Inneresting #110 - Getting to know the nominees
Discover more from Inneresting
Inneresting #110 - Getting to know the nominees
A Giant Size issue all about the 2022 Emmy nominated writers
Outstanding writing for a comedy series
Abbott Elementary
Quinta Brunson “Pilot”
Mankaprr Conteh looks at Quinta’s rise to success with Abbott Elementary. Heather Wood Rudolph looks at the viral videos that launched Quinta’s career. Sydney Gore speaks with Brunson on her perspective on the future of media and the larger industry.
Barry
Duffy Boudreau “710N”
Alec Berg, Bill Hader “starting now”
Bill Hader talks with Collider on his love of Children of Men and writing Season 3 of the show. Rebecca Keegan speaks with Bill Hader on how creating Barry was a response to his own anxiety. Alec Berg sits down with John and Craig on Scriptnotes to talk about setups and payoffs. Duffy Boudreau sits down with Vince Ostrowski to talk about his writing process and work on comics series BlackAcre.
Hacks
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky “The One, The Only”
John takes a deep dive with Jen Statsky into the Hacks pilot on Scriptnotes. Abe Friedtanzer speaks with Lucia, Paul, and Jen on the genesis of the characters. Jen Statsky chats with Brooke Marine about social media and female comedians who never got their due. Statsky talks with Eve Peyser about one-liners and moving from writing late night monologues to sitcoms.
Only Murders In The Building
John Hoffman, Steve Martin “True Crime”
John brings in John Hoffman and Brittani Nichols (from Abbott Elementary) to talk about writing a modern comedy series. David Reddish asks Hoffman about true crime podcasts and his acting past. Amy West speaks to Hoffman about meta humor and the joy of watching Martin Short wind up to deliver dialogue he likes.
Ted Lasso
Jane Becker “No Weddings And A Funeral”
Becker tells Sadie Dean about the process of breaking season 2 and advice to comedy writers on finding your voice. Patrick Stanley gathers Becker, Sarah Carbiener, Jessica Gao, and Erica Rosbe to talk about their work on Rick and Morty. Harley Quinn Co-Showrunner Justin Halpern credits Jane with writing the joke that set the tone for the series.
What We Do In The Shadows
Sarah Naftalis “The Casino”
Stefani Robinson “The Wellness Center”
Sarah Naftalis joins a panel moderated by Writers Guild Foundation librarian Lauren O’Connor on being a staff writer for a comedy. The cast and crew sit down with Anne Victoria Clark to discuss the nominated episodes.
Outstanding writing for a drama series
Better Call Saul
Thomas Schnauz “Plan And Execution”
Thomas Schnauz and members of the cast and crew break down how an episode of Better Call Saul gets written. Schnauz digs in to how the show’s characters developed in the first season and the connections to Breaking Bad. Shnauz writes in Time Magazine why Breaking Bad needed to end.
Ozark
Chris Mundy “A Hard Way To Go”
Mundy speaks to Dan Doperalski about showrunning and season finales. Chris tells Byron Burton about what goes on inside the show’s writers room. Chris covers his career transition from Rolling Stone contributor to TV writer with Pete D’Alessandro.
Severance
Dan Erickson “The We We Are”
Dan talks with Andy Beckerman about getting his start writing for Lip Sync Battle. Erickson and Ramona Zacharias talk about work/life balance. Emma Stefansky interviews Erickson about crafting the pilot and the show’s future.
Squid Game
Hwang Dong-hyuk “One Lucky Day”
Hwang tells Variety about the genesis of the premise, and why he thinks it appeals to an international audience. He also speaks with Beatrice Verhoeven about the balance between symbolic and realistic elements.
Succession
Jesse Armstrong “All The Bells Say”
Armstrong speaks with Boyd Hilton and Becky Martin about creating the tone for the show. Armstrong and Sam Bain offer tips writing comedy to The Guardian and in a BAFTA Masterclass. Jesse also describes how being a researcher for an MP lead to success with The Thick of It.
Yellowjackets
Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson “F Sharp”
Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson “Pilot”
Josephine Green Zhang talks with Lyle & Nickerson about working as a married writing team. Lyle describes how to track complex storylines and make sure all characters have dignity and a point of view. Sadie Dean asks Nickerson and Lyle about building the mood and tone of the show.
Outstanding writing for an anthology series or movie
Dopesick
Danny Strong “The People vs. Purdue Pharma”
Sadie Dean talks to Strong about finding a thematic anchor for adapting the source material. He also encourages writers to “write what you don’t know.” Strong tells Big Think a detailed story of his first screenplay. Film Courage interviews Strong about his advice for writers.
The Dropout
Elizabeth Meriwether “I’m In A Hurry”
Liz Meriwether joins Liz Hannah on Scriptnotes to talk with John about writing a limited series. Meriwether tells Creative Screenwriting about finding the character of Elizabeth Holmes. Emma Straub interviews Liz on breaking in to TV writing. Meriwether sits down with Larry King to talk showrunning for The New Girl.
Impeachment: American Crime Story
Sarah Burgess “Man Handled”
Peter Marks tells the story of Burgess’s first hit with the play Dry Powder. Burgess tells Bianca Betancourt about bringing dimension to people who were reduced to caricature during Clinton’s impeachment scandal. She also shares details about working with Monica Lewinsky to reflect her side of events.
MAID
Molly Smith Metzler “Snaps”
Writer Stephanie Land talks with Molly Smith Metzler about adapting Land’s book to the screen. Mary Leonard interviews Molly about her career from stage to screen. Rosie Colosi talks with Metzler about the role motherhood plays in her creative work.
Station Eleven
Patrick Somerville
Patrick talks with John about the process of adapting Station Eleven, and the scripts for the entire series are available on John’s website. Somerville writes for Slate about getting a correction printed in the New York Times for a review of his novel.
The White Lotus
Mike White
Sam Jones gets White to share tips on confidence and screenwriting. Renan Cros speaks with Mike about his career, including everything from School of Rock to Chuck & Buck. Nick Dawson talks with White about making the film Year of the Dog.
Likes & Retweets
Other Inneresting Links
Oliver Burkeman reminds us that fighting distraction never feels easy.
Annie Mueller breaks down how every day is filled with tiny choices.
You want to write a viral tweet/ That people share and think is neat/ Well Frankie Thomas has suggestions for ya’.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week! If you’re new to us, welcome! We hope you’ll subscribe and join us again next week.
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from the entire Quote-Unquote team.
Come across something you think other readers will find inneresting? Reach out to Chris on Twitter @ccsont or email us at inneresting@johnaugust.com.