Episodes

  • Sascha Penn (Power Book III)
    Apr 29 2025

    Sascha Penn (creator/showrunner, Power Book III) discusses the value of non-industry experience to showrunning, the truth about reps, the storytelling muscle, advice for entering the business at this moment, and more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more in The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    38 mins
  • Jonathan Tropper (Your Friends and Neighbors)
    Apr 8 2025

    Jonathan Tropper (creator, Your Friends and Neighbors, Banshee, Warrior) discusses writing a TV show closer in sensibility to his novels, the role of luck in a writing career, writing a non-action show, one key piece of advice about craft, and more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more in The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    28 mins
  • Veronica West (Surface)
    Mar 25 2025

    Veronica West (creator of Surface, High Fidelity; Dexter: New Blood; Chicago Fire) discusses why she wrote Surface on spec, the elaborate pitch, working with actors, learning on the job, and more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more in The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    32 mins
  • Abdullah Saeed (Deli Boys)
    Mar 11 2025

    Abdullah Saeed (creator, Deli Boys) discusses diligence versus talent, his favorite part of the television-making process, the most important part of your sample script, embracing chaos, and more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more in The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    36 mins
  • Drew Hancock (Companion)
    Feb 18 2025

    Drew Hancock (writer/director, Companion) discusses being put in a box, tricks for directing on the page, writing from the perspective of a robot, why second drafts always suck, and lots more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more in The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    58 mins
  • Katie O'Brien (The Z-Suite)
    Feb 11 2025

    Katie O'Brien (creator, The Z Suite; co-creator, Teachers; The Santa Clauses) discusses improv and showrunning, her post-Teachers struggle, optimism in the face of rejection, the bananas sample script she had to write, and more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more in The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    39 mins
  • Adam Rudman (Nature Cat)
    Feb 4 2025

    Adam Rudman (Carl the Collector; Nature Cat; Sesame Street) discusses pitching and selling pre-school series, the throughline in his shows, carrying on the traditions of Buster Keaton and Spongebob, and more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, and more in The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    34 mins
  • Michelle Nader (Shifting Gears; Deli Boys)
    Jan 21 2025

    Michelle Nader (showrunner of Shifting Gears and Deli Boys) discusses relationships with actors, including her "avatar" Kat Dennings, writing yourself out of your low points, how growing up in the mob prepared her for a career in television, and more.


    THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

    Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com


    Come see The Thrilling Adventure Hour live in a city near you! https://thrillingadventure.live for details.


    SOCIALS:

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    38 mins
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