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.
326
Justified finale panel from ATX Television Fest...
Esquire's Andy Langer chats with writer/creator Graham Yost, writer/producers Dave Andron and Fred Golan, director Jon Avnett, and co-star Nick Searcy (Art Mullen) about ending the brilliant FX series based upon the Elmore Leonard story.
66 min
327
“Coffee with Amy Sherman-Palladino” from ATX Te...
The creator Gilmore Girls and Bunheads joins Entertainment Weekly's Danielle Nussbaum for an intimate conversation about the creation of her shows, writing strong characters and dialogue, and lots more.
65 min
328
BAMFest at San Diego Comic Con
Riki Lindhome (co-creator, Another Period; Garfunkel & Oates), Mickey Fisher (creator, Extant), Tad Stones (creator, Darkwing Duck), Ben Edlund (creator, The Tick; Powers; Gotham), Cheryl Heuton (co-creator, Numb3rs), Jenny Klein (Supernatural), Aaron Ginsburg (The 100), Patrick Schumacker (iZombie; co-creator, $#*! My Dad Says).
59 min
329
James L. Brooks in conversation with Phil Rosen...
James L. Brooks is the writer/director of such seminal films as Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News. In TV, he started in series such as My Mother the Car, That Girl, and The Andy Griffith Show before creating or co-creating a staggering list of shows that changed the entertainment landscape: Room 222, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-offs Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant, Taxi, and more. He's responsible for shepherding The Tracy Ullman Show and The Simpsons. In this candid conversation with Everybody Loves Raymond co-creator Phil Rosenthal, Brooks discusses fifty years in television.
48 min
330
Halt and Catch Fire
Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers, creators of AMC's Halt and Catch Fire, discuss telling personal stories in a public medium, writing together, pitching and selling, and more.
65 min
331
ORPHAN BLACK panel from ATX Television Festival
With co-creator Graeme Manson and co-star Kristian Bruun (Donnie). Hosted by Natalie Abrams (Entertainment Weekly).
44 min
332
BONUS EPISODE TV Writers Room from WonderCon
Moderated by Sony Pictures Television's jocular senior VP of drama development & production Chris Parnell, this year's heroic lineup includes Jesse Alexander (Agent X, Heroes, Lost, Hannibal), Michael Narducci (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Medium), not so savage Steve Holland (The Big Bang Theory), Sarah Watson (Parenthood, About a Boy), Ashley E. Miller (Terminator, Fringe, Andromeda), Steve Melching (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Rebels, Guardians of the Galaxy Animated), Gabrielle Stanton (The Flash, Haven, Castle), Jose Molina (Agent Carter, Sleepy Hollow, Firefly), Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Helix, Lost, The Middleman), and Mark A. Altman (Femme Fatales, Castle, Necessary Roughness).
52 min
333
Marta Kauffman
The co-creator of Friends, Grace & Frankie, and Dream On discusses how she runs shows, what she looks for in a room, bringing heart to her shows, working with Netflix, the cultural impact of Friends, and lots more.
51 min
334
BONUS EPISODE FX Comedy Night panels from ATX T...
FX Comedy Night panels from ATX Television Festival, June 5, 2015.Married featuring creator Andrew Gurland and stars Nat Faxon, Judy Greer, Brett Gelman, and Sarah Burns; moderated by Ben Blacker; Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll featuring creator/star Denis Leary and stars Elaine Hendrix, Bobby Kelly, Elizabeth Gillies, and John Ales; moderated by Gary Levin (USA Today); You're the Worst featuring creator Stephen Falk and stars Aya Cash, Chris Geere, Desmin Borges, and Kether Donohue; moderated by Lesley Goldberg (Hollywood Reporter). Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll and the second season of Married premiere on FX on TONIGHT!
87 min
335
Chris Carter
Chris Carter, The X-Files creator discusses returning to the franchise he started 24 years ago, pitching and planning the show, mythology and monster-of-the-week episodes, his collaborators, how the room works, and lots more.
69 min
336
Neil Cross
Neil Cross, the creator of Luther and Crossbones talks about his beginnings as a novelist, banging his head against the wall, working from Wellington, New Zealand (where this interview was recorded!), learning TV from his first job on BBC's Spooks/MI-5, the fun of writing Doctor Who, and lots more, including comic books, Fox's Luther remake, and how great Idris Elba and Matt Smith are.
92 min
337
Kay Cannon
Kay Cannon, the hilarious, charming writer of Pitch Perfect and its sequel talks about her compulsion to write an a capella movie, her six years on 30 Rock, training at various Chicago improv studios, and lots more.
58 min
338
BONUS EPISODE: CBS Summer Series Writers from A...
Mickey Fisher (creator, Extant), Joshua Applebaum (co-creator, Zoo), and Adam Stein (Under the Dome) discuss their CBS summer event series, how they started in the business, and lots more. Under the Dome's third season debuted June 25; Zoo premieres June 30; Extant's second season premieres July 1.
53 min
339
BONUS EPISODE The Devoted Niche vs The Casual M...
What makes an audience valuable? Can a loyal, passionate fan base whose voice is ten times louder than a casual viewer make an impact? That and more are discussed by Phil Rosenthal (creator, Everybody Loves Raymond), Bryan Fuller (creator, Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Wonder Falls), Noah Hawley (creator, Fargo), and HBO director of development Kathleen McCaffrey.
53 min
340
BONUS EPISODE from ATX Television Festival
Following an advance screening of the Complications premiere, creator Matt Nix (Burn Notice), writer/producer Michael Horowitz, and stars Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl), Beth Riesgraf (Leverage) discuss the show with Mark Peikert of Backstage Magazine.
35 min
341
Brannon Braga
Brannon Braga, the co-creator of WGN America's Salem discusses his 15 years in the Star Trek franchise, starting as an intern on The Next Generation, running Voyager, and creating Enterprise, as well as talking candidly about Fox's Terra Nova, getting energized on 24, and lots more.
60 min
342
COMPLICATIONS' Matt Nix
Matt Nix, the creator of USA's upcoming Complications and Burn Notice returns to talk about his new medical thriller, telling a personal story, changing viewer habits, caring about stories, and making soup. Complications debuts on USA on June 18th.
64 min
343
Chris Sparling
The writer of the Cannes premiering Sea of Trees, directed by Gus Van Sant, as well as thrillers-in-a-box Buried and ATM, talks about the good side of being pigeon-holed, breaking in, writing for himself, and lots more.
63 min
344
CAM GIRLS
Creator/executive producer Joelle Garfinkel, director/executive producer David Slack, and co-star/executive producer Kate Bond discuss their new web-series, including its origins, the thematic goals, production, and lots more. Cam Girls premieres June 1 at CamGirlsTheSeries.com!
54 min
345
SPACE STATION 76
Director/co-writer Jack Plotnick and VFX supervisor Billy Brooks discuss the independent science fiction period black comedy, available now On Demand.
46 min
346
WAYWARD PINES' Chad Hodge
Showrunner Chad Hodge (creator of The Playboy Club, Runaway, and All About Us) talks about writing scripts you're passionate about, getting his unexpected break, early success in the Peter Engels (Saved by the Bell) camp, Oprah, writing pilots, and how the Fox limited series came together. Wayward Pines premieres this Thursday, May 14, on Fox!
64 min
347
Jennie Snyder Urman
Jane the Virgin creator/showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman (Gilmore Girls; Hope & Faith; Men in Trees) discusses the various stages of the show's development, finding Jane's voice, collaborating with her writers' room, the creation and cancelation of her previous CW series, Emily Owens MD, and lots more.
67 min
348
Adam Pava & Mark Miller
Adam Pava (The Boxtrolls; Out of Jimmy's Head) and Mark Miller (VP of Clive Barker's Seraphim Inc; writer of the Hellraiser comic) talk about writing as much as possible, writing even when you're not being paid, writing other people's properties, and more. Plus: Adam talks in depth about the work he did on The Lego Movie for his friends Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
75 min
349
Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul season 1 in review with co-creator/co-showrunner Peter Gould, writers Thomas Schnauz, Gennifer Hutchison, and Gordon Smith, and special guest Michael McKean (Chuck).
100 min
350
Diane Ruggiero and iZombie
Diane Ruggiero co-created iZombie and became showrunner Rob Thomas's right hand on Veronica Mars. Here, we dig deep with Diane to talk about how she was always a writer, how she went from waitressing to selling her first script to Nora Ephron to creating her own show to not working for a few years. She talks about how she likes to work and the best parts of writing.
82 min