The showrunner of Fox's hit Empire and the creator of Showtime's The L Word, Ilene Chaiken talks about the similarities between these shows, her years as a development executive for Aaron Spelling, how the Empire room tries to be true to the voices of creators Danny Strong and Lee Daniels, writing characters over time, and the joys of Cookie.

Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss (season 1; later work includes co-creating Partners), Alexa Junge (seasons 1-5; later work includes Grace and Frankie [with Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman]; United States of Tara; Once and Again), and Adam Chase (seasons 1-6; post-Friends work includes The Crazy Ones; Mom; creating Clone) discuss the earliest days of the ground-breaking sitcom from participating in the punch-up the pilot script with creators Marta Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin Bright, to getting hired for the writing staff, mining their lives for stories, the long hours, the democracy of the room, arguments, jokes, and lots more. 

PLUS: Enormous thanks to Rhett Miller (Old 97's), Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), and Kate Micucci (Garfunkel and Oates) on their musical contributions to this week's show. They are SO GOOD.

CBS's Bryan Seabury, Sony's Chris Parnell, and Caitlin Foito of ABC Studios take you inside the TV pitching and selling process from another perspective. Their candid conversation covers how decisions are made, what works in pitching and selling, the shifting marketplace, and how the best advice is to make the TV you want to see.

Co-creator/showrunner Bob Fisher (Traffic Light) and actor Kevin Bigley of the USA half-hour program Sirens chat about how the show is made, shooting in Chicago, comedy they love, and lots more. Season 2 of Sirens premieres tonight on USA!

Nell Scovell, creator of the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch series, has been in the business for thirty years and has worked with such luminaries as David Letterman, the Smothers Brothers, and more. She's been on the staff of such shows as Newhart, Coach, Murphy Brown, Charmed, NCIS, and Warehouse 13, and she co-wrote the seminal women-at-work book Lean In with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Nell talks about ALL of this, as well as gives great advice to writers starting out.

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt's new book, Silver Screen Fiend, is out now. In this chat with author, humorist, and actor John Hodgman, Patton talks about how the book came to be, his love of movies, comedy, and lots more. 

Recorded at Barnes & Noble in Union Square, NY, on January 6, 2014. Enormous special thanks to Rachael Berkey for her assistance in recording.

The creator of Hart of Dixie, which begins its fourth season this Friday (January 9), talks about creating the show, being a first-time showrunner, working with the CW, creating the show as a response to her time on Gossip Girl, as well as how she broke in, her early jobs on The OC and Life As We Know It, and lots more.

Our old pals Josh Friedman (showrunner, The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Avatar sequel), Aaron Ginsburg (The 100; Intelligence; The Good Guys), and Emily Halpern (co-creator, Trophy Wife) discuss the difficulty in getting things made in 2014, the buying trend of established brands, comedies that work, Serial, the Dorothy Problem, the Doughnut Hole Problem, and lots more in this year-end wrap up. Also: Ben Blacker talks about changes to the podcast!

Since starting out as an assistant on Freaks and Geeks and her first staff writer job on Undeclared, Jenni Konner has gone on to write and produce shows for network television and cable. She's now the co-showrunner of HBO's Girls with show creator Lena Dunham. Jenni talks about how the Girls room works, what she's learned from Judd Apatow, the fun of punch-up sessions, and lots more.

Ben Queen (creator, A to Z), Kim Shumway (The 100; Dallas), Deirdre Mangan (I, Zombie). Getting back to our “panel” roots by throwing together three writers from different backgrounds and experiences to talk about the business and process of writing for TV!

The creator of CBS's hit Scorpion and the beloved Prison Break talks about his work habits, blending drama and comedy, transitioning from law to screenwriting, what he looks for in putting together a room, and more. 

Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and designer Lisa Hanawalt discuss the conception of the animated comedy, Raphael's inspiration from Lisa's middle-school drawings, the freedom of working with Netflix, going dark and serialized, and lots more.

Get the new digital-only comics from Ben Acker & Ben Blacker at http://thrillingadventurehour.com/wordpress/comic-books/. Origin issues of The Thrilling Adventure Hour's Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars, and Beyond Belief!

The creators of the USA comedy, Michaela Watkins (Saturday Night Live; Trophy Wife) and Damon Jones (Halfway Home) discuss issue-driven comedy, long takes, complicated characters, selling their series twice, their writers' room, and lots more. Benched airs Tuesday nights on USA!

Erica Messer has been with Criminal Minds from its first day and has been promoted through the ranks to showrunner of the long-running CBS series. She talks about the big changes the show has made over the years, where the staff finds stories, balancing personal stories with crime procedural, and her beginnings on such shows as Party of Five, Alias, and The OC.

Producer Ryan Patrick McGuffey, director Des Doyle, and author Tara Bennett (who wrote the official companion to the film, Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show) discuss showrunning and showrunners, what sort of a person becomes one, what they discovered in making their documentary, their inspiration for the film, and lots more. Showrunners premiered at the Austin Film Fest last week and is in theaters starting October 31.

The showrunner of Red Band Society and Mistresses talks about writing at the heyday of the WB, having worked on Jack & Jill, Dawson's Creek, and Everwood (eventually running the latter), developing the delightful Privileged only to find it didn't fit the new CW brand, and rising to the occasion of running other creators' shows.

The creator of Broadchurch and its American remake, Fox's Gracepoint, as well as Born and Bred, discusses writing personal stories, show-running Torchwood and Law & Order: UK, writing for Doctor Who and Life on Mars, advice from Russell T. Davies, his beginnings as a playwright, and lots more.

The creator of WGN's terrific series Manhattan talks about his inspiration for the show, relationships with writers, balancing his characters' stories with historical fact, what he learned from working on Masters of Sex, and lots more.    

The showrunners of both Marvel's Agent Carter series debuting in January and ABC's Resurrection (second season Sept 28) talk about their long writing partnership, what they learned from their colleagues on series as diverse as Law & Order: SVU, Dollhouse, and Hawaii 5-0, and creating a happy workplace with their own series, Reaper.

Creator/executive producer Jonah Nolan (The Dark Knight), executive producer/co-showrunner Greg Plageman (NYPD Blue), and writers/producers Lucas O'Connor, Erik Mountain, Ashley Gable, and Andy Callahan chat about the 4^th season of the hit CBS drama, big decisions about the series, the changing nature of its characters and interests, and lots more. Season 4 premieres tonight!

The writer of the lauded horror film You're Next as well as the upcoming The Guest talks about writing for himself and his creative partner Adam Wingard as well as for an audience, walks us through his late nights of writing, his attempts to write films differently, and lots more. The Guest is in theaters this week.

Live from SDCC 2014, it's the Nerdist Podcast Super Panel with Matt Mira (Nerdist, James Bonding), Jonah Ray (Nerdist, Jonah Raydio), Janet Varney (The JV Club), Cole Stratton (Pop My Culture), Gil Letelier (The Mutant Season), Ben Blacker (Nerdist Writers Panel, Nerdist Comics Panel, Thrilling Adventure Hour), Ben Acker (Thrilling Adventure Hour), Sandra Daugherty (Sex Nerd Sandra) and Dave Ross (Terrified)!

Creators of the Hulu original series, director Nancy Hower and actor John Lehr, talk about their improvised Western procedural sit-com, how they collaborate, comedy influences, their previous show, TBS's 10 Items or Less, and lots more. Season 2 of Quick Draw continues on Hulu through September!

Some live Nerdist Writers Panels coming up!

Sept 21, 5pm at Meltdown with the writers of Person of Interest:bit.ly/NWPPofI

Oct 9, 7pm at the Housing Works Bookstore in Soho with Terence Winter (creator of Boardwalk Empire), Danny Strong (writer of the Hunger Games: Mockingjay adaptations), and comics writer Ales Kot (Secret Avengers): http://bit.ly/NWPNYSW

Plus: live Nerdist Comics Panels in NY with Brian Michael Bendis, Charles Soule, and more to be announced soon!

With Liz Tigelaar (Nashville; Bates Motel; creator, Life Unexpected), Kyle Killer (creator, Awake and Lone Star), Mark Johnson (EP, Rectify), Bryan Seabury (VP, Drama Development at CBS), David Madden (President, Fox TV Studios). Moderated by the AV Club's Todd VanDerWerff.

The serialized drama has evolved drastically in the past thirty years. Leading characters have shifted from heroes to anti-heroes, and stories have moved from clear good vs. evil to murky immorality that leaves audiences unsure whom they should root for. Today’s leading drama producers and writers discuss current trends in their genre, including: the expansion to dark and depraved worlds, advantages (or challenges) that come with network or cable (or online), viewing habits of audiences, and if any of these factors have an impact on how they choose to tell their story.

Kyle Killen (Awake; Lone Star) knows more about ratings than he cares to, and he's going to break it down for you starting with who, what, when, where, or IF watching matters. Dissecting Neilsen, DVRs, live viewing, social media, and streaming, he’ll answer questions like: What's a share? How everyone you know can be talking, tweeting and watching a show, but it still gets canceled? And why do ratings equal cancellation on one network but a hit on another? Following his 15 minute presentation, Killen sits down with top critics Alan Sepinwall (Hitfix), Matthew Zoller Seitz (Vulture), Todd Vanderwerff (A.V. Club), and Tara Ariano (Previously.tv) to discuss TV's growth in the past decade, where its going, and their contributions to a show's fate.

Creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino talk about bringing their adventure/action/comedy/coming-of-age animated series to the screen, finding a new process for producing animated television, their non-cancelation, the big screen adaptation, and lots more. The “Book 3” finale is available this Friday at http://www.nick.com/legend-of-korra/videos/ and on many other platforms!

The author of such young-adult novels as The Name of the Star (first of the “Shades of London” series), 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and Suite Scarlett talks about writing and writing and writing...

Whether it's a beloved relationship (Jason Katims' About a Boy), a specific tone (Noah Hawley's Fargo), a foreign format (Andy Daly's Review), or a tale with a pre-determined ending (Carlton Cuse's Bates Motel), a reimagined story looks to balance the previously told one with an innovative new viewpoint that makes it worth revisiting. Moderated by Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall at the ATX Television Festival on June 7 2014.

Thomas Lennon (co-creator, Reno 911; Night at the Museum; @midnight) and Neal Baer (showrunner, Under the Dome; ER; Law & Order: SVU). Recorded live at the Nerdist space at Petco Park during San Diego ComicCon, on July 24, 2014.

The creator of Boardwalk Empire and Oscar nominee for his adaptation of the Wolf of Wall Street talks about his start in sit-coms, short-lived, and syndicated shows, lessons from great rooms (including The Sopranos), his interests in crime and cons (and some that he's pulled), and wrapping up his Empire.

Mike Royce and Ray Romano (creators, Men of a Certain Age); Emily Halpern (co-creator, Trophy Wife), Andy Daly (co-creator, Review), and Kerry Ehrin (co-creator, Bates Motel) discuss working with another creative person, how pilots are created together, how the room works, and more.

PLUS: A panel with Men of a Certain Age creators Royce, Romano, and writer Lew Schneider, following a screening of episode 106, “Go with the Flow.”

From this year's ATX Television Festival, an intimate discussion of his influences and TV inspirations, his mentors, tales on how he got his start, and his personal and professional highs and lows. Joined by Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall, Cuse talks about creating series like The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., and Nash Bridges, to his time as a showrunner and executive producer of the controversial cultural phenomenon Lost alongside Damon Lindelof, to now balancing two different endeavors as co-creator, showrunner, writer and Executive Producer of A&E's Bates Motel and FX's The Strain.

We last spoke with Wired editor Adam Rogers way back in episode 24 and discussed the book he had just begun. Now that book is here! Proof: The Science of Booze is a fascinating and immensely enjoyable survey of how your favorite spirit gets into your glass and what happens once you drink it. Rogers talks about the challenges and joys of writing the book. Get it now on Amazon. 

