OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East

Host Alison Herman talks to Meredith Scardino, the creator, showrunner, writer, and producer of GIRLS5EVA, about the show's writing and songwriting process, what you learn from mentors like Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, and Robert Carlock, and why so much of this series is about having agency over your own life. Meredith Scardino is a New York-based screenwriter, showrunner, and producer. After working on the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN in the mid-2000s, she went on to write for television comedies such as THE COLBERT REPORT and UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT. She also served as a co-executive producer in the final two seasons of the latter show. Her current project is the Peacock musical comedy series GIRLS5EVA. The series centers on four women who were part of a girl group named Girls5eva, which was briefly popular around the year 2000 before fading into one-hit-wonder status. Now unfulfilled in their various lives, the women are offered an unexpected chance at a comeback when their song is sampled by an up-and-coming rapper and decide to reunite to reclaim their prior success. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole talks about the Netflix series RUSSIAN DOLL with co-creator, writer, producer, director, star Natasha Lyonne, and writer-producer Alice Ju They discuss how the series uses religious philosophy to work on both literal and metaphorical levels, taking the show from "Groundhog Day" to "Quantum Leap", and exploring the nesting doll of dealing with grief. Warning, there are spoilers. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to Amy Schumer, creator and star of the comedy-drama series LIFE & BETH, about how motherhood changes your perspective as a writer, why she loves writing in bed and the differences between writing a sketch show like INSIDE AMY SCHUMER versus a scripted show like LIFE & BETH. Amy Schumeris a New York-based comedian, actress, and screenwriter. From 2013 to 2016, she was the creator, co-producer, co-writer, and star of the Comedy Central sketch comedy series INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, for which she received a Peabody Award and was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Variety Sketch Series in 2015. Schumer wrote and made her film debut in a starring role in TRAINWRECK, for which she received nominations for Writers Guild and Golden Globe Awards. In 2022, she co-hosted the 94th Academy Awards alongside Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes. Her current project is the Hulu comedy-drama series LIFE & BETH. In this semi-autobiographical series, the seemingly-perfect life of Beth, a Manhattanite wine distributor, is upended by an unexpected incident that forces her to engage with her past. In a single moment, her life changes forever, leading her on a journey to discover how she became who she is and what she wants to become. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Greg Iwinski talks to Michael Waldron, writer of DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, about the Harmon Story Circle, how the worlds of wrestling and comic books are similar, and the cultural obsession with spoiling things. (Speaking of which, this episode does contain some spoilers. Proceed with caution!) Michael Waldron is a writer and producer who started his career in film & TV as a PA on the fifth season of the hit NBC sitcom COMMUNITY. After his time at Greendale Community College, he served as a writer/producer for the animated series RICK & MORTY – for which he and his colleagues received an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, showrunner for the Disney+ series LOKI, and creator/co-showrunner for the Starz drama series HEELS. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS is the latest feature film from the Marvel cinematic universe, and the sequel to the 2016 film DOCTOR STRANGE. The film follows the titular Doctor Strange as he teams up with a mysterious teenage girl from his dreams who can travel across multiverses. Along the way, the duo battles multiple threats, including other-universe versions of Stephen Strange, which threaten to wipe out millions across the multiverse. The film premiered in early May 2022 and is now playing in theaters. Host Greg Iwinski is an Emmy-winning comedy writer and no-award-winning performer whose writing includes Last Week Tonight and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. He recently finished writing the first season of Game Theory with Bomani Jones on HBO, and can be found on Twitter @garyjackson. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Entertainment Weekly's Derek Lawrence sits down with Danny McBride—the creator, writer, executive producer, and costar of the dark comedy series THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES. Danny McBride is a writer, actor, comedian, and producer. He wrote and starred in the HBO television series EASTBOUND & DOWN and VICE PRINCIPALS, both of which he co-created with Jody Hill. He's also known for his appearances in films like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and TROPIC THUNDER as well as for his voice acting roles in films like THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES. His current project is the HBO dark comedy series THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES. The show tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work. THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES premiered in August 2019 on HBO. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on HBO Max, and the show was renewed for a third season in early 2022. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole talks to David Simon, co-creator and showrunner of the new HBO miniseries WE OWN THIS CITY, about how he sees the mini-series as the coda to his legendary show, THE WIRE; the lessons he learned as a journalist that have helped him as a television writer; and why the drug war is one of America's worst policies and needs to end. David Simon is a Baltimore-based screenwriter, journalist, author, and television producer. A former crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun, he is the author of two books of narrative nonfiction—Homicide and The Corner—and is the creator of the celebrated HBO series THE WIRE, which depicts the political and socioeconomic fissures in an American city. His other television credits include the NBC drama HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET and HBO's THE CORNER—both adaptations of his nonfiction books—as well as HBO's GENERATION KILL, TREME, and THE DEUCE. He was a 2010 MacArthur Fellow and has received numerous accolades over the course of his career, including an Edgar Award and multiple Emmy and Writers Guild Awards. His latest project is the crime drama miniseries WE OWN THIS CITY. Based on the nonfiction book of the same name by fellow Baltimore Sun alum Justin Fenton, the show details the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force and the corruption surrounding it. The six-part miniseries premiered in April 2022 on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri hands it over to guest host Melissa Silverstein, the founder and publisher of Women in Hollywood, for a conversation with THE DROPOUT creator and showrunner Liz Meriwether. Liz Meriwether is a writer, showrunner, and producer known for her work as the creator and showrunner of the hit comedy series NEW GIRL and the sitcom BLESS THIS MESS, as well as for writing the screenplay for the 2011 romcom NO STRINGS ATTACHED. Guest moderator Melissa Silverstein is the founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood, an initiative and website that educates, advocates, and agitates for gender diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the global film industry. THE DROPOUT is a Hulu limited series based on the ABC podcast of the same name. The series follows the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos. The series premiered in March 2022 and is available to stream on Hulu. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole speaks with Jonathan Tropper about The Adam Project's eight-year journey to the screen, how to write a great action scene, the rules of writing time travel, and why you don't tell Bob when to drink the Coke. Jonathan Tropper is a screenwriter, novelist, and producer. He is the internationally-acclaimed author of six novels, the two most recent of which—This Is Where I Leave You and One Last Thing Before I Go—were both New York Times bestsellers. His screenwriting credits include THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU (the 2014 film adaptation of his novel), the 2017 feature KODACHROME, showrunner of the sci-fi series SEE, co-creator and showrunner of the action series BANSHEE, and creator and showrunner of the martial arts drama series WARRIOR. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for the sci-fi adventure film THE ADAM PROJECT. The film follows time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed who, after accidentally crash-landing in the year 2022, must team up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future. The film was released in March and is now streaming on Netflix. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole is joined by PACHINKO showrunner, writer, and producer Soo Hugh to talk about how the writers adapted the acclaimed novel to keep it focused on family over colonialism; the process of crafting a complex, authentic story that couldn't have been told the same way a decade ago; and the power inherent in telling extraordinary stories of ordinary people. Soo Hugh is a writer and producer whose past credits include sci-fi and horror drama series like CBS sci-fi mystery UNDER THE DOME, ABC sci-fi drama THE WHISPERS (which she created) and AMC horror anthology THE TERROR (for which she was co-showrunner), among others. She is currently serving as creator, writer, showrunner, and producer of the Apple TV period drama PACHINKO. Based on the acclaimed novel by author Min Jin Lee, PACHINKO chronicles the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family. The story begins with a forbidden love, and crescendos into a sweeping saga that journeys between Korea, Japan, and America to tell an unforgettable story of war, peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning. The series' first three episodes premiered in March 2022, and new episodes are streaming weekly on AppleTV+. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole talks to writer-director Mariama Diallo about the uncanny—and all-too-real—experience of navigating predominately white spaces as a Black woman, the complexities of identity, the importance and necessity of your community, and more. Mariama Diallo is a writer and director whose short film "Hair Wolf" premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival—where it won the Short Film Jury Award—and was then released on HBO and the Criterion Channel. Diallo also co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in the short film "White Devil," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and is a writer-director on the Peabody Award-winning HBO series RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS. Her latest project—and feature debut—is MASTER, a supernatural horror film about three Black women striving to find their place at a prestigious New England university whose frosty elitism may disguise something more sinister. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will arrive on Prime Video (and in select theaters) starting March 18. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast