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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

01:05:17

Episode 209: Michael Colton and John Aboud Interview

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/09/24

Episode 209: Michael Colton and John Aboud InterviewAs we continue to celebrate ten years of Dead Pilots Society, we bring you this month’s after show with Michael Colton and John Aboud, writers of Weekly World News, which was featured on last week’s episode.The two longtime collaborators take a look back at their path from journalism to founding the early-internet comedy magazine Modern Humorist, becoming VH1 talking heads on Best Week Ever and I Love the ’80s, and eventually building a career

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00:47:45

Episode 208: Weekly World News by Michael Colton and...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/09/17

Episode 208: Weekly World News by Michael Colton and John AboudDead Pilots Society celebrates 10 years with Weekly World News, a comedy pilot from Michael Colton and John Aboud based on the popular newspaper tabloid, Weekly World News is about the reporters who bring us the amazing but true stories of ghosts, aliens, and mutant freaks.Colton and Aboud created and ran ABC’s Home Economics for three seasons, were showrunners on HBO Max’s animated series Close Enough, and have written for Acapulco,

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01:04:06

Episode 207: Claudia Lonow Interview

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/08/27

Episode 207: Claudia Lonow InterviewHere is the after show for Fan Girl, featuring Andrew's interview with Claudia Lonow. Claudia has created four television shows: Rude Awakening, Good Girls Don't, Accidentally on Purpose, and How to Live With Your Parents (For The Rest of Your Life). She's also an actor and director, most recently directing and acting in the indie movie D(e)ad. Claudia and Andrew go way back, not only as friends, but as co-workers. She previously appeared on Dead Pilots

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01:02:12

Episode 206: Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/08/20

Episode 206: Fan Girl by Claudia LonowThis month, Dead Pilots Society presents Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow, a returning guest who previously appeared on the podcast with her pilot Assisted Loving, featured in Episode 13. Claudia has had a long and impressive career as a writer and producer. She has created four television series including How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life), Accidentally On Purpose, Rude Awakening, and Good Girls Don’t. Logline: Bad ass, sexy freedom

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01:07:09

Episode 205: Kathryn Borel Jr Interview

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/07/30

Episode 205: Kathryn Borel Jr InterviewThis month's aftershow features a conversation with writer Kathryn Borel Jr., whose ambitious adaptation of On the Road was featured in last week's episode. Kathryn has written for Rush, American Dad!, Anne with an E, and Kung Fu, and is currently working on Damon Lindelof's upcoming limited series The Chain. Kathryn talks about her remarkably unconventional childhood, her winding path to television writing which included an acclaimed career in Canadian

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00:44:11

Episode 204: On The Road by Kathryn Borel Jr

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/07/23

Episode 204: On The Road by Kathryn Borel JrThis month's dead pilot is On the Road, Kathryn Borel Jr.'s daring reimagining of Jack Kerouac's iconic novel. Instead of trying to recreate a literary classic beat for beat, Kathryn takes its spirit and builds something entirely her own. It's exactly the kind of ambitious swing we love celebrating on Dead Pilots Society. Kathryn's credits include Rush, American Dad!, Anne with an E, and Kung Fu, and she's currently working on Damon Lindelof's

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01:01:18

Episode 203: Joel Kim Booster Interview

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/06/25

Episode 203: Joel Kim Booster Interview This is the aftershow for Here, After, featuring a conversation with writer, actor, and comedian Joel Kim Booster. Joel is known for writing and starring in Fire Island and for his work on The Other Two and Big Mouth. As an actor, he's appeared in Loot, Search Party, Shrill, and more. In this wide-ranging conversation, Joel talks about his early days as a playwright, the television shows and performers that inspired him to pursue comedy and TV writing, and

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00:41:10

Episode 202: Here, After by Joel Kim Booster

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/06/18

Episode 202: Here, After by Joel Kim BoosterThis month, Dead Pilots Society welcomes back writer, actor, and comedian Joel Kim Booster, whose pilot Birthright was previously featured on Episode 34. Joel wrote and starred in the hit Hulu movie Fire Island. He was a writer on The Other Two and Big Mouth, and as an actor, you've seen him on Shrill and Search Party. Joel's pilot Here, After, never actually sold, despite being developed with the companies of Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, and Aidy

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01:08:23

Episode 201: Christian Duguay Interview

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/05/28

Episode 201: Christian Duguay InterviewThis is the After Show for Valley Heat, featuring Andrew’s interview with creator Christian Duguay. A longtime admirer of Valley Heat, Andrew finally gets the chance to sit down with Christian for a conversation about the unusual path that led to the creation of the podcast. Unlike many guests on the show, Christian didn’t come up through traditional TV comedy writing. Rather than climbing through sitcom writers’ rooms, his background includes music,

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00:52:10

Episode 200: Valley Heat by Christian Duguay

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/05/21

Episode 200: Valley Heat by Christian DuguayThis month marks the 200th episode of Dead Pilots Society, which feels like a real milestone for a show that requires considerably more coordination than a couple of people just turning on microphones and talking. Every pilot episode means finding a pilot, assembling a cast, and putting together a live reading, so reaching 200 episodes feels genuinely significant. While this is the show’s 200th episode, it’s also the 118th dead pilot the podcast has

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00:07:25

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/05/01

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 1As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best. The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time of year to say thanks and invite new listeners to join. Throughout the drive,

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01:05:09

Episode 199: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/30

Episode 199: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview Part TwoThis is the After Show for Gimme Five, featuring part two of Andrew’s conversation with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, creators of How I Met Your Mother. The discussion digs into the real-life inspiration behind Gimme Five, a project shaped as much by nostalgia as it is by firsthand experience. Carter and Craig reflect on the writers’ rooms that shaped the pilot, and the kind of shared comedy culture that gets handed down over time,

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00:13:24

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/29

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 2As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best. The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time of year to say thanks and invite new listeners to join. Throughout the drive,

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00:06:25

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/28

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 3 As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best. The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time of year to say thanks and invite new listeners to join. Throughout the drive,

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00:55:30

Episode 198: Gimme Five by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/27

Episode 198: Gimme Five by Carter Bays and Craig ThomasThis month’s second dead pilot from Carter Bays and Craig Thomas is Gimme Five. Best known as the co-creators and longtime showrunners of How I Met Your Mother, Carter and Craig previously wrote for The Late Show with David Letterman and produced American Dad. They co-wrote this pilot with legendary writer Peter Tolan, whose credits include The Larry Sanders Show, Rescue Me, Analyze This, Analyze That, and many more. Here's the log line

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01:13:29

Episode 197: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/25

Episode 197: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview This is the After Show for New York Mythological, featuring Andrew’s conversation with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, creators of How I Met Your Mother. As part of this MaxFunDrive run, Dead Pilots Society is featuring two pilots from Carter and Craig. In a few days, the second one, Gimme Five, will be released, followed by part two of Andrew’s interview with them. The conversation gets into the real origins of How I Met Your Mother, the

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00:07:31

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/23

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 4 As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best. The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time of year to say thanks and invite new listeners to join. Throughout the drive,

en

00:15:41

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/22

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 5 As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best. The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or more, and this is the time of year to say thanks and invite new listeners to join. Throughout the drive,

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00:21:33

Casters on Casters: Ben Blacker, Alonso Duralde, and...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/20

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters. In this episode, Ben Blacker (Dead Pilots Society), Hal Lublin (Tights and Fights & We Got This with Mark and Hal) and Alonso Duralde (Maximum Film!) take listeners behind the scenes and swap stories about the ups and downs of podcasting. Plus, why does every TV reboot have a character that's a podcaster? And how did COVID change the podcasting game

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00:49:25

Episode 196: New York Mythological by Carter Bays and...

Dead Pilots Society ·

2026/04/20

Episode 196: New York Mythological by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas This month’s dead pilot, kicking off the 2026 MaxFunDrive, is New York Mythological, written by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Best known as the co-creators and showrunners of How I Met Your Mother, Carter and Craig previously wrote for The Late Show with David Letterman and produced American Dad. Carter is the author of the novel The Mutual Friend, Craig wrote the novel That’s Not How It Happened, and together they’re also

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218 results

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