Graeme Manson and John Fawcett, creators of Orphan Black, talk about the long gestation period of their clone saga, how the show works, what each of them brings to the project, what happens in the room, and lots more. PLUS: a not-so-great recording (sorry!) of the Q&A that followed the screening of season 2's eighth episode, “Variable and Full of Perturbation.” Moderated by Variety's Laura Prudom at ATX Television Festival in Austin on June 7, 2014.

Noah Hawley (creator of My Generation and The Unusuals) talks about adapting the Coen Brothers' movie for the ten-episode FX series, the atypical writing and production process for the show, and what may come next. PLUS: Hawley, producer Warren Littlefield, and Fargo stars Allison Tolman and Keith Carradine in a panel moderated by Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall following a screening of episode 9 at ATX Television Festival in Austin on June 7, 2014.

Will Eubank has worked as a cinematographer for years in the film industry, and now his second feature as writer/director, The Signal, is being released by Focus Features. Will talks about how he got where he is, bringing visual style to scripts, and more. The Signal is in select theaters on June 13^th.

This is not the name of a terrible TV procedural, but rather the topic of discussion with lawyer Larry Zerner and lawer-turned-TV-writer David Hudgins (Friday Night Lights). What do writers, especially beginning writers, need to know about their rights? About copyright? About contracts? These questions and more are addressed.

Second City luminary Craig Cackowski (Community; Veep), and Second City alumni Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin (Thrilling Adventure Hour) discuss improvisation techniques and uses for aspiring actors at a panel at Chicago's C2E2. So much of this applies to writing as well—after all, what is improv but creating worlds, situations, and characters in the moment—that it seems well worth sharing.

Recorded April 27, 2014

Creator/co-showrunner Kevin Biegel (co-creator, Cougar Town) and co-showrunner Mike Royce (co-creator, Men of a Certain Age) discuss the critically beloved Fox comedy, why it's personal for them both, breaking stories, and more.

Creator/executive producer Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight; Interstellar) and executive producer Greg Plageman (NYPD Blue; Cold Case) sit down to talk about the hit CBS show, balancing procedural, sci-fi, and personal stories, working in the room, and more.

Ben Blacker sits down with Children of Tendu hosts Javier Grillo-Marxuatch (Helix; creator, The Middleman) and Jose Molina (Sleepy Hollow; Terra Nova) and their mentors Rene Echevarria (Star Trek: TNG/DS9; Dark Angel; Medium; Terra Nova) and Naren Shankar (Star Trek: TNG/DS9; CSI; Almost Human) to talk about room behavior, good bosses and great bosses, first scripts, and lots more.

For part 1 of the CoT/NWP crossover, go to childrenoftendu.com

Judalina Neira (who went from the NBC writers program to being writers' assistant on Do No Harm) and Heidi Cole McAdams (who moved from development to writing for ABC's Intelligence), so-called “baby writers,” staff writers who recently have been given their first break, sit down with Ben Blacker and Wade McIntyre (Intelligence) to talk about breaking in, agents, and everything new TV writers should know.

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, writers of Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, The Chronicles of Narnia, and more, chat about their process, being architects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being pleasant to work with, and more.

Scriptnotes hosts John August (Big Fish; Frankenweenie; Go) and Craig Mazin (The Hangover 2; Identity Thief) join NWP's Ben Blacker to talk about what Craig and John are working on, their writing habits, take questions from the audience, and more.

For part one of the podcast, go to Scriptnotes: http://johnaugust.com/podcast.

Jonathan Groff (creator, Andy Barker PI; Happy Endings; Scrubs); Rob Doherty (creator, Elementary); Steven Maeda (Helix; Pan Am; Lost; X-Files).

Recorded March 16, 2014

UCB co-founder Matt Walsh (actor, Veep, Dog Bites Man) talks about his present project as writer/director, A Better You, which is currently running an IndieGoGo campaign to pay for post-production. Matt chats about scripting an improvised film, writing sketches, the early days of Comedy Central, and his influences.

