The Writers Panel with Ben Blacker

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.

The first season finale of Life in Pieces airs on 3/31 on CBS.

Direct download: nwp260_justin_adler.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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. Moderated by Buzzfeed's Jarett Wieselman.

Recorded at ATX Television Fest in June 2015.

Direct download: nwp259_empire.mp3
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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.

Direct download: nwp258_ali_adler1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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.

Recorded at ATX Television Fest in June 2015.

Direct download: nwp257_testing.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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). Recorded February 21, 2016 at the 826LA space in Los Angeles.

Direct download: nwp256_dd_jj_path.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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. Moderated by Entertainment Weekly's Editor in Chief Henry Goldblatt.

Recorded at ATX Television Fest in June 2015.

Direct download: nwp255_final_finale.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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.

Direct download: nwp254_people_oj.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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 they’ve 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. Moderated by Carina MacKenzie (writer, The Originals).

Recorded at ATX Television Fest in June 2015.

Direct download: nwp253_williamson_plec.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:06am PDT

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!

Direct download: nwp252_last_man.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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