It’s been a minute since I posted here, but I promise I have a good reason. I’ve spent the first half of the year, and the past three months especially, making good on my goal for this year, which was to make stuff.

Some if it is in the works and I’ll post about it soon. But I do have a related question down at the bottom of this message for you! Please answer it, as it would be very helpful to something I’m working on!

Last month was the Spectacular staged read, based on a pilot that my writing partner and I wrote, and it was a tremendous success and enormous fun. Thanks to all of you who came out to see us at the sold-out show and to those of you who streamed it at home. I’ll let you know soon where you’ll be able to watch it, if you missed it.

Spectacular was the “pilot” episode of this new series I’m producing called No Notes, in which professional writers adapt their best TV pilots for the stage, we add some production value, and we cast brilliant actors you love from TV, movies, and comedy.

You get to see exactly how good the show can be.

Continuing the series on Sunday, July 19, 7pm, at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater in LA and streaming everywhere, with two great comedy scripts:

The Survivalists is by Kashana Cauley (The Great North; The Daily Show), based on her novel about a Brooklyn lawyer who falls in love with a coffee roaster/survivalist.

Suckers by Eden Dranger (Beavis & Butthead) & Daley Haggar (The Big Bang Theory) is about 20-something vampires.

The casts are coming together and will be as strong as the one we had for Spectacular.

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But that’s not all!

The week before that show, on Sunday, July 12, 3pm, at the Elyisan Theater in LA and on demand everywhere, is another live Dead Pilots Society, and this one is wild.

For those who are unfamiliar, in Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve.

The July 12 show features Weekly World News by Michael Colton & John Aboud (Home Economics) and Fangirl by Claudia Lonow (How to Live with Your Parents).

And the cast is for the fans of Dropout, the only good comedy on television! (Look, it’s actually on an app, which can be on your television, and if you don’t already know what Dropout is, just imagine an entire network inspired by Taskmaster and British panel shows, with the funniest comedy people LA has to offer).

The cast of the July 12 show heavily features Dropout talent, including Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20), Isabella Roland (Dimension 20; Sex Lives of College Girls), Rekha Shankar (Dimension 20; Star Trek: Starfleet Academy), Zac Oyama (Dimension 20), and Courtney Pauroso (Jackass Forever).

We’ve also got some non-Dropout talent like Alex Moffat (SNL; Bad Monkey), Rich Sommer (Mad Men), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This), Fred Melamed (Barry), Jessica Lowe (Minx), and James Adomian (Krapopolis).

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Teamwork and Betrayal

Today’s Writers Panel guest is Owen Dennis (creator of Among Us and Infinity Train). Owen discusses conveying tone, discovering theme, deconstructing tropes, dueling arcs, the line from Star Wars that unlocked everything, and more.

Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.

And here’s the question I mentioned at the top of this newsletter:

What is your favorite canceled-too-soon series? What show ended on a cliffhanger and then was unceremoniously canned by the network/streamer, leaving you frustrated and alone in a new world? What’s your favorite one-and-done series that should have had more seasons? Sound off in the comments!

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I don’t know how I can impart to you how much fun this show I’m putting on this Sat, May 16, at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater is going to be.

Acker and I wrote SPECTACULAR with our friend Liz Hara (Sesame Street). It’s the mostly-true story of the making of the Spider-man musical, Turn Off the Dark.

TICKETS TO ATTEND AND TO LIVE STREAM/WATCH ON DEMAND ARE AVAILABLE NOW!

The cast performing this show is amazing:

Ben Feldman (Superstore), Randall Park (WandaVision), Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Succession), Mireille Enos (For All Mankind), Iman Vellani (Miss Marvel), Melissa Benoist (Supergirl), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us), Amy Hill (Magnum PI), Demi Adejuyigbe (Dropout), Craig Cackowski (The Pitt), Tom Choi (Squid Game; the PS5 Spider-man 2 game!), and Cyrina Fiallo (High Potential).

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Like This

In today’s podcast, Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson (creators, It's Not Like That; Parenthood; Off Campus) discuss telling emotionally driven stories, resurrecting a decade-old pilot as their new show, how the writers' strike benefited the show, how they run their room, and more.

Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.

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I’ve been so flattered by the enthusiasm with which my new live show, No Notes, has been embraced. Thank you! I’m even more excited by your excitement for our first outing on Sat, May 16, at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater: SPECTACULAR written by me and Acker and Liz Hara.

TICKETS TO ATTEND AND TO LIVE STREAM/WATCH ON DEMAND ARE AVAILABLE NOW!

Spectacular is the mostly-true story of the making of the disastrous Spider-man musical, Turn Off the Dark. The cast performing this show is amazing:

Ben Feldman (Superstore), Randall Park (WandaVision), Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Succession), Mireille Enos (For All Mankind), Iman Vellani (Miss Marvel), Melissa Benoist (Supergirl), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us), Amy Hill (Magnum PI), Demi Adejuyigbe (Dropout), Craig Cackowski (The Pitt), Tom Choi (Squid Game; the PS5 Spider-man 2 game!), and Cyrina Fiallo (High Potential).

This show is going to be a blast. We just had a rehearsal this past weekend, and the cast is so impressive and having so much fun.

Dynasty is not a big theater, and this show will sell out, so get your tickets now.

If Podcasts Be Our Lot

Today’s Writers Panel guest is one of my favorite comic book writers, Matthew Rosenberg, whose name you may know from his and Tyler Boss’s What’s the Furthest Place from Here and 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank (which is being adapted as a feature by friend-of-the-pod Frankie Shaw), his super fun DC vs Vampires mini-series (which is not about politicians fighting the undead but rather heroes like Batman and Superman doing so), or his latest, If Destruction Be Our Lot…, which is released in comic stores tomorrow! He’s also taking over Todd McFarlane’s Spawn comic soon!

In today’s podcast, we discuss Matthew co-writing with his brother, comics as a "dirtbag medium," the upcoming 4 Kids... film adaptation, story problems presented by an animatronic Abraham Lincoln, and lots more.

Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.