Andy Daly, writer/actor Andy Blitz, and writer/director Jeffrey Blitz discuss their terrific new Comedy Central show Review. How the show was made, Andy's character “Forrest McNeil,” how episodes are broken, and the arc of the show are discussed.

Clark Gregg (writer/director: Choke; Trust Me; actor: Marvel's Agents of SHIELD); Dan Bucatinsky (writer: Web Therapy; Grey's Anatomy; actor: Scandal); Liz Vassey (writer: NBC bowling pilot; actor: CSI; The Tick)

Recorded March 9, 2014

Moira Kirland (Arrow; Castle); Terry Matalas & Travis Fickett (SyFy's upcoming 12 Monkeys; Nikita; Terra Nova); and returning guest Douglas Petrie (Buffy; American Horror Story: Coven).

Recorded February 16, 2014.

Phillip Iscove (co-creator, Sleepy Hollow); Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin (The Killing; Carnivale); Cole Haddon (creator, NBC's Dracula).

Recorded February 9, 2014.

The creator of Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, and Dead Like Me discusses his work habits, putting a philosophy in every scene, death, collaboration, Star Trek, and lots more.

Recorded January 19, 2014.

Michelle Ashford (creator, Masters of Sex); John Hamburg (Meet the Parents; Zoolander; creator, Welcome to the Captain), Carlos Coto (showrunner, From Dusk Till Dawn).

The writers of Horrible Bosses, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Burt Wonderstone; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) talk about their process, their breakthrough Blacklisted script called The $40,000 Man, learning how to pitch, their National Lampoon's Vacation reboot, and more.

Emmy Grinwis (MTV's upcoming Eye Candy); Deric Hughes and Benjamin Raab (Warehouse 13). A chat with up-and-coming writers about being up-and-coming writers, how they got noticed, writing and selling, and more.

Dan Harmon (creator, Community); Chris McKenna (Community); Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker (creators, Surviving Jack and $#*! My Dad Says); and Joe Henderson (Graceland; White Collar).

Recorded January 12, 2014.

Former LA Weekly and Village Voice film critic Karina Longworth (Masters of Cinema: George Lucas) discusses her new book, Meryl Streep: Anatomy of an Actor, authorial voice in criticism, and what makes movies good.

The Sons of Anarchy creator is joined by SoA superfans Jessica Goldstein (Cougar Town) and Paul Grellong (Revolution) to discuss how the show is put together, his work on The Shield, and more.

Recorded live at Meltdown on December 8, 2013. Lots of live panels coming up! Go to https://nerdmeltla.com/tickets2/ and look for the big orange logo! All live panels benefit 826LA.

TV Year in Review part 2 with Josh Friedman (Avatar sequel; creator, Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jeff Greenstein (director, Mom; Will & Grace), and Cathryn Humphris (Elementary).

With Hart Hanson (creator, Bones), Andrew Miller (creator, Secret Circle), and Aaron Ginsburg (Finder; Intelligence).

Featuring Tom Verica (Scandal), Dave Semel (American Horror Story), and Rob Schrab (Childrens Hospital). A look at directors of episodic television. They say that TV is a writer’s medium…as opposed to film that is a director’s medium. If that’s true, then what does that mean for the director of a TV series? Hear from veteran and new directors of episodic television on how they manage, what they see their role as, the rewards, and the struggles of directing television. Moderated by Emily Moss Wilson.

Recorded at ATX 2013.

Ashley Miller (Thor; X-Men: First Class), Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks; 50 Shades of Gray); and Kell Cahoon (Psych; Just Shoot Me; NewsRadio). Recorded live at the Austin Film Festival on October 24, 2013.

Mark Protosevich (The Cell; I Am Legend) talks about adapting Oldboy—directed by Spike Lee, in theaters this week—from the Korean original, feature adaptations, and lots more.

Recorded at NY Comic Con, it's a look behind the curtain of the mega-popular podcast, Welcome to Night Vale with creator Joseph Fink, co-writer Jeffrey Cranor, voice of Night Vale radio Cecil Baldwin, and guest star Mara Wilson.

