Fresh TV Writing Podcasts

While I still stand behind my list of ongoing awesome TV writing podcasts, here are some recent episodes that made it into my permanent library of resources

Gabe Sachs @ USC – Even before discovering the insanely-brilliant “Freaks & Geeks”, I had watched “Undeclared” and been madly in love with the writing. What do both shows have in common (besides an EP whose name rhythms with Ludd Trapatow)?

How about writer Gabe Sachs, who also tore it up at “Just Shoot Me” and was one of the eighteen showrunners the CW blasted at the first season of the “90210″ reboot. As usual, USC’s interviewer has a ton of awesome questions for Sachs…this is extra worthy of your time.

Warren Bell @ USC – I don’t think Jim Belushi is funny. There I said what America thinks every time they flip past an “According To Jim” rerun.

That said, I can recognize the creativity involved in building a show around him every week and Warren Bell does a nice (albeit it, brief) job of discussing what it takes to run a network sitcom. Known as a show “fixer”, his stories are fascinating.

Melissa Rosenberg @ USC – “Twilight” writer, blah, blah, blah…this woman wrote on “Dexter” for the first three seasons. Credibility authenticated.

Savannah Dooley & Winnie Holzman @ “The Business” – Winnie Holzman co-created “My So-Called Life”, so it’s no surprise her daughter Savannah Dooley knows how to write too. Which is why the story of her creating and running the ABC Family jam “Huge” with Moms is so interesting.

And just for good measure, she cast her father, legendary character actor Paul Dooley, as a series regular – created an unusually familial working environment for all involved. Good stuff.

Kyle Killen @ “The Business” – Kyle Killen created “Lone Star” and details the experience’s highs (getting universally great reviews) and lows (being cancelled after two airings). Guys who go through this don’t usually do half hour post-mortems – enjoy this rare insight.

Ken Kwapis @ “The Business” – Ken Kwapis directed the “The Larry Sanders Show” pilot in addition to episodes of “Freaks & Geeks”, “Parks & Recreation”, “The Office”, “ER”, “Bernie Mac”…do I need to keep going?

Good. Here, he talks about his long career while detailing the process of getting “Outsourced” onto NBC’s most prestigious night of comedy.