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As I’ve talked about in my podcast intros all year, I am very excited about making things in 2026. And it seems a lot of other creative types are too, as you can see from the cast list below.

So, I’ve started this new series of live shows I’m calling No Notes. The idea is that there is just so much good material out there that hasn’t been given the proper exposure. Everything in TV and film takes so much time, and there are so many gatekeepers who are risk-averse or fearful.

Bravely, I’m kicking off No Notes with one of my own favorite pilots scripts. Acker and I wrote Spectacular with our friend Liz Hara (Sesame Street; Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur). It’s the mostly-true story of the making of the disastrous Spider-man musical, Turn Off the Dark.

The show is Saturday, May 16, 7pm at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater.

TICKETS TO ATTEND AND TO LIVE STREAM/WATCH ON DEMAND ARE AVAILABLE NOW!

This cast is truly amazing!

Ben Feldman (Superstore), Randall Park (WandaVision), Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Succession), Mireille Enos (For All Mankind), Iman Vellani (Miss Marvel), Melissa Benoist (Supergirl), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us), Amy Hill (Magnum PI), Demi Adejuyigbe (Dropout), Craig Cackowski (The Pitt), and more.

My aim is to be a bit more ambitious and/or different in these productions, building off of what I’ve learned by putting on The Thrilling Adventure Hour and Dead Pilots Society. So, this production will incorporate live music from musician/composer Adam Blau (Dead to Me), Liz is creating some puppetry and costumes for key scenes, and we’ll utilize some other aspects of stagecraft.

Dynasty is not a big theater, and this show will sell out, so get your tickets now.

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Finish Him!

Our next live Zoom Q&A is Sun, May 3, at 11am PT/ 2pm ET with Mortal Kombat II writer Jeremy Slater!

Jeremy is a smart writer who brings a unique take to property he happens to be adapting. We first met when I interviewed him in 2017 as the creator and co-showrunner of the genuinely terrific Exorcist series that ran on Fox for two seasons. The Exorcist is one of those titles that’s kind of untouchable. But Jeremy and his writers’ room came up with a clever, compelling way to continue the story that began in the 1973 William Friedkin film.

Since then, Jeremy has done really impressive work in the IP/genre trenches. He created the Moon Knight series for Marvel/Disney, wrote the giant monster sequel Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, and spent about six years as creator/showrunner of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.

And he’s got Mortal Kombat II coming out next week!

But most excitingly for everyone, Jeremy will answer YOUR questions live via Zoom on Sunday, May 3, 11am PT/ 2pm ET. Link is below the paywall.

6 Questions with Jeremy Slater

1. What you working on right now?

I’m currently writing Mortal Kombat 3 and hoping to have the draft finished by the time MK2 hits theaters. I’m also planning to direct my first feature this August based on a horror spec I wrote called Summoner. I’ve also got a period WW2 thriller that I co-wrote with another writer that we’re currently shopping to directors.

On the TV front, I’m getting ready to write a pilot for one of the big streamers based on one of my favorite comic book characters of all time. Hopefully the deal will be announced shortly so that I can share more details, but at the moment I don’t want to jinx anything!

I’ve also been running a horror lab for Netflix—sort of a mini writers room—where they let me hire some of my favorite genre writers to generate ideas and develop new horror features. So I’m writing a big genre script for them, as well as helping to produce a couple of other projects to come out of that lab.

2. What challenges are you facing specific to your current writing project?

When I was first hired to write Mortal Kombat II, the studio had a lot of data and fan feedback regarding the first movie. We could study the moments that got the fans buzzing, but we could also pinpoint the areas where the movie had failed to connect. It was the ultimate cheat sheet when we sat down to design the sequel. If the fans were unhappy about some of the tweaks to the overall mythology, we knew to steer clear of those areas. We didn’t want to retcon anything from the first movie, but we looked for clever narrative ways to either sidestep or simply ignore those problems entirely.

But the data also showed us what was working. The fans loved how much care was taken to replicate the details of the world: the authentic casting, the accurate costumes, and all the specific moves and bloody fatalities taken right from the games. They also liked the film’s dark sense of humor, particularly all the colorful insults from Josh Lawson’s Kano character. So for the sequel, we decided to double-down on all of these areas, creating an adventure with bigger stakes, crazier fights, and even more comedy and action.

The challenge for Mortal Kombat 3 is obvious: the second film hasn’t come out yet! We’ve screened the movie extensively, and we know that test audiences have been loving it. We can see which characters are resonating with people and which moments are getting the biggest cheers. We can try to extrapolate from that data what we think is working and what we think the fans will want to see in Part Three… but at this point it’s still just a series of educated guesses. The real test comes after opening weekend, after millions of fans have seen the movie and weighed in with their reactions.

So while I’m pretty confident that we’ve cracked a killer storyline for Part Three, I have to keep reminding myself that nothing is set in stone yet, and that we will almost certainly be revising this script based on all the reactions to the newest film. The goal is always to keep raising the stakes and make each installment even better than the last, and the only way to do that is by listening to the fans.

3. What advice about the business of TV/film writing can you give to someone starting out now?

You’re not an artist. You’re a contractor.

That sounds harsh, and I’m sure some of you are already bristling, but it’s the truth. A screenplay is just a blueprint for creating a piece of art. But the script itself? Nope, not art. There’s a reason we study the great films but not the great screenplays.

The reason I say this is because changing your mindset now will save you a lot of heartache down the road. When someone doesn’t respond to a piece of art that you’ve created, it can feel painful, or even personal, and your knee-jerk reaction might be to push back. But remember that it’s not your job to create a finished, perfect piece of art.

As a screenwriter, all you can really do is make suggestions: here’s what I think the scene is about, or here’s what I think the characters are saying in this moment. But that’s all they are… suggestions. If the studio doesn’t like your scene, guess what? It’s not going in the movie. If the director has a different vision, or if the lead actor wants to change his lines, nine times out of ten they’re going to get their way. The director, the producers, the editors, the heads of the studio… they’re all going to get the chance to weigh in and shape the finished product. In all likelihood, you will not. Even if they’re happy with your work, odds are still high that you’ll be replaced at some point in the process. The writer is always going to be the one disposable link in the chain.

Depressing? Sure, sometimes. But it can also be liberating. Remember, your job is not to make a great movie… it’s to give everyone else the tools they need to make a great movie. If your bosses enjoyed working with you, they’ll probably hire you again, or recommend you to their colleagues. But if you fight them every step of the way? Good luck landing that next gig.

That doesn’t mean you should automatically say yes to everything, because God knows it only takes one bad note to derail a project, and there are definitely times to dig in your heels and fight for your vision. But it does mean listening to your producers (and your executives, and directors, and actors…) and genuinely trying to understand why a scene or a storyline might not be working for them, and to help them find creative solutions that everyone feels good about.

You can’t control whether the movie is good or not. That’s entirely out of your control. Focus on the relationships. Learn to collaborate. And you’ll never stop working.

4. What advice about the craft of writing can you give to someone starting out?

You wouldn’t believe how terrible my first dozen or so scripts were.

They’re all written like novels. Endless descriptions. Giant blocks of prose.

Sometimes you need that space to get your point across. Most of the time you don’t.

Does that paragraph need to run for four lines, or could you swap a few words and get it down to three?

Because three lines would be pretty good. But two would be even better.

And if you could somehow get it down to just one? Perfect.

When I’m staffing for a show, I’m probably reading around a hundred scripts a week.

Hand me something that looks like a Tolstoy novel and I promise—I promise—that sucker is going straight to the bottom of my stack.

Agents are busy. Studio executives are even busier. Don’t give them extra homework.

Remember: empty white space on a page is your single best friend.

Make it a fun read. But always, always keep it succinct.

5. What do you respond to most in a piece of writing?

You have maybe five pages to grab the reader’s attention. If those first five don’t sing, the rest don’t matter.

I said earlier that I probably read around a hundred scripts a week when I’m hiring for a show, but that’s not exactly true. I read the first five pages of a hundred scripts a week. If the writing grabs me for any reason—if the author has managed to surprise me or shock me or make me laugh—I’ll keep reading. Otherwise it goes straight to the discard pile.

Out of those hundred scripts, I’ll probably finish thirty of them. I’ll probably enjoy ten of those. I might send five of them along to my producers. And I might meet with two or maybe three of those writers. And that’s out of a hundred professional, working screenwriters. The odds are stacked against you.

So what can you do? Make an immediate impression. Give your main character an original quirk or an unexpected introduction. Show me something I’ve never seen before. If your script opens with a detective arriving at a murder scene and getting briefed by the medical examiner, then my eyes are already glazing over. Life’s too short. Right into the trash.

I know what I bring to the table as a writer and showrunner, and I’m not looking for a room full of Mini-Me’s. I want writers who can do all things that I can’t do, writers who think outside the box and know how to subvert the reader’s expectations. All the talent in the world is meaningless if you haven’t given me a reason to keep reading.

6. What are you watching/reading/listening to lately that’s getting you excited or inspired?

I loved Project Hail Mary just as much as everyone else. Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Drew Goddard are all geniuses who can do no wrong, and we’re damned lucky to have them. I’ve been swamped with work lately, so that’s the only thing I’ve seen in theaters this year.

On the TV front, I’m really enjoying the current seasons of Paradise, Shrinking, Survivor, Ted, and The Pitt. I was a big fan of the original Spartacus, so I’m excited to dive into Spartacus: House of Ashur next.

Joe Hill’s King Sorrow was the best thing I read this year; just a phenomenal story with incredible characters. I just finished Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, and I’m currently reading Dan Simmons’ Hyperion and James Islington’s The Will of the Many. All excellent!

Lots to talk about this Sunday, May 3, 11am PT/2pm ET. Bring your Q’s, and Jeremy will provide the A’s. Link below the paywall.

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First thing’s first here, friends. We’ve got a very exciting live Zoom Q&A coming up on Sunday, May 3, 11am PT/ 2pm ET with Jeremy Slater, who wrote Mortal Kombat II, which is out in theaters next week. Jeremy was on the podcast back in 2017 when he was creator/co-showrunner of The Exorcist show which ran for two seasons on Fox. It was a really good show, and we had a great conversation. Jeremy has also created/run Marvel’s Moon Knight show, the long-running Umbrella Academy on Netflix, and he wrote the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire movie from 2024. He always has a lot on his plate, and I’m so glad he can come and talk to us and answer YOUR questions!

Remember, the only way to join the live Q&As and ask your questions, or to listen to them later, is to become a paid subscriber. It’s also a good way to tell me you value the work I’m doing with the podcast and here!

Marvelous

I do talk more about this upcoming live show in today’s podcast intro, but tickets are not yet for sale, so, for now, I’m just going to give you this tease:

Acker and I wrote a pilot with our friend Liz Hara. We felt it never got the exposure it deserved, so we’re doing a kind of staged-play-pilot-read hybrid show at Dynasty Typewriter Theater in LA (and streaming everywhere) on May 16, 7pm.

Mark your calendars and check Dynasty’s website this week. It’s gonna be… amazing.

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I Like Movies

As you’ll hear me enthusiastically say in the episode, I’m a big fan of today’s podcast guest. Writer/director Chandler Levack (Mile End Kicks; Roommates; I Like Movies) makes the perfect “vibe” movies, the kind where you feel like you’re standing beside the protagonists in their respective milieus, watching them and rooting for them to figure things out.

In our conversation, Chandler discusses how her first script became her second movie, revisiting Mile End Kicks after shooting I Like Movies, loving stage directions, music in movies, and lots more.

Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.

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I have two shows on Sunday, April 19, both at the Elysian Theater.

From 2-4pm, we’re doing another live Dead Pilots Society. In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Nobody gets fired, there are no notes, and everybody has a fun time. This one is available to stream on demand too!

We’re doing really funny scripts by Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island; The Other Two) and an adaptation of the Valley Heat podcast by its creator Christian Duguay (Mad TV).

