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.
276
WAYWARD PINES
Creator Chad Hodge, executive producer Donald De Line and cast members Carla Gugino and Reed Diamond discuss the first season of the hit summer series.
35 min
277
Ben Karlin
The former Daily Show showrunner and Colbert Report co-creator discusses the daily grind of late night, his new pilots and the shows that got away, writing features, books, and TV, The Onion, Modern Family, and lots more.
80 min
278
“Boy Meets Girl Meets World” from ATX
Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World creator Michael Jacobs is joined by cast members Ben Savage, Rowan Blanchard, and Sabrina Carpenter for a look at tween series from 1990s and the 2010s.
59 min
279
Justin Adler
The creator of Life in Pieces talks about the short story structure of his sit-com, how far to push in comedy, early experiences on The Larry Sanders Show and Less Than Perfect, collaborating with his writers and cast, and lots more.
65 min
280
EMPIRE
Writer/executive producer/co-creator Danny Strong (Recount; The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1&2) and co-executive producer/writer Wendy Calhoun (Justified; Revenge; Nashville) discuss the first season of the blockbuster series.
53 min
281
Ali Adler
The co-creator/showrunner of Supergirl dicusses the three-shows-in-one being produced every week, balancing the super and the girl, being drawn to multi-generic television, her first job on Beverly Hills 90210, early work in comedy rooms such as It's Like, You Know and Family Guy, collaborating with Ryan Murphy on Glee and The New Normal, and with Greg Berlanti on No Ordinary Family and Supergirl, and lots more.
52 min
282
Focus Testing panel from ATX
Kyle Killen (creator of Awake, Lone Star, and Mind Games) returns for another look at a specific track of television production with a presentation on the testing process. Following his breakdown of the unique stage of production, Kyle is joined by Julie Plec (co-creator, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals), Ben Wexler (co-creator, The Comedians), Chad Hodge (creator, Wayward Pines), and Dina Hillier (VP of Comedy Development, Paramount Television) to discuss their own experiences with focus groups and testing and how that changed his or her show.
85 min
283
Doug Petrie & Marco Ramirez, Melissa Rosenberg,...
Doug Petrie & Marco Ramirez (showrunners, Marvel's Daredevil); Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight movies; creator, Marvel's Jessica Jones); Jason Katims (creator, Parenthood; creator, About a Boy; Friday Night Lights); Jessica Goldberg (creator, The Path).
97 min
284
“Final Finale” panel from ATX Television Festival
Marta Kauffman (co-creator, Friends), Ron Cowen & Dan Lipman (developers, Queer as Folk [US]), and Graham Yost (creator, Justified) discuss the pressure, the satisfaction, the luxury, and pain of wrapping up their stories, the weight that comes with deciding the final shot, satisfying a viewer while doing the characters justice, and more.
53 min
285
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
The writers of The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, as well as Ed Wood, The People Vs. Larry Flint, and more discuss how the ten-episode OJ story is different to writing a feature, its Dickensian appeal, writing real people, rebranding after their first feature, Problem Child, formatting, and lots more.
68 min
286
Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec in conversation
Kevin Williamson (creator, Dawson's Creek, The Following; Scream; co-creator, The Vampire Diaries, Secret Circle, more) and Julie Plec (co-creator The Vampire Diaries, The Originals; creator, Containment) look back over their working relationship, where it started and what theyve learned from each other when it comes to navigating their way through Hollywood, co-creating a hit TV show, and running multiple shows at once.
51 min
287
The Last Man on Earth
Creator/star Will Forte (Saturday Night Live; MacGruber), showrunner Andy Bobrow (Community) and writers Tim McAuliffe, Erica Rivinoja, Erik Durbin, Matt Marshall, Kira Kalush, Dave Noel, and John Solomon. The Last Man On Earth returns on March 6th on Fox!