Plus: Correspondent Liz Hara interviews master puppet builder Rollie Krewson at the Sesame Street workshop. And, a HostGator ad!

Head-writer Opus Moreschi (Craig Kilborn; Li'l Bush) and writers Eric Drysdale (The Daily Show), Nate Charny, Michael Brumm, Meredith Scardino, and Aaron Cohen discuss how the show is put together, writing jokes, and just how good Stephen Colbert really is. Sitting in on the discussion is NBC Sports field producer Lena Moss.

Head-writer/puppeteer Joey Mazzarino and writers John Weidman, Christine Ferraro, Belinda Ward, and Molly Boylan tell Ben how to get, how to get to Sesame Street in this bonus-sized episode which also includes a visit to the Muppet Workshop and brief interviews with puppet wrangler Lara McLean, costumer Connie Peterson, and puppet designer Rollie Krewson.

“Actors Roundtable” from ATX Television Festival: Some of today’s leading episodic actors talk about the ups and downs of their TV careers. With Joshua Malina (Scandal), Lucas Neff (Raising Hope), Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights), Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights), Devon Gummersall (My So-Called Life), Nick Wechsler (Revenge, Roswell), Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie). Moderated by Evan Miller. Recorded at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel ballroom in Austin, TX, on June 9, 2013.

Showrunners and Creators panel from ATX Television Festival. Michael Rauch, Andrew Lenchewski, Dmitry Lipkin, Tim Doyle, Kevin Biegel, Mike Royce, Dan Bucatinsky. Moderated by Andrew Miller.

Michael Jacobs' first foray into TV was a home run with creation of the iconic '80s series Charles in Charge, and he didn't stop there, as he went on to create some of the most recognizable series in the 1980s and 1990s: My Two Dads, The Torkelsons, Dinosaurs, and Boy Meets World. He also produced the four-time Oscar nominated feature film Quiz Show (about the 1950s TV quiz show scandal). Now Michael is back with the highly anticipated series Girl Meets World, which will reunite Cory and Topanga from Boy Meets World and take a look on how their daughter handles adolescence. In conversation with Robyn Ross (TVGuide.com), Michael relives his journey in television, from creating and writing to his wealth of stories of the industry, talent, and TVs history.

Recorded at ATX Television Festival in the Stephen F. Austin ballroom in Austin, TX, on June 6, 2013.

Mythology panel from ATX Television Festival. Remi Aubuchon (creator, Caprica), Richard Hatem (Grimm; The Gates), Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Once Upon a Time), Dmitry Lipkin (creator, The Riches and Hung), and Winnie Holzman (creator, My So-Called Life) discuss creating the world and rules of a show.

Moderated by Todd VanDerWerff (AV Club).

Recorded at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel in Austin, TX, on June 7, 2013.

BONUS EPISODE: Enlisted panel from ATX Television Festival. All about the new Fox army sibling comedy, with its creator Kevin Biegel (co-creator, Cougar Town), executive producer Mike Royce (Men of  a Certain Age), and stars Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell, Parker Young, and Angelina Cabral.

Once Upon a Time creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, recorded at ATX Television Festival.

Recorded at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX, on June 8, 2013.

“Structure of a Sitcom and Rise of the Anti-Sitcom” panel from ATX Television Festival: Dan Harmon (creator, Community), Paul Scheer (creator, NTSF:SD:SUV), Dave Finkel (New Girl; 30 Rock), Tim Doyle (Last Man Standing), and Rob Schrab (director, Mindy Project, Childrens Hospital) discuss the rise of new-comedy formats and the changing rules of writing comedy.

Moderated by Emily Moss Wilson. 

A chat with the writers/creators of the awesome and hilarious new Yahoo series, Amanda Lund, Maria Blasucci, and Jeremy Konner (Drunk History). The 12-episode paranormal procedural was directed by Konner and co-produced by Jack Black's Electric Dynamite and Shine America. It debuted yesterday. It is seriously great.