Great casts for these, featuring a ton of excellent stand-ups including Beth Stelling, Matt Braunger, Chris Garcia, Demorge Brown, Kevin Camea, Emily Maya Mills, Mike O’Connell, as well as great actors like Mitra Jouhari (a stand-up but also from Big Mouth, The Bear, and other shows), Poppy Liu (Hacks), and more!

TICKETS TO ATTEND OR STREAM LIVE ARE HERE.

And directly after that, the one-person show I’m directing that was created by and stars the very funny Katherine Bourne Taylor is having it’s “main stage” debut.

Bellingham Bay is for the WB/CW fans, the lovers of gentle Canadian TV shows, and, most of all, for people who live in their own heads. If you’re in town, I’d love to see you there. We’ve done some good work on honing this show, and we feel (we hope?) we’re ready for the “big” room!

This One is a Trip

I am such a fan of these guys.

Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher are the writing/directing/performing duo known as “BritaNick.” They’ve written for It’s Always Sunny, SNL, and others, but they are (for now) best known for the sketches they started making around 2009. As you’ll hear at the end of the episode, their debut sketch “Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses,” premiered at SlamDance the same year as a very low budget feature that my partner and I wrote called Drones.

We loved that sketch. It’s off-the-wall funny and weird. We didn’t get to meet at SlamDance, but Adam Busch and Amber Benson, the directors of Drones, invited the guys to screen their newest sketch, a viral hit called “Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer” before the premiere of Drones a few months later.

Fifteen years later, I am thrilled to have them on The Writers Panel to talk about two movies they have out in April! Pizza Movie, which they wrote and directed, is out now on Hulu and Over Your Dead Body, directed by Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone and starring Jason Segal and Samara Weaving, is in theaters on April 24.

In today’s podcast, Brian and Nick discuss their comedy sketch roots and what “BritaNick” represents, writing scripts that wouldn’t be made, editing themselves, how to interact with the people paying you to write, why Pizza Movie is the perfect BritaNick movie debut, and more.

Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.

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So, I put a bunch of live events into motion back in January, and they’re starting up this month and will roll into the summer.

First up, though: since I first heard about it, I’ve been eager to attend the Overlook Film Festival. From what I’ve seen, it has the feel of a real “for horror fans, by horror fans” fest. As it happens, I’m headed to New Orleans this week for my birthday. It’s my favorite city and home to my favorite restaurants and bars (Compere Lapin and Jewel of the South specifically and respectively).

I’d submitted my short film to Overlook but was rejected. But it was the kindest rejection I’ve received! They sent a really lovely note about its strengths and how competitive it was. So I replied, offering my services as a moderator for anything, should they need one. I got a response from one of the fest’s founders, who happened to be a fan of The Thrilling Adventure Hour, which is always incredibly flattering. He invited me to participate in this panel about “Alt-Horror Experiences”: A celebration of all things horror beyond the screen into daring art forms both new and old that challenge the way we experience art.

If you’ve seen or heard The Thrilling Adventure Hour, the show my writing partner and I created 20 years ago, you know the fan-favorite segment is “Beyond Belief,” which is a kind of “Thin Man with the supernatural” horror-comedy series starring the wonderful Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster. I’m excited to talk about that and the horror-influences on our little comedy-radio show. And also my 2019 comic book Hex Wives! I love alt-horror experiences!

The “Alt-Horror Experiences” panel is at the Overlook Film Festival on Friday, April 10, at 2:30pm. If you’re in New Orleans or attending the fest, please come by!

Back at home, this month, I have two shows on Sunday, April 19, both at the Elysian Theater.

From 2-4pm, we’re doing another live Dead Pilots Society. In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Nobody gets fired, there are no notes, and everybody has a fun time. This one is available to stream on demand too!

We’re doing really funny scripts by Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island; The Other Two) and an adaptation of the Valley Heat podcast by its creator Christian Duguay (Mad TV).

Great casts for these, featuring a ton of excellent stand-ups including Beth Stelling, Matt Braunger, Chris Garcia, Demorge Brown, Kevin Camea, Emily Maya Mills, Mike O’Connell, as well as great actors like Mitra Jouhari (a stand-up but also from Big Mouth, The Bear, and other shows), Poppy Liu (Hacks), and more!

TICKETS TO ATTEND OR STREAM LIVE ARE HERE.

And directly after that, the one-person show I’m directing that was created by and stars the very funny Katherine Bourne Taylor is having it’s “main stage” debut.

Bellingham Bay is for the WB/CW fans, the lovers of gentle Canadian TV shows, and, most of all, for people who live in their own heads. If you’re in town, I’d love to see you there. We’ve done some good work on honing this show, and we feel (we hope?) we’re ready for the “big” room!

Disorganized Crime

In today’s Writers Panel, writer/director BenDavid Grabinski (Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice; Scott Pilgrim Takes Off; Happily) discusses getting caught in the current of his career, runs of bad luck, runs of good luck, perseverance, tips for writing an easy-to-read script, making hamburgers, and more.

Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.

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If you’ve been listening to the Writers Panel podcast at all this year (have you? Is anyone out there?), then you know my aim in 2026 is to just put stuff on its feet. Well, here we go!

First out of the gate are a couple of shows that I didn’t write. You’re welcome! Both are at the Elysian Theater in LA, but you can stream from anywhere. Lucky you.

On March 28, 8:30pm, and April 19, 5pm, is a one-person show I’m directing by the very funny and talented actress Katherine Bourne Taylor. Bellingham Bay is for the WB/CW fans, the lovers of gentle Canadian TV shows, and, most of all, for people who live in their own heads.

The March 28 show is really just an open workshop, so it’s a cheap ticket, and we’d really love your feedback. It’s in the small room—The Vault—at the Elysian.

The April 19 show is our bigger, more polished show. Hopefully it works! And hopefully you can attend one of them.

Also on Sunday, April 19, 2-4pm, we’re doing another live Dead Pilots Society. In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Nobody gets fired, there are no notes, and everybody has a fun time.

