The Writers Panel with Ben Blacker

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!

 

Direct download: nwp171_year_review.mp3
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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.

Direct download: nwp170_jenni_konner.mp3
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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!

 

Direct download: nwp169_queen_shumway_mongan.mp3
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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. 

Direct download: nwp168_nick_santora.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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!

 

Direct download: nwp167_bojack.mp3
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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!

 

Direct download: nwp166_benched.mp3
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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.

Direct download: nwp165_erica_messer.mp3
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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.

 

 

Direct download: nwp164_showrunners.mp3
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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.

 

Direct download: nwp163_rina_mimoun.mp3
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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.

Direct download: nwp162_chris_chibnall.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:35am PDT