738 - Building Your Audience with Courtney Kemp

738 - Building Your Audience with Courtney Kemp

From Scriptnotes Podcast by John August and Craig Mazin

June 2, 2026 · 58 min · Season 15 · Episode 738

About this episode

John August and Craig Mazin discuss audience building in television with guest Courtney Kemp.

John welcomes writer and showrunner Courtney Kemp (Power, Nemesis) to ask, how do you find an audience and build momentum on television? They look at how writers can match their voice to an underserved audience, the pitfalls of being boxed in by a niche, and what new writers can do to get people excited about their work. We also chart how Courtney built her career from magazine writer to creating the television franchise Power, look at the exciting success of Obsession and Backrooms, and answer listener questions on talking to your reps about financial struggles, and how to find your project's "why now?" In our bonus segment for premium members, Courtney shot her new show Nemesis entirely in Los Angeles, and you can too! Links: Courtney Kemp on Instagram and Wikipedia Nemesis on Netflix 'Obsession' Makes History With Biggest Second-Weekend Spike in Modern Times by Pamela McClintock and Lexi Carson for The Hollywood Reporter The 'Pitt' Effect: A Scramble to Get Shows Back on Air Faster by Lesley Goldberg for Ankler Media Ryan Walker hotel reviews Star City Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes…

People in this episode

Hosts: John August, Craig Mazin

Guest: Courtney Kemp

Topics covered

  • audience building
  • television writing
  • career development
  • niche pitfalls
  • financial struggles
  • project motivation

Keywords

  • audience
  • television
  • writing
  • career
  • niche
  • financial struggles
  • project motivation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Hollywood Reporter, Ankler Media

Books & works: Power, Nemesis, Obsession, Backrooms

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