Our April 19 show features really funny scripts by Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island; The Other Two) and an adaptation of the Valley Heat podcast by its creator Christian Duguay (Mad TV). I’ll announce some cast soon, but get your tickets now. This one is going to sell out.

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Space Man

In today’s podcast, Colby Day (In the Blink of an Eye; Spaceman) discusses assurance in writing and business, learning by making, writing impossible-to-execute ideas, receiving notes, and more.

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Something different today that I thought you all might get some new insights from. Lauren Neustadter is the President of Film and Television at Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Hello Sunshine is the production company behind The Last Thing He Told Me (season 2 is currently airing on Apple), Little Fires Everywhere, Daisy Jones and the Six, The Morning Show, and more, as well as the upcoming Lucky, based on the novel by Marissa Stapley, and the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle.

Lauren joined me to discuss building a brand from the ground up, meeting a tumultuous marketplace with optimism, the best way to present your material to buyers, her love of reading and writers, and more.

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In today’s Writers Panel, Rachel Shukert (The Burbs; creator, The Baby-Sitters Club) returns to discuss relearning to write to act breaks, why mysteries are so hard to crack, finding the heart of The Burbs, dreams of the Golden Girls house, and more.

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Do I like Star Trek now? I’ve never really gotten into Trek. Not for purposeful avoidance, but rather because the sheer volume of it seemed intimidating and because it seemed more “sci-fi” than, say, Star Wars or Marvel or some of the other fandoms I have embraced. That is to say: Star Trek has always seemed to be an “ideas first” mode of storytelling, and I gravitate toward character-led shows.

But today’s Writers Panel guests have convinced me to jump into Trek, starting with the show they showrun together, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Alex Kurtzman has been the steward of all things Trek at Paramount since co-writing the 2009 JJ Abrams movie. He’s the co-creator of the series Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds (and is also co-writer of Mission Impossible III which is underrated and felt like the start of the series as we know it!).

Noga Landau was the co-creator and showrunner of CW’s Nancy Drew series and its spin-off Tom Swift. She is also a lifelong Star Trek fan.

In today’s podcast, they persuaded me to give Starfleet Academy a look simply by talking passionately about the show. They discuss meeting for the first time, what each looks for in a collaborator, story from the inside out, learning storytelling through Trek, the special sauce of Starfleet Academy, how the strike helped season 1, mastering craft through watching, reading, and listening, and more.

I am a fan! Both of them and the show. Check it out, even if you’ve never boldly gone into Trek territory before.

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In today’s Writers Panel, writer/director Alex Russell (Lurker; The Bear; Beef; Dave) discusses why he directed his own script, writing the unspoken, an apt metaphor for discovering story, his Frankenstein approach to outlining, and more.

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For paid subscribers, below is the audio from the Q&A with the Carey and Chad Hayes (The Conjuring) from this past weekend. Loved to see so many of you there; thanks so much for the great questions. It’s a fun one.

If you’d like to hear this and all past live Q&As, become a paid supporter now!

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Our next live Zoom Q&A is this Sunday, Feb 1, at 11am PT/ 2pm ET. Our guests are Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes, writers of The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, The Turning, and more.

It’s not every writer who gets to kick of a wildly successful franchise, but twin brother writing team Carey Hayes & Chad Hayes did it. A version of the story about the supposed haunting of the Perron family had been in the works for many years when the Hayes brothers were brought in to work on the script. Cleverly, they made one major change that was instrumental in launching the franchise.

They shifted the story’s perspective.

Where earlier drafts took the Poltergeist approach and described the haunting from the Perron family’s point of view, Carey and Chad made the paranormal investigators, Lorraine and Ed Warren, the way into the story. Now, The Conjuring had a compelling center, as well as franchise potential. Like Mulder and Scully or the Ghostbusters, the Warrens could face other supernatural cases in future films.

Carey and Chad knew what they were doing because they’d been doing it for some time. By the time they tackled the Conjuring script around 2007, they’d been working in the industry for almost twenty years. Early television credits include Booker (the 21 Jump Street spin-off starring Richard Greico), The Flash (which was great!), and Diagnosis Murder. (The guys also appeared in a Doublemint Gum ad in the mid-eighties when they were actors).

By the mid-90s, Carey and Chad were making a living by writing mid-tier movies that never quite made a dent. Movies like Whiteout (starring Kate Beckinsdale), The Reaping (starring Hillary Swank), and the 2005 remake of House of Wax (starring Paris Hilton, among others, and which I hear is pretty fun!).

The thing about spending nearly twenty years writing movies like this is that you work with everyone: directors, actors, and, most importantly, major studios. And, with all of these entities, you learn to take notes.

Cut to today.

Carey and Chad have launched First-Look, an on-line tool for writers to get their material in front of buyers, with a rating system meant to help buyers navigate projects. More interesting to me is an AI-generated feedback system to help you improve your script.

I know we’re all wary of AI. But my take is this: AI is a tool which, used responsibly, can be as helpful as your word processor. The First-Look AI was trained on The Conjuring and other professionally-written scripts. It is, by all accounts, the same AI system that the major studios use to “read” our scripts. And if they’re using them to give us notes, we should be able to game that system.

Importantly, First-Look is a walled-off AI. Your scripts are not being used to train itself, nor does your script leave First-Look to train other robots. You simply upload your script and get feedback.

And the feedback is mostly useful! I’ve fed a few features and pilots into it, and friends have as well, and we’ve found First-Look to be strongest for studio-style genre features. Less helpful for pilots (I got feedback like “this character as an incomplete arc.” Which, y’know, it’s a pilot, so). Also, it doesn’t seem to know how to assess more independent feature scripts where story may be more elliptical.

Still, for my more studio-leaning scripts—a creature horror movie and a sci-fi comedy—I found the feedback enormously helpful. I’ve tried other online script-feedback/ranking sites (like The Black List), and while I’ve found those useful as well, I think there’s value in taking the human element out of the equation. A robot never has a bad day and then has to read your script and give notes. A robot isn’t trying to make it as a screenwriter while it judges other writers. And a robot is never told to be sparing with 8+ ratings because it maintains the value of their service.

