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

Host Geri Cole welcomes THE HANDMAID'S TALE creator, showrunner, writer, and EP Bruce Miller and writer and EP Yahlin Chang to the show to talk about how real-world refugee stories give the show inspiration and guidance, the ways in which writing can be both cruel and cathartic, and how the show encourages everyone—both above and below the line—to bring their A-game. ** - Please note: This episode comes with a spoiler alert as well as a content warning for a discussion of sexual violence against women and other traumatic topics. - ** Bruce Miller is a television writer and producer who, before HANDMAID'S, was well known for his work as showrunner and writer for popular sci-fi series like EUREKA and ALPHAS. For his work on The Handmaid's Tale, Miller won the 2017 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Yahlin Chang is a writer and producer who wrote on several series including DIRTY SEXY MONEY, PAN AM, and SUPERGIRL, before joining the writers' room of THE HANDMAID'S TALE. She was nominated for a 2021 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama for the series. THE HANDMAID'S TALE is a dystopian television series based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name. The series portrays life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was the United States which is ruled by an ultra-religious fundamentalist regime. Faced with a world devastated by environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate, the few remaining fertile women are forced into sexual servitude. One of these women, Offred, is determined to survive the terrifying world she lives in, and find the daughter that was taken from her. The series—which has received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, Writers Guild Awards, among many others—premiered on Hulu in April 2017, and is currently in production for its 5th season. Seasons 1-4 are 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

Geri Cole turns it over to Michael Cyril Creighton for a special conversation with showrunners Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen to discuss their series, SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE. Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen are a writing duo whose credits include HIGH MAINTENANCE, MOZART IN THE JUNGLE and DRIVEWAYS. Moderator Michael Cyril Creighton is a writer and actor known for his recent performance as the cat-loving Howard Morris in ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING and his roles on HIGH MAINTENANCE and SPOTLIGHT, as well as for creating and starring in the Writers Guild Award-winning web series JACK IN A BOX (which, incidentally, Hannah and Paul also worked on). SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE is a new comedy series that follows Sam, a true Kansan on the surface who, beneath it all, struggles to fit into the hometown mold. As Sam grapples with loss and acceptance, singing is her saving grace and leads her on a journey to discover herself and a community of outsiders who don't fit in, but don't give up, showing that finding your people and finding your voice is possible anywhere somewhere. SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE is streaming now on HBO and HBO Max, and was renewed for a second season earlier this month. --- 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 Zach Baylin—screenwriter of KING RICHARD—about how a serendipitous meeting before heading to the US Open led to the script landing in the hands of Will Smith, his experience collaborating with the Williams family, and the importance of writing every day, because even a few lines can feel like a success. Zach Baylin is a screenwriter whose script, KING RICHARD, was #2 in the 2018 Black List survey, and is his first produced writing credit. His next project is CREED III, which is currently in production for MGM. KING RICHARD is the true story of how Venus and Serena Williams were raised and coached by their parents to become the tennis legends they are today. Zach's screenplay won the 2022 Black Film Critic Circle Award and is currently in the running for a Writers Guild Award, a BAFTA Award, and an Academy Award. KING RICHARD was released in November 2021. It's currently playing in theaters and available to stream on VOD. --- 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 Cole turns it over to David O. Russell for a conversation with Adam McKay about his latest project, DON'T LOOK UP. David O. Russell is the Oscar- and Writers Guild Award-nominated writer and director best known for his work on titles like FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, THREE KINGS, I HEART HUCKABEES, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, AMERICAN HUSTLE, and most recently, JOY. Adam McKay is a writer, director, comedian, and co-founder of the comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade. He kicked off his film & TV career in the '90s as a head writer for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE before rising to fame in the 2000s for his collaborations with fellow comedian and SNL alum Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the hit comedies ANCHORMAN, STEP BROTHERS, and THE OTHER GUYS. In the 2010s, McKay ventured into more dramatic waters as co-writer & director of the 2015 dramedy/biopic THE BIG SHORT—for which he and Charles Randolph received the Academy and Writers Guild Awards for Adapted Screenplay—and as writer & director of the 2019 Oscar- and Writers Guild Award-nominated Dick Cheney biopic VICE. His most recent project is DON'T LOOK UP, a comedy-drama and cautionary tale written and directed by McKay and based on a story by himself and David Sirota. The film follows two astronomers who discover a comet orbiting within the solar system and which is set on a direct collision course with Earth. The problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. The astronomers embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff to the airwaves of upbeat morning show The Daily Rip. With only six months until the comet makes impact, the team struggles to manage the 24-hour news cycle and gain the attention of the social media-obsessed public—before it's too late. DON'T LOOK UP was released in December 2021 and is available to stream 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 four writers from THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH: supervising producer and head writer Zhubin Parang, writers Kat Radley and Josh Johnson, and correspondent Roy Wood Jr. The writers and Geri cover what it takes to put together an episode of THE DAILY SHOW… and to do it daily, how being encouraged to bomb creates a sense of community in the writers' room, and how segments like "CP Time" help teach chapters of Black history you won't find in a textbook. THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH is the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning evening news program that examines the day's biggest news stories in politics, pop culture, entertainment, sports and more. In each episode, Trevor and his team of correspondents provide coverage of (and catharsis from) daily events through a sharp, reality-based lens. Episodes of THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH air live on Comedy Central nightly. --- 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 Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky—writers and executive producers of AND JUST LIKE THAT—to talk about how they first came to work on SEX AND THE CITY, their very intimate writing process for AND JUST LIKE THAT, and how success can sometimes feel like being lost in L.A. Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky are long-time collaborators whose credits together include SEX AND THE CITY, SIX DEGREES, SMASH, ODD MOM OUT—where they also served as co-showrunners, and DIVORCE. Their latest collaboration is on the new limited series AND JUST LIKE THAT. The ten-episode revival of SEX AND THE CITY follows Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s. AND JUST LIKE THAT premiered in December 2021 and is currently available to watch on HBO and 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

Host Geri Cole kicks off a new year, and a new season of OnWriting, in conversation with celebrated screenwriter, playwright, and author Tony Kushner—the screenwriter behind the recent adaptation of WEST SIDE STORY. Geri and Tony discuss the process of adapting one of the most famous musicals of all time, how in-depth research about New York's West Side added historical context and deeper meaning to the script, and how even the likes Tony Kushner get anxious looking at a blank page. Tony Kushner is a celebrated playwright, author, and screenwriter who is perhaps best known for writing the acclaimed play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes—and its TV miniseries adaptation—as well as for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg as screenwriter for MUNICH and LINCOLN, both of which earned him Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay. Angels in America earned Tony both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1993, and he received Emmy and Writers Guild Awards for its onscreen adaptation. He also received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2013. His latest screenplay (and most recent collaboration with Spielberg) is the musical romantic period drama WEST SIDE STORY. The film—based on the 1957 stage musical and a follow-up of the acclaimed 1961 film adaptation—explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds, as they explore the ever-shifting (and never-changing) landscape of New York. WEST SIDE STORY was released in December 2021 and is now showing in theaters. --- 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 Tracey Scott Wilson, writer of the Aretha Franklin biopic RESPECT, about writing the film's screenplay on a very expedited timeline, how being a playwright has informed her film & television career, and her creative process – which includes writing in longhand and starting each day reading scripts. Tracey Scott Wilson is an accomplished television writer, producer and playwright. She served as a co-executive producer on FOSSE/VERDON and MORNING SHOW. Before that, she was co-executive producer on the award-winning series THE AMERICANS, where she wrote for 4 seasons and received two Writers Guild awards, two Peabody awards and a Golden Globe. Her plays include BUZZER, THE GOOD NEGRO, and THE STORY. She is the winner of multiple awards for her work as a playwright, including 2001 Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award, the 2003 AT&T Onstage Award, the 2004 Whiting Award, the 2004 Kesserling Prize, the 2007 Weissberger Playwriting Award, and the 2007 Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the O'Neil National Playwriting Conference. Her latest project is the Aretha Franklin biopic, RESPECT. The film follows the rise of Aretha Franklin's career — from a child singing in her father's church choir to her international superstardom — and tells the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice. The film was released in August 2021 and is available to rent or buy on major streaming platforms. --- 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

For the latest live taping of OnWriting, Amanda Peet and Jennifer Kim join host Geri Cole to discuss their work on the new Netflix (academi)comedy-drama series, THE CHAIR. Amanda Peet is the co-creator, showrunner, writer, and executive producer of THE CHAIR. You may also know her from her extensive acting credits, including DIRTY JOHN, BROCKMIRE, and TOGETHERNESS. Jennifer Kim is a writer on THE CHAIR, as well as a staff writer for the upcoming Mel Brooks variety series HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART II, which was announced earlier this fall. THE CHAIR is the story of Professor Ji-Yoon Kim—the newly appointed chair of the English department at the prestigious Pembroke University, and the first woman of color to hold the position. The first season of the comedy-drama series follows Kim's efforts to meet the dizzying demands and high expectations of a failing English department all while trying to ensure the tenure of a young black colleague; negotiate her relationship with her crush, friend, and well-known colleague Bill Dobson; and parent her strong-willed adopted daughter. The show was released in August 2021 and is available to stream 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 talks to John Hoffman—co-creator and showrunner of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING—about the art of putting together a compelling mystery in a writers' room, how his own life experience shaped his connection to the series, and the creative value of staying in bed. Spoiler Alert: This episode contains lots of big reveals. We recommend you watch the series before you listen. John Hoffman is a writer, director, and actor who wrote and co-starred in the 1997 Disney Channel original movie NORTHERN LIGHTS before making his theatrical film debut (as both writer and director) with the 2003 MGM/Jim Henson Pictures comedy GOOD BOY!. Since then, his credits have included the 81st Academy Awards (for which he earned an Emmy nomination), the HBO series LOOKING, and the Netflix series GRACE AND FRANKIE. Hoffman is currently the showrunner of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, which he co-created alongside Steve Martin. The mystery-comedy series follows three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years, but the secrets they keep from one another might be even more explosive. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it's too late. The 10-episode first season is now streaming on Hulu, and the series was renewed for a second season in September 2021. --- 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 to PEN15 co-creators, co-writers, and co-stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle about how the duo met (at an experimental theater program in Amsterdam), how PEN15 has become even more honest and raw in its second season, and the curious case of writing for yourself as a 13-year-old. Maya Erskine is a writer and actor known for her onscreen roles in several comedy series, including MAN SEEKING WOMAN, HEARTBEAT, CASUAL, and INSECURE. Anna Konkle is a writer, actor, and director, known for co-starring in the Fox police procedural ROSEWOOD. Together, Erskine and Konkle co-created, co-write, and co-star in the Hulu series PEN15. The "traumedy" follows fictionalized versions of Maya and Anna as teenage outcasts in the year 2000, during a period when the best day of your life can turn into the worst with just the stroke of a gel pen. The series, which premiered in 2019, is available to stream on Hulu. Part two of Season 2 is scheduled for release on December 3. --- 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 Erica Saleh—writer & EP of ONE OF US IS LYING—about the process of developing the series for three different networks before finally finding its home on Peacock, how '80s and '90s nostalgia influenced the writers' room, and the importance of having faith in your ability to finish a draft. Erica Saleh is a TV writer and playwright whose past television credits include EVIL, INSTINCT, WISDOM OF THE CROWD, and CHANNEL ZERO. As a playwright she is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, and her work has been produced and developed by multiple theaters across the NYC area. She also serves on the WGA East's Council, as well as the Guild's Committee for Inclusion and Equity. Erica developed, writes on, and executive produces the new young adult mystery series ONE OF US IS LYING. Based on Karen M. McManus's New York Times best-selling novel, the show tells the story of what happens when five high schoolers walk into detention and only four make it out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide. ONE OF US IS LYING premiered in October 2021 and is currently streaming on Peacock. --- 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 Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve—two-thirds of the writing team behind DUNE—to discuss the challenges of writing a story that serves two audiences, relearning the lesson of focusing on the human element in science fiction, and just how much coffee it takes for three masters of filmmaking to collaborate on the script of DUNE (spoiler alert… it's a lot). Jon Spaihts wrote the screenplays for PROMETHEUS, THE DARKEST HOUR, and MARVEL'S DR. STRANGE. Denis Villeneuve is perhaps best known as the director of SICARIO, ARRIVAL, and BLADE RUNNER 2049. Third co-writer Eric Roth—who, unfortunately, couldn't join us because of technical difficulties—is the writer of titles like FORREST GUMP, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, and A STAR IS BORN, among many others. DUNE—co-written by Spaihts, Villeneuve, and Roth and directed by Villeneuve— is a mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey adapted from the 1965 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. The film tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive. DUNE is now playing in theaters, and can also be streamed 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

Host Geri Cole is joined by Jen Statsky—co-creator and showrunner of the HBO Max series HACKS—to talk about the show's journey from an idea on a road trip to a hit series, why writing about people's flaws can bring out the best in a character, and the challenges of writing a comedy series about writing comedy. Jen Statsky is a TV writer and comedian who cut her comedy-writing teeth on Twitter. Her posts were popular, and she eventually found herself with enough of a following that, in 2011, the account helped her land her first TV writing job at LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON. Since then, she has written for a number of hit comedies, including BROAD CITY, THE GOOD PLACE, and PARKS & RECREATION (all while maintaining her Twitter account, of course). She currently serves as the showrunner of the comedy-drama series HACKS. The series, which Statsky co-created with Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, follows legendary stand-up comic Deborah Vance (played by Jean Smart) as she works to maintain relevancy through a reluctant partnership with struggling millennial comedy writer Ava. The show premiered in May 2021, and was recently renewed for a second season. It's 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

Host Geri Cole speaks with Danny Strong—creator and showrunner of the new Hulu series DOPESICK—about how he wove four stories across three timelines, writing stories that spark national conversations, and how falling into YouTube holes can be a part of the writing process. Danny Strong is a writer, director, and actor. Though he was initially best known for his roles in TV shows like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and GILMORE GIRLS, he quickly made a name for himself as a screenwriter. He earned a Writers Guild Award for his debut feature screenplay, the 2008 HBO political drama RECOUNT, as well as for the 2012 HBO film GAME CHANGE. His credits since then have included co-creating the hit series EMPIRE, and writing the screenplays for THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 and PART 2, LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER; and the 2017 biopic REBEL IN THE RYE. His latest project is DOPESICK. The drama series, which Danny created is showrunner for, examines how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history. The eight-episode series, viewers to the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Big Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA. Defying all the odds, heroes will emerge in an intense and thrilling ride to take down the craven corporate forces behind this national crisis and their allies. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri is joined by Dan Perlman—co-creator and co-star of FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS—to talk about the show's journey from a short to a network series, how the real Dan and Kevin compare to their onscreen characters, and the importance of hearing judgment-free feedback. Dan Perlman is a writer, stand-up comedian, and director. As a comedian, he has been featured on Comedy Central and was named one of the New Faces at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. He wrote and directed the 2020 short film CRAMMING, which won the Audience Award at the 2020 Brooklyn Film Festival and First Prize at the 2020 Rhode Island International Film Festival. Alongside Kevin Iso, Dan also co-created the award-winning web series "Flatbush Misdemeanors," the first installment of which received the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the 2018 Florida Film Festival. Dan's latest project, FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS, is an adaptation of the original web series. The dark comedy stars Dan and Kevin as fictionalized versions of themselves – young, up-and-coming comedians struggling to thrive in Flatbush, Brooklyn while tackling issues like race, gentrification, mental health and more. The series premiered in May 2021 and season 1 is available to stream on Showtime. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri is joined by Lang Fisher—co-creator and showrunner of the Netflix series NEVER HAVE I EVER—to discuss creating a comedy that's rooted in grief, writing teen characters who sound like real teens, how casting tennis champion John McEnroe as narrator helped tie the whole series together, and more. Lang Fisher was a staff writer for The Onion and started her TV writing career at THE ONION NEWS NETWORK. Since then, she's written on hit comedies like THE MINDY PROJECT, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, and 30 ROCK. While at 30 ROCK, she co-wrote the episode "A Goon's Deed in a Weary World," which was named in Variety's "25 Best TV Episodes of the Decade (2010-2019)." Her latest project is NEVER HAVE I EVER – a coming-of-age dramedy co-created by Fisher and Mindy Kaling. The series follows Devi, an Indian-American high school student, as she grapples with the death of her father, her Indian identity, and trying to improve her social status at her school. The series premiered in 2020 and was recently renewed for a third season. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents the fourth and final week of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For the fourth and final installment in the series, OnWriting host Geri Cole speaks with Steven Canals, the co-creator and executive producer of the FX drama series POSE. After receiving an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, Steven Canals began his professional writing career as a research assistant at Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black's production company Hungry Jackal Productions. He then went on to serve as a staff writer on the Freeform supernatural horror series DEAD OF SUMMER while also writing the short film "Afuera." In 2018, he started his tenure as co-creator and executive producer of POSE. POSE is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons and ferocious house mothers of New York's underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the late 1980s. The series follows Blanca Rodriguez, who, after receiving an HIV positive diagnosis, is forced to confront her mortality and dedicates herself to leaving a legacy by founding her own House of Evangelista and supporting her new found-family. POSE, which recently concluded its third and final season, features the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles and the largest recurring cast of LGBTQ actors ever for a scripted series. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Netflix, and the third season is available on FX. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents week three of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For our third installment in the series, Geri speaks with Nikole Beckwith, the writer and director of TOGETHER TOGETHER. Nikole Beckwith is a writer, director, and pen-and-ink artist. As a playwright, her work has been developed and performed in on stages in New York, Chicago and London. She made her feature film debut with STOCKHOLM, PENNSYLVANIA, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive numerous accolades including a Women's Image Award for Best Screenplay and nomination for Best Director, a Satellite Award for Best Film for Television, and three TV Critics Choice Award. Her latest project is TOGETHER TOGETHER – a story about the ups and downs of surrogacy and the power of platonic love. The film follows 26-year-old Anna and single, middle-aged app designer named Matt, two self-described loners who gradually open up to each other, give in to the intimacy of their admittedly finite shared experience, and forge an unlikely friendship over the course of Anna's time as Matt's gestational surrogate. The film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and is currently available to rent or buy through major SVOD platforms. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents week two of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For our second installment in the series, Geri speaks with Kimberly Peirce, the writer and director of BOYS DON'T CRY. BOYS DON'T CRY is the 1999 film based on the true story of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man trying to live and find love in Nebraska. On the film's 20th anniversary, it was selected for preservation at the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

For the first part of our OnWriting Pride Month series, Geri is joined by Emma Seligman, writer and director of SHIVA BABY, to discuss the challenges of writing and directing a low-budget first feature, the ways Judaism and a love of cinema have shaped her storytelling, and how the film uses anxiety and a horror soundtrack to heighten the tension and the comedy. Emma Seligman is a Canadian filmmaker. While studying film at NYU, she made a number of short films, including "Lonewoods," "Void," and her thesis project, "Shiva Baby," which had its world premiere at the 2018 South by Southwest film festival. SHIVA BABY is the feature-length adaptation of that project, and Seligman's feature debut. The film follows Jewish, bisexual college senior Danielle as she—along with her family, her ex-girlfriend, and, to her shock, her sugar daddy—attends a shiva for a barely-remembered relative. The film—which premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and has since received widespread critical acclaim, including the Best Screenplay award at Outfest 2020—is now showing in select theaters in the US and is available to rent on most major streaming platforms. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri welcomes the Bodega Boys Desus Nice and The Kid Mero to the show to talk about what they do—and don't do—to put together their show; their unique approach interviewing illustrious guests; and why it's so important to be real and stay real with the people you work with… no matter how strong the brand. Desus Nice & The Kid Mero are former Bronx schoolmates who—while building their respective followings as formidable comedians in their own right—reconnected on Twitter and quickly became known for their shared affinity for complaining about their dissatisfaction for their jobs coupled with pointed and funny pop culture commentary. The re-connection of the quick-witted duo led to stints on Complex (DESUS VS. MERO), their current podcast (THE BODEGA BOYS), and a critically acclaimed late-night show on Viceland— all while continuing to amass an enthusiastic following for their smart and comedic off-the-cuff musings on life's greatest topics. They have also contributed their voices to Ezra Koenig's (Vampire Weekend) animated series NEO YOKIO and NEO YOKIO PINK CHRISTMAS. DESUS & MERO is the third talk series co-hosted by the duo. In each episode, Desus, Mero, and a variety of illustrious guests speak about important topics and chat about pop culture, sports, music, politics—among many other things. The Showtime series is the network's first-ever late-night talk show. New episodes air on Mondays and Thursdays. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri speaks with Zack Akers, writer and co-director of SHIPWORM, about how the project is the first podcast to be covered on the Writers Guild Minimum Basic Agreement; the challenges and freedoms of writing for audio; and the roles that doctors working during the pandemic, a rented duck, and a rare & elusive type of mollusk have played in his creative process. Zack Akers, along with his creative partner, Skip Bronkie, run the podcast production company Two-Up, the studio known for groundbreaking fiction, musical and documentary podcasts like 36 QUESTIONS, THE WILDERNESS, and LIMETOWN—the last of which was also adapted into a TV series for Facebook Watch (and which is now available to stream on Peacock). His latest project is SHIPWORM: a first-of-its-kind feature-length scripted podcast. The two-hour narrative story stars Broadway luminary Quentin Earl Darrington as Wallace Conway, a small-town doctor who wakes up to find he's been implanted with an untraceable chip that allows a mysterious voice to lead him on a deadly journey that threatens his family, friends and his own life. The full podcast is now available on all streaming services. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

To kick things off for Season 9, Geri is joined by Sierra Teller Ornelas and Mike Schur, co-creators — along with Ed Helms — of the new Peacock sitcom RUTHERFORD FALLS, to discuss how the series tackles big issues around race and culture with an abundance of humor; how they built an inclusive and equitable writers' room; and how television, and the world, is better off when we learn from history. Sierra Teller Ornelas is a Navajo and Mexican American writer, producer, and showrunner whose long list of past credits includes BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, SUPERSTORE, and SPLITTING UP TOGETHER. Mike Schur is a writer, producer, and actor who is probably best known as the co-creator of PARKS AND RECREATION and BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, the creator of THE GOOD PLACE, as well as a writer on THE OFFICE and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – among other things. Their latest project is the sitcom RUTHERFORD FALLS. The series—which was co-created by Ornelas, Schur, and Ed Helms, and for which Ornelas is showrunner—follows Nathan Rutherford and Reagan Wells, two lifelong friends who find themselves at a crossroads, quite literally, when their sleepy town gets an unexpected wake-up call. The complete first season premiered on April 22 and is available to stream on Peacock. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

The WGAE Women's Salon presents a series of four live recordings of OnWriting in honor of Women's History Month. In each episode, we're speaking with women screenwriters whose latest projects center on women's stories. To wrap up the series, Geri speaks with Eliza Hittman, the writer and director of the acclaimed 2020 film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS. Eliza Hittman is an award-winning writer and director from Brooklyn, NY. She is the writer and director of the 2013 drama IT FELT LIKE LOVE and the 2017 drama BEACH RATS, the latter of which earned her the 2017 Director Award at Sundance Film Festival. She is also the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award from Lincoln Center and is a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. Her latest project is the drama film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS. The film follows Autumn, a 17-year-old who, after learning that she's pregnant but unable to get an abortion without her parents' consent in her native Pennsylvania, embarks on a trip to New York City with her cousin Skylar in order to get an abortion there. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award for Neo-Realism. It also won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. It is currently available to stream on HBO Max. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents the third in a series of four live recordings of OnWriting in honor of Women's History Month, presented by the WGAE Women's Salon. In each episode, we're speaking with women screenwriters whose latest projects center on women's stories. For the third installment in the series, Geri speaks with Jenny Lumet, the co-creator and showrunner of the new CBS series CLARICE. Jenny Lumet is a screenwriter and actress who is widely known for her screenplay for the acclaimed 2008 drama film RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, directed by the late, great Jonathan Demme. She is a writer-producer on STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, and is co-creator and showrunner of the forthcoming sci-fi series THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. Her latest project is CLARICE — the CBS crime procedural drama series co-created by Lumet and Alex Kurtzman, and for which Lumet serves as showrunner. CLARICE takes a deep dive into the untold personal story of FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) as she returns to the field in 1993, one year after the events of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Brilliant and vulnerable, Clarice's bravery gives her an inner light that draws monsters and madmen to her. However, her complex psychological makeup that comes from a challenging childhood empowers her to begin to find her voice while working in a man's world, as well as escape the family secrets that have haunted her throughout her life. The series premiered in February 2021 on CBS and is also available to stream on Paramount+. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents the second in a series of four live recordings of OnWriting in honor of Women's History Month, presented by the WGAE Women's Salon. In each episode, we're speaking with women screenwriters whose latest projects center on women's stories. For the second installment in the series, Geri speaks with Banban Cheng & Sasie Sealy — co-writers of LUCKY GRANDMA. Banban Cheng is a writer and filmmaker who spent her childhood performing Chinese stand-up comedy in Houston, Texas. Since then, she's traded the stage for writing and directing movies. Her screenplay TROUBLE TO THE HERD was the winner of the 2019 AsianCinevision SAG-AFTRA Screenplay Award and was a finalist at the 2019 Nashville Film Festival. She won the 2019 AsianCinevision SAG-AFTRA Screenplay Award for her screenplay TROUBLE TO THE HERD, was awarded NYU's Wasserman Prize for Filmmaking for her short film TEN & TWO, and received the Sloan Foundation feature screenplay award for her gothic drama SUGAR WATER. She is also the Creative Director of Format Development at TED, experimenting with and launching new forms of storytelling. Sasie Sealy is a writer and director with a love of striking visuals and cheeky scripts. She first made her mark in the commercial world of fashion and beauty, and her work in that industry has been featured in Glamour, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Variety, and Style.com. Her short films have screened at the Smithsonian Institute and festivals around the world, and she has twice received the short film prize at the Tribeca Film Festival, first for DANCE MANIA FANTASTIC and then for THE ELEPHANT GARDEN. She was included on the 2020 Alice Initiative list of Emerging Female Directors and the New York Times' 2019 "9 Filmmakers Who Should Be on Your Radar" list. LUCKY GRANDMA—co-written by Cheng and Sealy and directed by Sealy—a funny and thrilling heist movies starring an ornery, chain-smoking, badass Chinese grandma (Tsai Chin) in New York City who goes all in at the casino, only to put herself and her family in the middle of a gang war. The film—which was the recipient of AT&T and Tribeca Film Festival's 2018 Untold Stories $1 million filmmaking grant—premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and is currently available to stream on Hulu and Showtime. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents the first in a series of four live recordings of OnWriting in honor of Women's History Month, presented by the WGAE Women's Salon. In each episode, we're speaking with women screenwriters whose latest projects center on women's stories. For the first of these Women's History Month episodes, Geri speaks with Emerald Fennell — writer and director of the dark PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN. Emerald Fennell is an actress, writer, and director. As an actor, she's known for starring in the BBC period drama series CALL THE MIDWIFE, as well as her role as Camilla Shand in the third season of the Netflix period drama THE CROWN. She also served as the KILLING EVE showrunner during its second season – for which she earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Her latest project is the Writers Guild Award-nominated black comedy thriller PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN. PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN – Emerald's feature film debut as both writer and director – follows Cassie (Carey Mulligan), who everyone said was a promising young woman ... until a mysterious event abruptly derailed her future. But nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be: she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs of the past in this thrilling and wildly entertaining story. The film is currently in theaters and available to purchase on VOD. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents three live-taped episodes of OnWriting celebrating Black History Month, presented by the WGAE Black Writers Salon. In each installment, two co-chairs of the WGAE Black Writers Salon—OnWriting's own Geri Cole and Rashidi Hendrix—speak with Black screenwriters who have each written amazing films about Black icons in history. For the third & final installment of the series, Geri and Rashidi speak with Shaka King, co-writer and director of JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH. Shaka King is a screenwriter, director, and producer. His debut feature film, NEWLYWEEDS, premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win the Someone to Watch Award at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards. He then cowrote and directed the short film MULIGNANS, with which he and cowriter Kristan Sprague competed in the USA Narrative Short Film Program at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and for which they received the Nantucket Film Festival Screenwriting Award. He also co-wrote and directed the 2017 short film LAZERCISM, starring LaKeith Stanfield. On the small screen, King has written and directed episodes of several series, including HIGH MAINTENANCE, SHRILL, and RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS. His latest project is JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – the powerful true story of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) – chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party – and his betrayal by FBI informant William O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield), which led to Hampton being executed in bed in a pre-dawn raid by Chicago law enforcement. Screenplay by Will Berson and Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, and Kenny Lucas and Keith Lucas (better known as the Lucas Brothers); Directed by Shaka King. The film will be available to stream on HBO Max until Sunday, March 14. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents three live-taped episodes of OnWriting celebrating Black History Month, presented by the WGAE Black Writers Salon. In each installment, two co-chairs of the WGAE Black Writers Salon—OnWriting's own Geri Cole and Rashidi Hendrix—speak with Black screenwriters who have each written amazing films about Black icons in history. For the second installment in the series, Geri speaks to Suzan-Lori Parks — Pulitzer prize-winning playwright and screenwriter of the new Hulu feature film, THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY. Suzan-Lori Parks was encouraged to take up playwriting by her then-college professor, James Baldwin. In 2002, she became the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Topdog/Underdog. She also wrote the screenplays for the Spike Lee-directed 1996 film GIRL 6, the 2004 adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, and the 2019 film adaptation of Richard Wright's NATIVE SON. She is also a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant. THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY is adapted from Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. It tells the story of the legendary Billie Holiday (Andra Day) as she's targeted by the federal department of narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by black federal agent Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), with whom she has a tumultuous love affair. The film is directed by Lee Daniels and is currently available to stream on Hulu. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents three live-taped episodes of OnWriting celebrating Black History Month, presented by the WGAE Black Writers Salon. In each installment, two co-chairs of the WGAE Black Writers Salon—OnWriting's own Geri Cole and Rashidi Hendrix—speak with Black screenwriters who have each written amazing films about Black icons in history. To kick things off, we're joined by Ruben Santiago-Hudson and the screenwriter of MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, which is currently available to stream on Netflix. Ruben Santiago-Hudson is a versatile talent who — in addition to his many acting credits in projects like BILLIONS and THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS — wrote the award-winning stage play for LACKAWANNA BLUES as well as its Emmy and Writers Guild Award-nominated TV film adaptation. MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM is an adaptation of the August Wilson play of the same name. The film, set in 1920s Chicago, follows a recording session where tensions rise between mother of blues Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), and her ambitious horn player named Levee (Chadwick Boseman). -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri is joined by award-winning screenwriter Lena Waithe – creator of and writer on the BET comedy series TWENTIES – about never pandering to an audience, how the series A DIFFERENT WORLD influences her work, and how success can come in small doses. Lena Waithe is a screenwriter, producer, and actress known for her Emmy Award-winning writing on MASTER OF NONE, as well as for creating the Showtime drama series THE CHI and writing the screenplay for the 2019 film QUEEN & SLIM. Her latest project, TWENTIES, follows a young screenwriter and her best friends as they pursue their dreams in Los Angeles. The BET series premiered in March 2020 and was renewed for a second season in June. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri and Terence Nance — creator, writer, director, and co-star of the new HBO Late Night series RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS — talk about the trauma in - and of - making art, how his writing takes place before he opens Final Draft, and how we can find success by looking in each other's faces. Terrence Nance is a writer, director, actor, and musician. His 2012 feature film AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY premiered at Sundance and received a Gotham Independent Film Award. He was the recipient of a 2014 Guggenheim fellowship for his work. His latest project is the HBO late-night sketch comedy series RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS - a fluid, stream-of-consciousness response to the contemporary American mediascape. Each episode features a handful of interconnected vignettes which showcase an ensemble cast of emerging and established talent. The show is a mix of verité documentary, musical performances, surrealist melodrama and humorous animation. Nance and his collaborators weave together such themes as ancestral trauma, history, death, the singularity, romance and more. The six-episode first season explores evergreen cultural idioms such as patriarchy, white supremacy and sensuality from a new, thought-provoking perspective, and is available to stream on HBO Max. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri talks to writer and director Aaron Sorkin about spending 15 years writing his latest film, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7; why intention and obstacle are the backbones of every good story; and how his career is kind of like being struck by lightning… if being struck by lightning were a good thing. Aaron Sorkin is the Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Writers Guild Award-winning writer behind myriad films, television series, and plays including THE WEST WING, THE NEWSROOM, the play A FEW GOOD MEN (and its 1992 film adaptation), MONEYBALL, MOLLY'S GAME—which he also directed, and THE SOCIAL NETWORK. THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, written and directed by Sorkin, is based on the infamous 1969 trial of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, arising from the countercultural protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The film was released in the fall of 2020 and is available to stream on Netlfix. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri speaks to Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, and Peter Baynham—cowriters of BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM—about why they decided to revisit the iconic character, how intense it was to film that now infamous Rudy Giuliani scene, and the reality of filming in very dangerous situations. Sacha Baron Cohen is best known for his portrayal of bawdy and raucous fictional satirical characters such as Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard and Admiral General Aladeen. Sacha and his cowriters and frequent collaborators Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham have featured these characters in a number of films and television series, including ALI G INDAHOUSE, THE 11 O'CLOCK SHOW, BRÜNO, THE DICTATOR, and BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN, the latter of which was nominated for the 2006 Writers Guild and Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay. Their latest collaboration, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM, follows the titular Borat Sagdiyev after his release from a stint in prison for bringing shame to his country, as he risks life and limb when he returns to America with his 15-year-old daughter. The film is available to stream on Amazon Prime. — Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ — Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri chats with Sofia Coppola—writer, director, and producer of ON THE ROCKS—about how her writing process has changed over the years, how family dynamics helped shape her work, and why it's so important to trust your instincts. Sofia Coppola's career as a writer and director began with her 1999 film THE VIRGIN SUICIDES. Since then, Sofia has written and directed films like THE BEGUILED, THE BLING RING, MARIE ANTOINETTE, and LOST IN TRANSLATION. Her script for LOST IN TRANSLATION received the 2004 Writers Guild and Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay. Her latest feature, ON THE ROCKS, tells story of young New York-based author and married mother-of-two, Laura, who has become suspicious that her career-driven husband may be having an affair with a coworker—a speculation encouraged by her caddish, bon vivant father. The film was released in October 2020, and is available to stream on Apple TV+. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri Cole hosts the third installment of the OnWriting Guide to Crafting Scripted Podcasts. In Parts One & Two, Kaitlin Fontana spoke with podcast writers and producers about the industry's business side: what the market looks like, how to break in, and how to protect yourself once you're there; and about the creative side of the industry: from recruiting talent, to necessary skill sets, to creative satisfactions, and beyond. Now, in Part Three, Geri is joined by three guests—Lissette Alvarez, Matt Klinman, and Lowell Peterson—to talk about the WGA Audio Alliance a new initiative from the Writers Guild of America, East which aims to establish and improve the standards and rights for writers in the scripted podcast industry. To learn more, visit wgaeast.org/WGAAudio or follow @WGAAudio on Twitter. About the Guests Lisette Alvarez is the owner of Stormfire Productions, an independent podcast production company. They are the writer, producer, and lead actor of the urban fantasy audio drama KALILA STORMFIRE'S ECONOMICAL MAGICK SERVICES. Matt Klinman is a writer, director and performer for television, digital and scripted audio. He is currently developing a new scripted audio series with Audible and was most recently a staff writer on the Spotify series THE LAST DEGREE OF KEVIN BACON produced by Funny or Die and the Audible series 64TH MAN produced by Broadway Video. He is the co-creator and co-director of the scripted audio series SMARTR produced by Team Coco for Luminary. Lowell Peterson is the executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East. Under his stewardship, the Guild has organized nonfiction podcast companies Gimlet, The Ringer and Parcast, which are now all owned by Spotify. To listen to the OnWriting Guide to Crafting Scripted Podcasts, Parts One and Two, visit onwriting.org and click on "Special Projects." The OnWriting Guide to Scripted Podcasting, Part Three was hosted by Geri Cole with sound design, mixing, and tech production by Stock Boy Creative. Special thanks to Lisette Alvarez, Matt Klinman, Lowell Peterson, Jason Gordon, and Molly Beer. Parts One and Two were written & produced by Molly Beer; hosted by Kaitlin Fontana; with sound design, mixing, and tech production by Stock Boy Creative. Special thanks to River Donaghey, Danielle Trussoni, Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie, Alicia Van Couvering, Lowell Peterson, Jason Gordon, and Marsha Seeman. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri speaks with acclaimed screenwriter, dramatist, and director Julie Taymor—co-writer and director of the new biopic THE GLORIAS—about her approach to storytelling, how projects can be shaped by limitations, how established creators like her still have to fight to get films like THE GLORIAS made, how travel has been the best education, and much more. Celebrated for her work on stage and screen, Julie Taymor's writing and directing credits include the 2002 Frida Kahlo biopic, FRIDA; the Beatles jukebox musical, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE; and one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time, THE LION KING, which received three Drama Desk and two Tony Awards in 1998. Her latest project, THE GLORIAS, is a biography of feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Julie and co-writer Sarah Ruhl adapted the screenplay from Gloria Steinem's memoir, My Life on the Road. The film was released on September 30, 2020, and is available to stream on Amazon Prime. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Emmy Award-winning writer Cord Jefferson joins Geri to talk about his experiences in the writers' rooms for two of the most prestigious series currently on television, writing about race and extreme privilege, why staying in your lane is an antiquated idea, and more. Cord Jefferson was a journalist at Gawker from 2012 until 2014, when he joined the writing staff of the Starz sitcom SURVIVOR'S REMORSE. Since then, he has gone on to write for television series like THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE, THE GOOD PLACE, SUCCESSION, and WATCHMEN. At the 72nd Annual Writers Guild Awards, the writers of WATCHMEN and SUCCESSION won the awards for New Series and Dramatic Series categories, respectively. Cord also received an Emmy Award for co-writing the sixth episode of WATCHMEN, "This Extraordinary Being." He is currently developing a TV series about Gawker alongside the site's former Editor-in-Chief, Max Reed. Season 7 of OnWriting is hosted by Geri Cole, a writer and performer based in New York City. She is currently a full-time staff and interactive writer for SESAME STREET, for which she has received Writers Guild Award and two Daytime Emmys. She also performs sketch and improv at theaters and festivals around the country. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri is joined by documentarians Mike Wiser and Michael Kirk—the writer-producers of the FRONTLINE special "The Choice 2020: Trump vs Biden"—to discuss making documentaries that are hard-hitting but nonpartisan; their impressive catalogue of Frontline specials, which have examined everything from the Mueller report to Mitch McConnell's takeover of the Supreme Court; the absurd timelines they work off of for all of their projects, and more. Michael Kirk was the original senior producer of Frontline from its inception in 1983 until the fall of 1987, when he created his own production company, the Kirk Documentary Group. He has produced more than 200 national television programs, and has won four Peabody Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards, two George Polk Awards, 16 Emmy Awards, and 12 Writers Guild of America Awards for his work. Mike Wiser has worked on more than 30 films for Frontline since joining the Kirk Documentary Group in 2003. His work as a writer and producer reporting on national security, foreign affairs, sports, criminal justice, and the global financial crisis has earned him several Peabody, Emmy, and Writers Guild of America Awards. The Choice 2020: Trump vs Biden is the ninth installment of "The Choice," a PBS Frontline investigative documentary series aiming to better inform American voters about the two major candidates of that year's presidential election. The 2-hour program examines the biographies of President Donald Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden, where they came from, and how they lead. The program, which recently premiered on PBS, is available to stream now on the PBS website. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast