Biegel (creator, Enlisted and Cougartown), Justin Adler (creator, Life in Pieces), and Dana Tuinier (VP Original Programming, TVLand) talk about why a kinder approach to storytelling may be exactly what viewers want and need.
62 min
231
Can We Get Back to Politics? from ATX
The American political system often lends itself to some of TVs bleakest and most inspiring moments. In this conversation, Kevin Falls (The West Wing), Rosemary Rodriguez (The Good Wife), and Bryan Seabury (SVP Drama Development, CBS) examine working with an existing framework of D.C., what happens when fictional politics meet real-world expectations. and why the subject lends itself to rich storytelling and keeps an audience tuning in.
60 min
232
Throwing Shade
Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi talk about translating their Maximum Fun podcast into a TV Land late-night style series, their performance backgrounds, and more.
45 min
233
Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton
The It's Always Sunny in Philadephia writers and co-stars discuss their now-airing 12th season, changing the face of TV comedy, how their show is written, and more. Co-hosted by Sunny super-fan Jenny Klein (Supernatural; Jessica Jones).
82 min
234
Roundtable with Peter Tolan, Brannon Braga, Y. ...
Peter Tolan (co-creator/showrunner, Outsiders, Rescue Me); Brannon Braga (co-creator/showrunner, Salem; Star Trek: Next Generation); Y. Shireen Razack (Shadowhunters); Adam Nussdorf (creator, Beyond).
66 min
235
2016 Year in Review
Phillip Iscove (co-creator, Sleepy Hollow), Gloria Calderon Kellett (co-creator, the new One Day at a Time), and Dierdre Mangan (iZombie) look back on 2016 and try to find hope in the trends, movements, and good TV from this annus horribilis.
77 min
236
Patrick Ness
The screenwriter of A Monster Calls, and the author of the novel on which it's based, talks about how anyone with a story can be a writer, adapting his novel, his process, his other books including the Chaos Walking series and The Rest of Us Just Live Here, the Doctor Who spin-off Class he created for BBC, and more. A Monster Calls is in theaters December 23rd and throughout January.
36 min
237
Matt Ross
The actor (Silicon Valley; Big Love) and writer/director of Captain Fantastic, one of the best movies of the year, chats about stepping behind the camera, writing for actors, the biographical aspects of Captain Fantastic, and more. Seriously, stop messing around and see Captain Fantastic.
50 min
238
Eric Heisserer
The screenwriter of Arrival talks about the decade-long process of bringing that story to the screen, hard hat jobs he's worked on including the remake/prequel of The Thing, his directorial debut, Hours, and more.
64 min
239
Writers Assistants
Megan Metzger (When Calls the Heart), Dave Metzger (The Blacklist), Joelle Cornett (Pure Genius), Charlotte Lewis (Faking It), and Jake Thomas (Notorious) discuss what the job entails, how they got their jobs, the best rooms, and the odd place a writers' assistant holds in a writers' room. Recorded on September 11, 2016 at Nerdmelt Theater.
64 min
240
300th episode
Michael Schur (creator of The Good Place; co-creator of Parks & Recreation), Damon Lindelof (co-creator, Lost, The Leftovers), Carlton Cuse (co-creator of Jack Ryan, Colony, and Bates Motel; co-showrunner, Lost), Marti Noxon (co-creator of Unreal and Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce), Douglas Petrie (co-showrunner of Daredevil and The Defenders), David Fury (Buffy; 24), Jane Espenson (Buffy; Once Upon a Time), Charles Murray (Luke Cage; Sons of Anarchy), Andrew Miller (co-creator, Secret Circle; creator of the upcoming Tremors), Andrew Reich (Friends; co-producer Dead Pilots Society), Ben Acker (co-creator, Thrilling Adventure Hour; Supernatural), and Heath Corson (co-host, Nerdist Comics Panel; Scream) join Ben Blacker and Writers Panel darlings Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Avatar 3) and Jeff Greenstein (Friends; co-showrunner, Will & Grace; director, Mom) to celebrate this milestone episode of the podcast!
111 min
241
Martin Gero
Blindspot creator Martin Gero chats about putting together the team, breaking story, how he uses the writers' room, his unusual hiring process, his late, beloved series LA Complex, procedurals, those tattoos, and more.
45 min
242
John Green
The author of The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and more discusses discovering young adult fiction, the invention of characters, how his stories take shape, his earnest love of The Babysitters Club books, and more; he even drops some hints about his next novel!
97 min
243
CBS Women Showrunners Panel
Barbara Hall (creator of Madame Secretary, Judging Amy, and Joan of Arcadia); Joan Rater (co-creator of Doubt); Aline Brosh McKenna (co-creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend); Jenny Snyder Urman (creator of Jane the Virgin); Corinne Brinkerhoff (creator of No Tomorrow).
90 min
244
Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan
The creators of the new MTV show Mary + Jane discuss writing what they care about, their partnership and process, their breakthrough feature that led to Can't Hardly Wait, what happened after Josie & the Pussycats, and lots more. Ben Blacker and The Writers Panel have lots of upcoming live shows and appearances, including the 300th Episode Celebration on 11/6 in LA with Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Marta Kauffman, Mike Schur, and lots more!
74 min
245
THOSE WHO CAN'T
Writer/creators/stars Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl and Ben Roy discuss their TruTV comedy about teachers who are less mature than their students, getting their break in TV after the success of their Denver-based sketch group The Grawlix, the remarkable Maria Thayer, and more. Season 2 of Those Who Can't is on TruTV now. Ben Blacker and The Writers Panel have lots of upcoming live shows and appearances, including the 300th Episode Celebration on 11/6 in LA with Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Marta Kauffman, Mike Schur, and lots more!
51 min
246
Romance and YA TV
A double-header recorded at ATX, a Television Festival earlier this year. First, Keeping the Romance Alive with Hart Hanson (creator, Bones), Liz Tigelaar (showrunner, Casual; creator, Life Unexpected), Carter Covington (creator, Faking It), and Jennie Snyder Urman (creator, Jane the Virgin). How do writers keep a show going that's centered around a romance? What pitfalls can that bring, how do they keep an audience caring through the third, fourth, and fifth break upsor even more, after the central couple commits for the long haul, or worse decides to leave the show? Moderated by Jarret Wieselman (Buzzfeed). Then, Jarret is joined by Carina MacKenzie (The Originals) to talk about Young Adult TV with Tigelaar, Covington, Anna Fricke (developer, Being Human), and Rebecca Serle (Famous in Love). The creators of these teen centered TV shows discuss what they believe classifies a show as YA, what storylines they will and will not broach when it comes to this age range, and how they have mastered writing from the teenage perspective while garnering audiences of all ages.
118 min
247
Nerdist TV: The Boundary Pushers Live from SDCC...
Steven Moffat (Doctor Who; Sherlock), Bryan Fuller (American Gods; Star Trek; Hannibal), and Michael Green (American Gods) join Alicia Lutes (co-host/creator, Fangirling) at the Nerdist TV: The Boundary Pushers panel.
62 min
248
Westerns
Westworld creators Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy, Graham Yost (creator, Justified), Jonathan Tucker (actor, Justified), John Wirth (showrunner, Hell on Wheels), and Anson Mount (actor, Hell on Wheels) discuss the rich tradition of westerns on TV from iconic characters, to revenge, duels, outlaws, lawmen, and the communities they protect.
47 min
249
First Timers and One Season Wonders
A double-header recorded at ATX, a Television Festival this year. First, Ryan Condal (co-creator, Colony), Zander Lehmann (creator, Casual), Sarah Gertrude Shapiro (co-creator, unREAL), and Joe Pokaski (co-creator, Underground) discuss the process of creating and/or running their own show for the first time, and learning to juggle all that having a new series entails, from pitching, to writing and producing a pilot, having their series picked up, organizing a writers room, and being paired with seasoned showrunners (or learning to become one themselves).
117 min
250
High Maintenance
Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld, the creators, writers, and directors of web-series High Maintenance discuss their emotional writing process, keeping their trusted collaborators, the stories that interest them, and more.
67 min