That said, this is an industry of humans. And your script does need to affect a human reader. So do both! Honestly, anything that gives you feedback on your script is good for you. You don’t have to take it all of it, or even any of it, as imperative. See what makes sense, see what the common feedback is among all readers, and do what you think is best for your project.

6 Questions with Carey Hayes & Chad Hayes

1. What you working on right now?

We’re currently writing a Pilot for Apple TV, called, The Devil’s Door. It’s a thriller that takes place around the Vatican. Adapting a Robin Cook novel, Mutation. Out to directors on a sequel we did to Legend of Boggy Creek. Developing a movie with Mark Burnett on the book of Revelation. Producing an independent feature called, Bella, which Dylan Hayes (son/nephew) is directing, starting in February.

And about to make our directorial debut on a film we’ve written called, Train. It’s a thriller with a supernatural twist. Filming is in Bulgaria.

2. What challenges are you facing specific to your current writing project?

It would be the Mark Burnett film. It’s literally biblical in size! And we want it to be one hundred percent accurate. Dealing with a lot of research and interviewing biblical scholars. We love research, but based on God, we want to make sure we get it right!

3. What advice about the business of TV/film writing can you give to someone starting out now?

No plan B. Make this career choice work. Read as much as possible. See how other writers do it. If possible, get hired on a series. It makes you a really fast writer and pushes creativity. Also it shows you the importance of being collaborative and what you can learn from other creative people if you listen.

4. What advice about the craft of writing can you give to someone starting out?

Write, read and watch. Identify with the films and shows that you love, and see what transpires from script to screen. Also, make the process fun.

Do not turn anything in until it is 100 percent ready to go. Make your “first draft” close to a shooting draft. Don‘t leave any questions unanswered, because if you do, someone else will make them for you.

5. What do you respond to most in a piece of writing?

We love how writers describe things and also surprises we didn’t see coming. Well defined characters and superior character-reveal moments that evoke emotion always stick out. If you care about the characters, you’ll care about the movie.

We’re suckers for happy endings.

6. What are you watching/reading/listening to lately that’s getting you excited or inspired?

We try to watch as much as we can, especially now we’re about to direct. We’re looking for interesting ways other directors have shot scenes, established characters, etc.

We also love anything scary, fast, or thrilling. There’s been a lot of limited shows that have been amazing. The Beast Within was so great. Stranger Things. Way too many to mention. We try to watch something new as often as possible.

Lots to talk about this Sunday, Feb 1, 11am PT. Bring your Q’s, and Carey and Chad will provide the A’s. Link below the paywall.

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A great episode today, but before that, in case you missed it:

The Conjuring writers Cary and Chad Hayes will now hold their live Zoom Q&A on Sunday 2/1 at 11am PT due to a conflict this weekend.

Hope you can all still join us! The live Zoom Q&As, in which pro writers answer your questions, are open to any paid subscribers. Paid subscribers can also access recordings of past Q&As.

In today’s Writers Panel, we chat with the creators of Ponies, the terrific new show now streaming on Peacock. Writer/director Susanna Fogel (Winner, Booksmart, The Flight Attendant) and writer David Iserson (SNL, New Girl, Mad Men) discussing going from The Spy Who Dumped Me eight years ago to Ponies today, how they collaborate, comedy with stakes, American culture through a funhouse mirror, genre as a way of writing about relationships and politics, why pitching is a scam, and more.

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The live Zoom Q&As are open only to paid subscribers to attend or listen to later…

Always the best to talk with today’s Writers Panel guest.

Writer/director Gordon Smith (Pluribus; Better Call Saul) discusses what gives Pluribus legs, story as algorithm, a non-mystery mystery, some great directing advice that's really storytelling advice, parsing notes, getting sand in your eyes, and more.

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Before getting into today’s newsletter, please mark your calendars for Saturday, Jan 24, 11am PT. That’ll be our first live Zoom Q&A of the year. Guests will be Carey and Chad Hayes, the writers behind The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, as well as a bunch of other projects. The brothers have been at it since the late 80s and have so many interesting insights to share.

The live Zoom Q&As are open only to paid subscribers to attend or listen to later, so upgrade your subscription now!

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It was raining in LA over the holidays, and that was the best possible thing that could happen. I never need an excuse to stay inside and watch movies and drink whiskey, but boy did the weather deliver one.

I watched 275 movies last year which, c’mon, is too many. Don’t do that.

Though I have a bunch more to watch, my favorite three films of 2025 were Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Song Sung Blue. Three very different films. You’d never find them beside one another at the video store, if we still had video stores. Wildly different genres, different approaches to filmmaking. But these movies do have something in common, and it’s an important tenet of screenwriting that’s been top of mind for me for some time.

Goal Tending

In all three of these movies, the protagonist has a very clear goal. As I’ve mentioned in the past (in discussions of Cheers and Barbie), what a screen story basically boils down to is: a character in pursuit of a goal, circumventing or overcoming obstacles in order to achieve that goal.

That’s it.

I did a deep dive about character work in 2016 with David Goyer (Christopher Nolans’ Batman trilogy; Blade; co-creator, Foundation), and he said, “ask a writer, what does that character want? If you can’t sum it up in one line then your script is on shaky ground.”

A clearly defined goal for your main character provides a solid foundation for your story.

As Malcolm Spellman (co-creator, Bel Air; creator, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) said when we talked: “90% of your issues are going to be lack of clarity on what the character wants. You’re going to think you know it. You’re going to be able to tell people you know it. And then when someone hands your script back to you and says, What does your character want in the scene? What does your character want in this episode? What does your character want in this movie? You’re going to crumble. That’s natural. …But you need to know.”

In One Battle After Another, once the plot kicks in, Bob’s entire reason for being is to recover his daughter from whoever took her. Everything else that happens falls out of that singular, driving goal. I love those kinds of movies wherein the goal necessitates the kind of action on the part of the protagonist that, by their nature, will cause complications. See also: Jaws (kill the shark!), The Fugitive (clear my name!), North by Northwest (clear my name too!), you get the idea.

I was predisposed to like Song Sung Blue. Against our better judgment, my wife and I got super into Neil Diamond after loving the needle drops in Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass a few years ago. And I always love a movie about our relationship to music, as someone for whom music is important to my life but who does not play an instrument. (See also: High Fidelity, Almost Famous).

But I didn’t expect to love Song Sung Blue as much as I did, nor for it to effect me so emotionally. That’s in part down to writer/director Craig Brewer’s facility for solid, emotional filmmaking and his great work with actors. But I think it’s also down to the thematic line that runs through all of his movies, which he mentioned in our conversation last month when I asked about a common thread in all of his work, from Hustle and Flow, through Dolemite Is My Name and Song Sung Blue:

Dreamers.

I think that we all have an interesting relationship when we experience a dreamer, especially someone who has a big dream, something that they really want to do.

I had a good friend that I went to high school with, and I remember having one of those late night drinks with him. And I said, well, what do you want to do, man? He goes, “I want to open an aquarium.”

And I remember just immediately thinking that’s just really fucking stupid. There’s just no way. You can’t just open an aquarium.

Brewer’s Song Sung Blue script is available as part of Deadline’s “Read the Screenplay” series here. Because the movie is such a “studio movie” (not derogatory! All of my favorite movies, from ET to When Harry Met Sally… to The Apartment are studio movies), I had a hunch that there’d be a line in the script in which the lead character, Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) clearly stated his goal in a scene. And guess what happens on page 16, during Mike’s first date with Claire (Kate Hudson):

But even before that, there’s a (very) slightly more elliptical line in which Mike states his goal in life (which is also his goal in the movie). Straight into camera, he talks about his “alter ego,” his other “persona. Like a superhero of Rock n Roll.” He calls himself “Lightning”:

Lightning is a star. He’s a rockin’ God. Chuck Berry, Barry Manilow, and the Beatles all rolled into one. Singing the songs people want to hear. The songs people need. The songs that I need…

Being Lightning is the (somewhat) unacknowledged or subconscious goal that Mike has. And it’s becoming Lightning, a person who makes a living by entertaining, that drives the story.

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I wondered if Sinners had a similarly plainly stated goal for its protagonists, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan). The screenplay by writer/director Ryan Coogler is on the WB Awards site here.

While the work toward the brothers’ goal—to establish their juke joint—drives the plot for the first hour of the film, the reason behind that plot-goal is never only ever implied. But the main idea—Black folks having a place that is theirs—informs every action, every exchange.

As early as page 14, Sammie (Miles Caton), Smoke and Stack’s younger cousin tells his preacher father who has asked for his help giving the sermon the next day, “I been working all week pop. I just want to be free of all this for a day.” The constant crush of everyday life pushes on these characters.

Talking about the brothers’ time in Chicago, Sammie says, “I heard it ain’t got Jim Crow up there. A Black man can go where he wants.” Stack dismisses the idea, but that’s exactly what he and Smoke are building in their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. A place where a Black man (and woman) can go where they want.

But…

What Coogler does in Sinners regarding Smoke and Stack’s goal is one of the smarter executions of this maneuver I’ve seen.

Warning: Huge spoilers to come for all of the movies I’ve discussed.

So, I figure there are a few satisfying ways to end your movie, given that your protagonist has a clearly defined goal that they’ve been chasing since act 1.

The first is, after all of the trying and failing in act 2, to allow them to achieve their goal in the movie’s climax. Sheriff Brody kills the shark. Richard Kimble and Roger Thornhill clear their respective names. And Bob finds his daughter.

The end of One Battle After Another genuinely moved me. After the ride of the preceding two-and-a-half hours, Bob and Willa’s reunion was completely earned.

Another way to end your story is for your character to achieve their goal but with an asterisk. In one small, personal battle after another, Mike and Claire Sardina achieve their goal of playing music for a living, their work bringing them joy and a measure of both celebrity and stability.

Song Sung Blue climaxes with an exciting, emotional show put on by “Lightning” and his lady “Thunder.” They are even going to meet Neil Diamond himself! And then… a twist that is startling, heartrending, and completely unexpected because of the way it was set up throughout happens. Mike dies. But, even though he didn’t get to meet Neil Diamond, you know that he dies happy. Because he and Claire have accomplished what they set out to do. He died as Lightning, the way he always wanted to live.

There’s a version of an ending in which your main character achieves their goal but not in the way they anticipated. For example, When Harry Met Sally… is about two people in pursuit of love. They never thought they’d find it with each other. (Though we knew, of course). Or in High Fidelity, Rob wants validation of his taste in music—and therefore his choices in life. What he gets in the end is something more mature and nuanced. He can be a part of the music-making process rather than just a lofty critic and he comes to understand that his choices—as reflected in his relationships—weren’t always all that great.

And then there’s the ending Ryan Coogler gives us in Sinners. He is so smart about the ending of Smoke and Stack’s story, and the realization of their goal is such sophisticated storytelling.

The brothers realize their goal halfway through the film, when the juke joint opens. In fact, there’s that incredible centerpiece of the film in which Sammie sings and plays guitar, summoning the past, present, and future of Black music. This scene is the realization of Smoke and Stack’s explicit goal to create a place where Black people have ownership of their own space.

Then the vampires show up. Because those with power can never let those without have any damned thing.

The next hour of the film is a fight against the supernatural. It’s gory and violent and harrowing and compelling, because we love these characters and we want them to protect the place that they’ve built. By themselves. For themselves.

They lose. Mostly.

Smoke and Sammie do destroy the monsters—both the fangy ones and the KKK who planned to show up later to kill them—but they also lose everything they built. Smoke dies. Sammie does achieve his own goal of becoming a professional blues guitarist.

And here’s the interesting part. A tag shows actual blues legend Buddy Guy as an elderly Sammie, visited by the ageless Stack and his similarly vampiric girlfriend Mary (Hailee Stanfield). It’s a short exchange in which Stack offers Sammie immortality, which Sammie refuses. But what’s evident in both the script and in Michael B. Jordan’s astounding performance is that Stack did get what he wanted. As a vampire, every place he goes is a place of his own. As long as he is what he has become, which he will be forever, no one can take what’s his.

