Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss

We talk to the extraordinary Simran Baidwan.
She tells us about her best and worst rooms, the transition from criminal prosecutor to Hollywood and the importance of grace in leadership.
We cover inclus…

We talk to the amazing Jeffrey Lieber - for the second time.
We take a deep dive into the world of failure, rejection and adversity in Hollywood.
We talk ill-fitting jobs, managing and leading teams an…

We talk to the fascinating Paul Bae. The teacher/comedian/podcaster/screenwriter/actor talks us through his journey.
We talk failing in screenwriting and acting leading to millions of downloads for hi…

We talk to the extraordinary Ildy Modrovich. She talks about arranged marriages, the importance of two showrunners and the pilot that was guaranteed - until it wasn't.
She talks about losing her confi…

We speak to the amazing and hilarious Chris Sheridan.
He reads out some of his rejection letters, tells us about making calls from payphones on street corners and why he really didn't want to work on …

We have comedian, actress and writer Brittani Nichols on the show.
A fascinating discussion about diversity, inclusive comedy and working on a rocketship of a show like Abbot Elementary.
We talk happy …

We talk to the dynamic duo of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods about gimmicks in scripts, a yes after multiple nos and what happened to their directing dreams.
They talk with incredible candor about their Q…

We talk to novelist and showrunner Dari Polatin.
She talks about getting her book written at 4am and during lunchbreaks, the rarity of being allowed to adapt a novel and the struggles of a junior fema…

We talk to the amazing Andy Siara.
He tells us the story behind the time loop in Palm Springs, his fear of never working again and gives the most extraordinary piece of advice about hope.
He talks the …

We talk to development executive Alex Hedlund.
We talk at length about Matt Damon movie The Great Wall, why it failed, how he was involved and when he realised it was going wrong.
He tells us what he l…

We talk to the extraordinary John Cameron Mitchell.
We talk failure in writing, directing and actor, the risks of coming out and how they decide which projects to work on.
John talks Hedwig, passion pr…

We (by which we actually mean just Dan) talk to writer and director Peter Kosminsky.
He tells us about his early firings (of which there were many including lasting only a day as a researcher because …

We talk to the magnificent Amy Berg. She tells us her journey through Hollywood - taking a step down to be an assistant, her first big break on North Shore and her start with a writing partner (and t…

In our first episode in the second half of the season, we talk to dynamic duo Rasheed and TJ about their journey to the top.
How to decide the credits, how to share victories/commiserate losses and in…

We talk to amazing British showrunner Joe Barton.
He tells us about being fired from Batman, what a British showrunner does and standing in the snow waiting to be rejected.
We cover writing about a for…

We talk to Toby Gorman, president of Universal Television Alternative Studio.
He tells us about his dream of being an airline pilot, falling into this career by accident and becoming a showrunner in h…

We talk to Emmy-nominated showrunner Josh Silberman.
We talk eating rats, nearly freezing to death and creating compelling TV.
He tells us about his journey to the top, stolen show ideas and how to tre…

We talk to the effervescent Meredith Scardino.
She tells us about the transition from late night to episodic, handling rejection of both instant and slow ideas and how her upbringing prepared her for …

We speak to the showrunner and creator Anthony Q Farrell. He talks about working in an office, then The Office, and then back to Macy's.
We talk about the uncertainty of starting out and knowing when …