Pitch-Pilot-Pick Up panel from ATX Television Festival: Julie Plec (showrunner, Vampire Diaries; co-creator/showrunner, The Originals), Liz Tigelaar (creator, Life Unexpected), Kyle Killen (creator, Mind Games, Awake, and Lone Star), Chris Keyser (creator, Party of Five), Bryan Seabury (VP Drama Development at CBS), Corey Marsh (Manager of Current Programming at Disney Channel), and Charlie Ebersol (producer, the Hochberg Ebersol Co.) discuss the beginning stages of a TV series from the pitch, to filming the pilot, to finally waiting on pins and needles to hear if a pilot was given a shot to make it into your living rooms.

Recorded at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel in Austin, TX, on June 8, 2013.

Veronica Mars's Rob Thomas and Chris Lowell, live from ATX Television Festival.

Recorded at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel ballroom in Austin, TX, on June 9, 2013.

BONUS EPISODE: An in-depth chat with Davey Holmes (Awake; Shameless; Law & Order; Pushing Daisies) about his 2013 pilot Boomerang, pitching, finding your voice, and more. (Note: this interview was recorded before the network upfronts, so Boomerang's fate was still undecided. Ultimately Fox didn't pick up the show to series).

The Jaws Summer Special! End your summer talking Jaws, comedy, and more with Jaws screenwriter Carl Gottlieb (The Smothers Brothers; The Jerk) and Jaws enthusiast Paul F. Tompkins (Comedy Bang Bang).

Recorded live at Nerdmelt on August 4, 2013.

Comedy Bang Bang! From ATX Television Festival, a chat with CBB creator and Earwolf network co-founder Scott Aukerman (Between Two Ferns) and CBB's head writer Neil Campbell.

Recorded at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX, on June 8, 2013.

100^th episode spectacular! Live from Largo at the Coronet, in conjunction with Fast Company magazine, an all-star line-up with Vince Gilligan (creator, Breaking Bad), Greg Daniels (creator, King of the Hill; developer, the Office; co-creator, Parks and Recreation); Carlton Cuse (Lost; Bates Motel; The Strain; creator, Nash Bridges); Liz Meriweather (creator, the New Girl); with TV-inspired songs by Sara Watkins!

Recorded at Largo at the Coronet on June 4, 2013 as an event sponsored by Fast Company magazine to benefit 826LA, the national non-profit tutoring program. Pick up Sara Watkins' newest album, Sun Midnight Sun, on iTunes or at SaraWatkins.com. It's really good.

A fun chat with writers/comics/actors/producers Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme of comedy brand Broken Lizard (Supertroopers; Beer Fest). Check out Kevin and Steve's new webseries at http://www.brokenlizard.com/

#98 An in-depth chat with author Arthur Phillips (The Tragedy of Arthur; The Egyptologist; Prague) about Shakespeare, making work of writing, unreliable narrators, and more. Recorded at a cafe in Brooklyn on May 11, 2013. There is a lot of background noise in this interview! You are warned! It gets a bit better halfway through, but Arthur had such great things to say, that we wanted to make sure this got to you, dear listener.

JG Quintel (creator, The Regular Show); Alex Hirsch (creator, Gravity Falls).

Recorded May 19, 2013. As of today The Regular Show seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD and Blu ray!

The team behind the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, including co-creator Bernie Su, writers Margaret Dunlap, Rachel Kiley, and Kate Rorick, and writer/transmedia mastermind Jay Bushman.

Rebecca Sinclair (90210; Gilmore Girls; Buffy), Greg Malins (Friends; How I Met Your Mother; 2 Broke Girls), and Mark O’Keefe (The Weird Al Show; News Radio; Bruce Almighty). Recorded March 24, 2013.

Greg Daniels (developer, The Office; co-creator, Parks and Recreation; creator, King of the Hill); Jessica Goldstein and Chrissy Pietrosh (Cougar Town; My Name Is Earl).

Recorded April 28, 2013.

Carlton Cuse (Bates Motel; Lost; The Strain); Michael Schur (co-creator, Parks and Recreation); JJ Philbin (New Girl; The OC; Gilmore Girls).

Recorded April 21, 2013

Graham Yost, creator and showrunner of Justified.