So, as you tackle your stories for this year, think hard about what your character wants. Can you, as David Goyer suggests, sum it up in one sentence? It’s a good place to start, and so much can grow out of that simple beginning.

What were your favorite entertainments of 2025? And what, if anything, did you learn from them?

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Here we go, folks! Last pod of the year, and it’s really a great one. It’s conversations like the one I had for today’s episode that keep me doing the podcast. That, and the kind words and support a get from you all, both here and on the occasion that I run into a listener in the wild, which happened quite frequently this past year. I truly appreciate the kind words and support. It makes not just the work that goes into The Writers Panel seem worthwhile, but it make me feel like some of the silly ideas I have for things I want to make or achieve aren’t so silly after all.

Which is, coincidentally, a large part of today’s conversation with writer/director Craig Brewer (Song Sung Blue; Hustle and Flow; Dolemite Is My Name). Craig has made a career of writing characters whose dreams might exceed their grasp but who find ways to achieve them anyway, often in unexpected ways. A relatable topic at the moment…

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It’s a wide-ranging conversation in which we also discuss making a narrative out of the Song Sung Blue documentary, how it’s autobiographical, finding career inspiration in Amadeus, his writing process, “The Shelf,” non-musical musicals, the beauty of “Save As,” the Faustian bargain of making art, and lots more.

Don’t skip this one.

Get the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Acast or your favorite podcast app.

One of the many great pieces of writing advice Craig gives in this episode is his idea of “the shelf.” That is, he imagines a VHS or DVD rental shelf and pictures the movies that would surround the one he’s writing on it. It’s a fun exercise to get you in the right frame of mind for your current or upcoming project.

I’m working on two scripts right now. The first one sits firmly beside Scream and Final Destination. (I guess this video store doesn’t arrange titles alphabetically). The other one is a weirdo that nestles between North by Northwest and The Big Lebowski.

So what’s your shelf look like? I’d love to hear it! Let me know in the comments the movies that surround yours on the video store shelf.

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First, I want to remind you that the Writers Guild Foundation’s annual Festival is this week, December 5-6 and it’s virtual, so you can get involved from anywhere!

The Foundation is a non-profit that is a separate entity from the union itself. The Foundation runs a bunch of terrific programs, including the Veterans’ Writing Project, as well as runs the Foundation Library, which is home to over 50,000 produced film and scripts. (If you live in LA, it’s definitely worth making an appointment and looking at some scripts of movies or shows you love).

The programming for the Fest is incredibly strong. They’re hosting a conversation between Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson and Only Murders in the Building co-creator John Hoffman, writer/director Nia DaCosta discussing her new movie, Hedda, and a bunch of workshops on things like rewriting and adaptations.

And today’s Writers Panel guest, Benito Skinner, will be there with showrunner Scott King (MadTV; Harlem) to talk about how the show is put together.

You can see the whole schedule and get passes here.

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And this Sunday, Dec 7, 3-5pm, there’s a new Dead Pilots Society at the Elysian Theater. You can attend live (and if you’re in LA, I hope you will) or you can stream on demand from anywhere. HERE’S THE LINK FOR ALL TICKETS.

Great scripts by Georgia Pritchett (Succession) and actor Ginger Gonzaga (She-Hulk).

And the cast is, as always, terrific: Ed Weeks (The Mindy Project; Drop), Kyle Bornheimer (St. Dennis Medical), Patty Guggenheim (Twisted Metal), Jessica Sula (Split; Michael), Mel Rodriguez (The Residence; Last Man on Earth), Bryan Safi (Throwing Shade), Lauren Potter (Glee), Luke Tennie (Shrinking), Sarah Solemani (Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy), Logan Miller (Escape Room), Burl Moseley (Your Honor; Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Lucy Parks Urbano (Frank’s One Wild Night at the Elysian!), Joy Regullano (The Demon Detective), and more. Don’t know the names? See the faces up above.

Good news! Comedy isn’t dead. Overcompensating on Amazon Prime is a very funny and, ultimately, a very honest and nuanced show. Creator/star Benito Skinner is on the podcast today to talk about creating an authentic coming-out story, translating his stand up show to a TV pilot, learning from Shonda Rhimes, writing about gray areas, inhabiting characters, the state of TV comedy, and more.

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Festival of Writes

Now that I have your attention, here’s something I think a lot of you will be into. And it’s mostly online, so writers interested in writing from ANYWHERE can participate.

December 5-6 is the WGFestival, the annual conference about the business and process of writing put on by the Writers Guild Foundation.

The Foundation is a non-profit that is a separate entity from the union itself. The Foundation runs a bunch of terrific programs, including the Veterans’ Writing Project, as well as runs the Foundation Library, which is home to over 50,000 produced film and scripts. (If you live in LA, it’s definitely worth making an appointment and looking at some scripts of movies or shows you love. The librarians are terrific, and the library has a trove of treasures. Like this first draft of the Twin Peaks pilot that they posted about recently. Also, like, I Love Lucy scripts with network notes written in it. Stuff like that!)

Anyway, the Fest is in a couple of weeks, and the programming is insanely strong. They’re hosting a conversation between Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson and Only Murders in the Building co-creator John Hoffman, writer/director Nia DaCosta discussing her new movie, Hedda, and a bunch of workshops on things like rewriting and adaptations.

To me, the must-get-in events are the Drama and Comedy Writers’ Rooms “Simulations,” in which 10 attendees will act as staff writers and help break an episode of either a drama or comedy show, led by real showrunners.

You can see the whole schedule and get passes here.

I get nothing from this! I just think it’s cool and that you would like it!

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Now Run!

In today’s Writers Panel pod, The Running Man writer/director Edgar Wright (Last Night in Soho; Baby Driver) and co-writer Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs the World; 21 Jump Street) discuss adapting Stephen King’s novel and what the author’s approval meant to them, writing readable scripts, learning from past experiences, world-building, deploying Glen Powell as a secret weapon, and more.

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