About
"[As a writer] I get to go places and be people. I get to have fights. I get to fall in love. I get to steal. I get to save. I can do anything I want. And I can be anyone I want. It’s amazing."
In his two-hour interview, Craig Mazin talks about his childhood, growing up in New York and New Jersey, and his early ambition to become a neurosurgeon. He discusses attending Princeton University and how a job on a college radio show led him to change course and instead pursue a career in entertainment. He details his Television Academy Foundation internship at Fox Broadcasting and the impact of the internship on his career. Mazin shares how he became a writer – first in advertising and eventually writing movies – and then how he moved into television with his HBO limited series Chernobyl. For Chernobyl, he discusses how he came to create and pitch the series, the process of writing it and his writing process in general, and what it meant to him to win two Emmy awards for the show. He touches briefly on his work, both writing and acting, on Mythic Quest, before talking about how he came to co-create the television adaptation of The Last of Us. He discusses some specific episodes of that series, including “Long, Long Time” and “Through the Valley,” and delves into the use of music on the show and working with some of the actors on the series. Mazin concludes by giving advice to aspiring writers, sharing how he would like to be remembered, and talking about his admiration for the Television Academy Foundation internship program and the Television Academy in general. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on August 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
Highlights
Craig Mazin on what he did and how much he learned during his Television Academy Foundation internship at Fox Broadcasting
Craig Mazin on how he came to create the HBO limited series Chernobyl, and on pitching the show
Craig Mazin on a moment from the fifth episode of Chernobyl that was not in the script: the shot of the little green worm, and on his admiration for director Johan Renck and actor Stellan Skarsgård
Craig Mazin on The Last of Us episode "Long, Long Time" and the use of music on the show, both in general and on that episode specifically
Craig Mazin on the editing choices made in The Last of Us episode "Through the Valley" and the emotional impact of the episode
Craig Mazin on advice for aspiring writers
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his early childhood in New York and New Jersey, and on his interests growing up including baseball, video games, and computer coding; on some television memories from his childhood, despite not being allowed to watch a lot of TV; on wanting to be a doctor as a teenager and volunteering at a medical examiner's office during the summer when he was sixteen
On attending Princeton University and intending to become a neurosurgeon; on how working on a college radio show, American Focus, steered him from the path of medicine toward the arts, and on the TV pilot of American Focus; on his Television Academy Foundation internship, on what he did during the internship and on what he learned from that experience; on a particularly hard day during his internship, and on the impact of the internship on his career
On his path to becoming a screenwriter, including how writing a jokey Halloween memo at his ad agency job led to his first writing job; on writing movies, and on how Chernobyl came about; on how he prepares for pitching a show and his advice for writers who are pitching; on why he wanted to have a companion podcast for Chernobyl
On his writing process in general and writing with specific actors in mind; on including characters' interior thoughts in his scripts; on being the showrunner on Chernobyl; on why he released the Chernobyl scripts online, and on an unscripted moment that ended up in the show
On winning two Emmy awards for Chernobyl, and on the significance of the phrase "Vichnaya Pamyat" which he used as the ending of one of his acceptance speeches and as the title of one of the episodes; on the impact of Chernobyl on his career
On appearing as an actor on Mythic Quest, and on his experiences writing for the show; on how he came to create the television adaptation of The Last of Us; on what he appreciates about working with HBO, and on the scheduling for Chernobyl versus The Last of Us; on plotting out season arcs on The Last of Us and knowing when to stay true to the video game and when to diverge; on directing episodes of The Last of Us and on his directing style
Chapter 2
On The Last of Us episode "Long, Long Time" and the use of music on the show; on how they chose to use the Linda Rondstadt song "Long, Long Time," and on how that song worked at different moments of the episode; on The Last of Us episode "Through the Valley" and working with Bella Ramsey on that episode
On The Last of Us episode "The Price" and how it differed from the original video game; on what he enjoys most about writing; on advice for aspiring writers; on how he would like to be remembered; on his admiration for the Television Academy Foundation's internship program and the Television Academy in general
Shows
Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)
Craig Mazin on winning two Emmy awards for Chernobyl
In Living Color
Craig Mazin on going to the Laugh Factory to see Jamie Foxx the night he was cast on In Living Color during his internship with the Television Academy Foundation
Last of Us, The
Craig Mazin on The Last of Us episode "Long, Long Time" and the use of music on the show, both in general and on that episode specifically
Craig Mazin on the impact of The Last of Us episode "Through the Valley" and Bella Ramsey's performance in the episode
Craig Mazin on the editing choices made in The Last of Us episode "Through the Valley" and the emotional impact of the episode
Craig Mazin on The Last of Us episode "The Price" and how it related to the original video game's storyline
Craig Mazin on how he came to co-create the television adaptation of The Last of Us
Craig Mazin on the process of plotting out season arcs on The Last of Us, and on staying true to the video game or making changes
Craig Mazin on co-creating The Last of Us, about a fungal pandemic, during the COVID-19 pandemic
Craig Mazin on why he decided to direct two episodes of The Last of Us
Topics
Advice
Craig Mazin on advice for aspiring writers
COVID-19 Pandemic
Craig Mazin on co-creating The Last of Us, about a fungal pandemic, during the COVID-19 pandemic
Creative Influences and Inspiration
Craig Mazin on how working on a radio show in college caused him to move from the path of becoming a doctor to a career in the arts
Craig Mazin on his Television Academy Foundation internship at Fox Broadcasting
Craig Mazin on a particularly hard day he experienced during his Television Academy Foundation internship when he lost his glasses and what he learned from it
Craig Mazin on the impact of the Television Academy Foundation internship on his career: "it's why I have a career"
Craig Mazin on how a jokey Halloween memo he wrote while working at an ad agency early in his career led to him realizing he should pursue writing
Emmy Awards
Craig Mazin on what it meant to him to win two Emmy awards for Chernobyl
Health and Medicine
Craig Mazin on co-creating The Last of Us, about a fungal pandemic, during the COVID-19 pandemic
Historic Events and Social Change
Craig Mazin on co-creating The Last of Us, about a fungal pandemic, during the COVID-19 pandemic
Memorable Moments on Television
Craig Mazin on The Last of Us episode "Through the Valley"
Pivotal Career Moments
Craig Mazin on how working on a radio show in college caused him to move from the path of becoming a doctor to a career in the arts
Craig Mazin on his Television Academy Foundation internship at Fox Broadcasting
Craig Mazin on a particularly hard day he experienced during his Television Academy Foundation internship when he lost his glasses and what he learned from it
Craig Mazin on the impact of the Television Academy Foundation internship on his career: "it's why I have a career"
Craig Mazin on how a jokey Halloween memo he wrote while working at an ad agency early in his career led to him realizing he should pursue writing
Television Industry
Craig Mazin on how he feels about TV shows being released weekly versus all at once
Professions
Directors
Craig Mazin on why he decided to direct some episodes of The Last of Us
Craig Mazin on his directing style
Show Creators
Craig Mazin on how he prepares to pitch a show and on his advice for writers who are pitching
Craig Mazin on his experience being the showrunner on Chernobyl and why he thinks it makes sense for writers to be showrunners
Writers
Craig Mazin on what he enjoys most about writing
Craig Mazin on advice for aspiring writers
Craig Mazin on how he found his way to screenwriting from his general desire to be in the television industry
Craig Mazin on how he prepares to pitch a show and on his advice for writers who are pitching
Craig Mazin on his writing process and on writing with specific actors in mind
Craig Mazin on including characters' interior thoughts in his scripts
Craig Mazin on his experience being the showrunner on Chernobyl and why he thinks it makes sense for writers to be showrunners
Craig Mazin on why he released the scripts for Chernobyl online
Genres
Comedy Series
Craig Mazin on his involvement with Mythic Quest
Drama Series
Craig Mazin on specific episodes of The Last of Us
Craig Mazin on co-creating the television adaptation of The Last of Us
TV Movies/Miniseries/Dramatic Specials
Craig Mazin on his limited series Chernobyl
People
Peter Chernin
Craig Mazin on his internship at Fox Broadcasting through the Television Academy Foundation and having the opportunity to sit in on meetings with Barry Diller, Peter Chernin, and other high-level entertainment executives
Barry Diller
Craig Mazin on his internship at Fox Broadcasting through the Television Academy Foundation and having the opportunity to sit in on meetings with Barry Diller, Peter Chernin, and other high-level entertainment executives
Lorne Michaels
Craig Mazin on having the opportunity to interview Lorne Michaels for a college radio show as a student at Princeton University