56 min
288
What's Your Pitch? panel from ATX
Ever wonder how your favorite series was pitched in the room? Hear directly from showrunners/creators how they pitched their original series ideas, plus executives that have heard some of the most iconic pitches. They discuss the factors that affected the original pitch, the pilot, and the ultimate series, and why certain changes may have been made to get their story onto your TV. With Dan Harmon (creator, Community), Michael Jacobs (creator, Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World), producer Mark Johnson (Rectify; Breaking Bad), and HBO Director of Programming Kathleen McCaffrey.
62 min
289
Kenya Barris, Jonathan Groff, Mike Scully, Lill...
Kenya Barris (creator, Black-ish); Jonathan Groff (co-showrunner, Black-ish; creator, Andy Barker PI); Mike Scully (The Simpsons; Parks & Recreation; Everybody Loves Raymond); Lilla Zuckerman & Nora Zuckerman (Suits; Haven; Fringe).
97 min
290
“Unseasonably” panel from ATX
Traditional seasons are a thing of the past. With new content available to viewers at all times, and the distance between seasons being anywhere from 6 weeks to 22 months, there is a new reality that TV is a year-round industry. It's discussed by Noah Hawley (creator, Fargo), Beau Willimon (creator, House of Cards), Mickey Fisher (creator, Extant), and Graeme Manson (co-creator, Orphan Black).
59 min
291
Jeff Probst
The Survivor host and showrunner, screenwriter, director, producer, and author discusses storytelling in all of its forms, learning by doing, finding big drama in small, personal moments, collaborating, honesty, and lots more.The new season of Survivor begins February 17 on CBS!
92 min
292
Kristin Newman
The new showrunner of The Muppets discusses taking the reigns on that show, working with felt, jokes and heart, starting out as writers' assistant and her first job on That 70's Show, and her work on The Neighbors, Galavant, and more.
61 min
293
11.22.63
Creator Bridget Carpenter (Friday Night Lights; Red Road) discusses the new Hulu series based upon the Stephen King novel. She talks about her enthusiasm for the project, working with King, JJ Abrams, and James Franco, drawing out the themes that interested her, honesty in the writers' room, and lots more.
70 min
294
RICK AND MORTY
Creators/executive producers Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland, and writer/producer Ryan Ridley.
64 min
295
THE BIG SHORT
Charles Randolph, co-writer of The Big Short, discusses grappling with difficult or multiple concepts, zeroing in on characters, his background as a philosophy professor, The Life of David Gale, and more.
65 min
296
DAWSON'S CREEK
Dawson's Creek writers room reunion with creator Kevin Williamson (Scream; The Following), Jenny Bicks (The Big C; creator, Men In Trees), Paul Stupin (Switched at Birth), Rob Thomas (creator, Veronica Mars; co-creator, iZombie), Gina Fattore (Californication; Gilmore Girls), and Anna Fricke (creator, Being Human [US]). Moderated by Julie Plec (co-creator, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Contagion).
87 min
297
OUTSIDERS
Outsiders creator Peter Mattei discusses his new WGN America series, the ups-and-downs of writing for TV, his background as a playwright and visual artist, writing without a map, and more. Outsiders premieres on WGN America on January 26th.
52 min
298
Black Sails
Creators Jonathan Steinberg and Robert Levine (Jericho; Human Target) and executive producer Dan Shotz discuss the creation and execution of the Starz pirate action-drama, finding the show's tone, their insane production schedule, their collaborators, and more.
66 min
299
Chris Parnell and Jason Clodfelter
From the JHRTS (Junior Hollywood Radio & TV Society) event August 2015, Sony EVPs of drama development Chris Parnell and Jason Clodfelter talk about rising through the studio ranks, speaking the language of writers, developing material they believe in, allowing for creative vision, and lots more.
76 min
300
COLONY
Co-creators Carlton Cuse (Lost; co-creator of The Strain, Bates Motel) and Ryan Condal (Hercules film) and star Josh Holloway (Lost; Intelligence) discuss the new USA series including the importance of family, the show's creation, colonization, and more.
28 min