As part of Fast Company magazine's “Most Creative People” issue, Ben Blacker interviewed the showrunners and creators of some of television's most interesting and groundbreaking shows about how they're carving out new territory in the business and creative worlds, and how these creatives are driving the zeitgeist. The issue is online http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/ and on newsstands now.

Howard Gordon, co-creator of Homeland, executive producer of three 2013 pilots.

As part of Fast Company magazine's “Most Creative People” issue, Ben Blacker interviewed the showrunners and creators of some of television's most interesting and groundbreaking shows about how they're carving out new territory in the business and creative worlds, and how these creatives are driving the zeitgeist. The issue is online http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people// and on newsstands now.

BONUS EPISODE with Ian Roberts and Jay Martel, showrunners of Key & Peele.

As part of Fast Company magazine's “Most Creative People” issue, Ben Blacker interviewed the showrunners and creators of some of television's most interesting and groundbreaking shows about how they're carving out new territory in the business and creative worlds, and how these creatives are driving the zeitgeist. The issue is online now at http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/  and is available on newsstands next week.

Vince Gilligan, creator and showrunner of Breaking Bad.

As part of Fast Company magazine's “Most Creative People” issue, Ben Blacker interviewed the showrunners and creators of some of television's most interesting and groundbreaking shows about how they're carving out new territory in the business and creative worlds, and how these creatives are driving the zeitgeist. The issue is online http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/ and on newsstands now.

BONUS EPISODE with Callie Khouri, creator of Nashville.

As part of Fast Company magazine's “Most Creative People” issue, Ben Blacker interviewed the showrunners and creators of some of television's most interesting and groundbreaking shows about how they're carving out new territory in the business and creative worlds, and how these creatives are driving the zeitgeist. The issue is online http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/ and on newsstands now.

An in-depth chat with Jason Fuchs about the work he did on the ABC/Disney pilot Big Thunder, the animated feature Ice Age: Continental Drift, being a child actor, and lots more. (Note: this interview was recorded before the network upfronts, so Big Thunder's fate was still undecided. Ultimately ABC didn't pick up the show to series).

Liz Meriweather, Brett Baer and Dave Finkel, creator and showrunners of the New Girl.

As part of Fast Company magazine's “Most Creative People” issue, Ben Blacker interviewed the showrunners and creators of some of television's most interesting and groundbreaking shows about how they're carving out new territory in the business and creative worlds, and how these creatives are driving the zeitgeist. The issue is online http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/ and on newsstands now.

An in-depth chat with Adam F. Goldberg about his varied writing career on such projects as indie feature Fanboys, childrens' entertainments The Muppets Wizard of Oz and WordGirl, network comedies Breaking In, Community, and others, and his new pilot, The Goldbergs.

An in-depth chat with Ryan Condal who is currently adapting the comic series The 6^th Gun for NBC and Hercules: The Thracian Wars for Paramount, MGM, and director Brett Ratner.

Nicholas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton (creators, Numb3ers), Taylor Elmore (Justified), and Michael Gilvary (Chicago Fire; Breakout Kings). Recorded March 17, 2013.

The creators of Husbands, the series, Jane Espenson (Once Upon a Time; Buffy; Caprica) and Brad Bell (“Cheeks”), have written a wonderful series for Dark Horse Comics, and it is finally released in collected, hardcover form! Join Jane, Brad, and Husbands co-star Sean Hemeon as they discuss bringing their web-series creation to comics, the next season of Husbands, stage a reading from the comic, and more!

Recorded April 14, 2013.

An in depth chat with the writers/directors/creators of Comedy Central's Kroll Show, Nick Kroll, Jonathan Krisel, and John Levenstein, about bringing characters to TV, building worlds, what's funny, and lots more. Recorded March 10, 2013.

Andy Bobrow (Community; Malcolm in the Middle); Emily Halpern (The Unit; Private Practice); Gideon Yago (The Newsroom); Max Winkler (writer/director, Ceremony; director, New Girl, New Normal). Recorded February 17, 2013.