Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss

We are delighted to have the legendary Eriq La Salle on the show. The talented actor, writer, producer, director and novelist joins us to talk about his illustrious career, the power of storytelling and his love of acting but not necessarily some of the business of acting. We talk about a writing rejection leading to acting, an acting rejection leading to directing and frustrations about pay disparity and inequality shaping his work as a producer. Eriq talks about his role as producing direct...

We talk to Equalizer showrunner Joe Wilson. In one of our most candid episodes so far, he talks about his journey from East Cleveland to Hollywood, the tough days at the start and even sleeping in his car. He explains how he got his break, how he is treated when he goes home and what sort of showrunner he aspires to be. We talk cool Hollywood moments, his strengths and weaknesses and the show about bands he aspires to make. A gritty episode that explores all the areas Hollywood doesn’t normal...

We talk to Sally Bradford Mckenna, co-showrunner of the new Peacock show Laid. She explains how she first got her break, reluctantly, on Will & Grace, how her father's career helped shaped hers and why every show needs two showrunners. She talks about the evolution of comedy writing, difficult rooms early in her career and being brought in to solve problems on shows, and how that didn't always go down well. Sally talks about the excitement of co-showrunning, why she wants to try it solo a...

We're back after our New Year and fire break and have a great oe, Coco and Cleaner writer Matthew Aldrich. He talks about the power of spec scripts, why he never celebrates his wins and the pressure and intensity of working with Pixar. He tells about sourcing ideas from news articles, how prior success has meant nothing for future success and the state of Hollywood today. We also cover not living in LA, alternative pastry chef careers and why he feels so fortunate. A great first episode of th...

We talk to comedy writing legend Kevin Abbott. He talks about the drinking, drugs and smoking of his first comedy rooms, how he got his break in the business and working through the night. Pitching while an exec was peeing, why writers are all miserable and the behaviours that are no longer acceptable. Kevin explains that Hollywood is in its worst possible spot, why creatives are not valued and how the industry has changed to be so much more business than show. A fascinating and hilarious dis...

What an episode! We talk to TV legend Frank Cardea about his decades in the business. He tells us about his move from accountancy to producing, the extraordinary longevity of his writing partnership and working on more than 400 episodes of NCIS. We hear some great examples of failure, some great examples of success and also some great examples of leadership. A fascinating deepdive into one of Hollywood longest and most prodigious careers.

We talk to the fascinating Mark Goffman. He tells us about swapping real Government speech writing at the State Department for writing on the West Wing, some extraordinary career luck and ventriloqism documentaries. Mark talks about the importance of giving people a voice in a room, the importance of working with good people repeatedly and the importance of reflecting something of yourself in every show. He talks about regret, where he derives his satisfaction in the writing process and he an...