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PODCAST

Dead Pilots Society

Ben Blacker and Andrew Reich

In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Starring actors you know and love from television and film, a live audience, and a good time in which no one gets notes, no one is fired, and everyone laughs. Presented by Andrew Reich (Friends; Worst Week) Ben Blacker (The Writers Panel podcast; co-creator, Thrilling Adventure Hour), and Noah Findling (The New York Times, Comedy Central).

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

00:59:29

Episode 85: Kristen Bartlett (Full Frontal, SNL)...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/12/23

It’s the after show for Big Wishes written by Kristen Bartlett (Head writer of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee)! Andrew sat down with Kristen to discuss her dead pilot, her arduous journey into comedy and her day job in standards and practices for a few major television networks. She opens up about the passing of her father, how she cultivated the mentality: “F*ck you, I’m doing my own thing…” and some insight into her days writing on Saturday Night Live. This is an enlightening and heartfelt

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00:44:47

Episode 84: Big Wishes written by Kristen Bartlett...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/12/16

Another great pilot for you this month! It’s called Big Wishes written by Kristen Bartlett (Full Frontal, SNL) Her pilot is called Big Wishes. It follows Karla, a guilty pushover, and her best friend Hyacinth, brash and full-of-life despite having Stage 3 breast cancer, as they form a Make-a-Wish Foundation for adults. Together, Karla and Hyacinth set out to grant the strange, occasionally selfish wishes of dying adults. It was sold as a spec to ABC Signature and set up at ABC Network for the 2020

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00:45:03

Episode 83: Ty Burrell (Modern Family) Interview

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/12/09

We have a very special bonus episode for you! Andrew sat down with Ty Burrell (Modern Family) to discuss the dead pilot he produced, Yours, Mine and Paul’s written by Julia Meltzer. In their interview they discuss breaking new voices, what exactly that entails, what Ty looks for in specs from green writers, and the effort his company puts into finding them. He told us the story about how Julia’s pilot came to him and how his whole production company flipped for it. The benefits of developing a well

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01:05:22

Episode 82: Julia Meltzer (UCB) Interview (Yours,...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/11/25

Have you listened to Julia Meltzer’s pilot Yours, Mine and Paul’s yet? Throw it on while you’re whipping up your Thanksgiving meal! Then listen to Andrew's interview with Julia, one of comedy’s next great writers! Joined by her supervisor Abraham Higginbotham (Modern Family), Julia tells us about how she went from being Ty Burrell’s development assistant to attaching him as a producer on her pilot ... the long arduous process of packaging this project with a studio, a showrunner, two stars, and

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00:33:24

Episode 81: Yours, Mine and Paul's written by Julia...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/11/18

A first-time writer hits it out of the park in this month's dead pilot! The pilot is Yours, Mine and Paul’s written by Julia Meltzer. It centers around Lauren, a woman who agrees to be a surrogate for her best friend, Paul, and his husband, Xander. There’s just one problem: Lauren and Xander hate each other. Oh, also Paul dies in the cold open. Some great Will & Grace vibes here. It was developed during the 2019-2020 pilot season, set up at ABC Network with Ty Burrell’s Desert Whale Productions and

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01:32:38

Episode 80: Lindsey Shockley (Black-ish) Interview...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/10/28

If you haven’t listened to The End written by Lindsey Shockley then you have to do it before Halloween or you might turn into a zombie! This episode is the After Show! In it, Andrew sits down with Lindsey to discuss her career and the development of her pilot The End. You'll get the story of how he hired Lindsey as the writer’s assistant for one of his shows, and as a writer on another one. Lindsey dishes on how she made the jump from assistant to staff writer. She talks about what it’s like to

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00:44:28

Episode 79: The End written by Lindsey Shockley...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/10/21

This month’s pilot is definitely going to put you in the halloween spirit! It’s probably our goriest script yet and without a doubt one of our funniest. It’s The End written by Lindsey Shockley (Black-ish), is a genre-bending comedy about an adorably neurotic woman who gets engaged on the same day zombies take over the world. But even more terrifying? Meeting her new in-laws. It was set up at Showtime with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky attached to produce and Marc Webb attached to direct.The

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00:31:25

Meet the Neighbors: Dead Pilots Society x The...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/10/14

Dead Pilots Society and The Greatest Generation got together to celebrate MaxFun Block Party!If you enjoyed this conversation we had with hosts Benjamin Ahr Harrison and Adam Pranica, be sure to subscribe to The Greatest Generation and the Greatest Discovery!Thanks to Christian Dueñas for editing!

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01:00:59

Episode 78: Megan Gailey (Conan) and Aaron Burdette...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/09/30

Have you listened to the table read of Everything’s Under Control written by Megan Gailey (Conan) and Aaron Burdette (Man Seeking Woman)? If not, get on that! This episode is the After Show! In it, Andrew sits down with Megan and Aaron to talk about the development of their brilliant and heartwarming pilot. They open up about their experience dealing with grandparents who suffered from Alzheimer’s, working with legendary late television producer Jamie Tarses, the fantasy that comes with an “If come

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00:54:34

Episode 77: Everything's Under Control written by...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/09/23

This month’s pilot is a real doozy! It’s called Everything’s Under Control written by Megan Gailey (Conan) and Aaron Burdette (Man Seeking Woman). It centers around a working-class Midwestern family who are just barely keeping it together when their grandmother develops Alzheimer’s. It was developed during the 2019-2020 pilot season. It was set up at ABC Network with the late Jamie Tarses and ABC Studios attached to produce. Everything’s Under Control stars Megan Gailey, Patricia Richardson (Home

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01:07:33

Episode 76: Trae Crowder, Corey Ryan Forrester, Drew...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/08/26

We hope you had a chance to listen to the table read for Middle of Somewhere written by Andrew Reich (Friends) and the WellRED crew aka Trae Crowder, Corey Ryan Forrester, and Drew Morgan. In this episode, Andrew sits down with the guys for a deep dive into the development of this pilot, including an expansive conversation about some of the more controversial story ideas that the studio and network nixed. They break down how studios pair showrunners with talent, how the news cycle can affect

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00:48:19

Episode 75: Middle of Somewhere written by Andrew...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/08/19

Our pilot this month is called Middle of Somewhere written by Andrew Reich (Friends), Trae Crowder (Well Red), Corey Ryan Forrester (Well Red), and Drew Morgan (Well Red). This is an ensemble comedy about three best friends in the rural south and the women in their lives. Middle of Somewhere was set up at ABC with The District and ABC Studios attached to produce.Middle of Somewhere stars Trae Crowder, Corey Ryan Forrester, Drew Morgan, Dylan Gelula as Paige, Beth Stelling as Amber, Keith Johnson as

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01:06:07

Episode 74: Hilary Winston (My Name Is Earl) & Mat...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/07/29

We have a great after show interview for you! It’s an enlightening conversation with Hilary Winston (My Name Is Earl, Community) & Mat Harawitz (Angie Tribeca, Will & Grace) writers of last week’s episode, Common Areas. Hilary spills some life changing advice she got from Kerry Washington in college and tales from her first staff writer job on The Orlando Jones Show. Mat tells us about his most embarrassing job interview moments, some sage (and practical) writing advice, and a conversation about the

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01:04:54

Episode 73: Common Areas written by Hilary Winston...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/07/22

Our pilot this month is called Common Areas written by Mat Harawitz (Angie Tribeca) & Hilary Winston (Happy Endings). In cities where rents have sky rocketed, people are turning to micro-units in luxury buildings, where they can get a bedroom for the price of an apartment in any other city. These dorm residents are getting a lot more than just a tiny bedroom and athlete’s foot, they’re getting a community (but also probably athlete’s foot). Common Areas centers around the tenants of one of these

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01:01:59

Episode 72: Paul Scheer & Andrew Guest Interview...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/06/24

We caught up with the writers of Voice Of The People this week! Andrew sat down with Paul Scheer (The League, Black Monday) and Andrew Guest (30 Rock, Community) for their after show interview. They talked about the development process for Voice Of The People and where they saw the series going. They go in depth about the notes they received from HBO and what it was like to work with Adam McKay and Owen Burke at Gary Sanchez. A deep dive into news pundits and Paul realizes that he actually was a

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00:51:00

Episode 71: Voice Of The People written by Paul...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/06/17

We’re kicking off summer with a hot pilot! It’s called Voice of the People written by Paul Scheer & Andrew Guest. It’s a behind the scenes look at the cutthroat world of cable news punditry, where people treat the news like entertainment, in which one woman slowly loses her integrity as a journalist on her path to becoming an “expert.” It was set up at HBO with Adam Mckay’s company, Gary Sanchez attached to produce.Voice of the People stars Sasheer Zamata as Lucy (Woke, Saturday Night Live), Paul

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00:56:35

Episode 70: Riki Lindhome & Monica Padrick (Tails...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/05/11

It’s week two of the Max Fun Drive! Thank you so much if you’ve already supported the show by becoming a MaxFun member. Make sure you let us know on twitter or instagram so we can properly thank you! For week two we caught up with Riki Lindhome (Knives Out, Another Period) and Monica Padrick (Community, Central Park) about their pilot Tails. They were so great to talk to. Monica told us about her transition from being a journalist to a TV writer and how a dinner with a family friend changed her

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01:20:15

Feed Swap! Dead Pilots Society loves The JV Club

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/05/10

Dead Pilots Society producer Ben Blacker chats with Janet Varney, host of MaxFun's The JV Club podcast. DPS fans will enjoy Janet (you know her from several of our episodes!), the funny and frank conversations about our most awkward years, and the celebrity guests.Don't forget to check the boxes for Dead Pilots Society and The JV Club when you become a MaxFun member! Please help support the little shows that can and do!To become a MaxFun member go to maximumfun.org/joinJanet shares episode 9 with

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00:53:14

Feed Swap! Dead Pilots Society loves We Got This!

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/05/08

Dead Pilots Society producer Ben Blacker chats with Hal Lublin and Mark Gagliardi, hosts of MaxFun's We Got This podcast. DPS fans will enjoy the comedy arguments, the silly decisions, and the celebrity guests of We Got This.Don't forget to check the boxes for Dead Pilots Society and We Got This when you become a MaxFun member!Please help support the little shows that can and do!"Mark and Hal share episode 56 with us: Batman vs Superman with guests Travis McElroy and Ben Blacker.The Man of Steel vs

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00:45:50

Feed Swap! Dead Pilots Society loves Mission to Zyxx

Dead Pilots Society ·

2021/05/05

To keep in line with the spirit of #MaxFunDrive, we are feed swapping with fellow MaxFun podcast Mission to Zyxx. Dead Pilots Society producer Ben Blacker chats with Mission to Zyxx hosts/comedians Seth Lind and Moujan Zolfaghari. DPS fans will LOVE this podcast! Each episode features a special guest comedian who plays an inhabitant of the Zyxx Quadrant unlucky enough to encounter our crew. Episodes are fully improvised, then lovingly edited and sound designed. Don't forget to check the boxes for

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