Show Creators

Alan Ball on his role as showrunner on True Blood

Alan Ball on the writing process on True Blood

Samantha Bee on the blind hiring process on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Donald P. Bellisario on writing Quantum Leap

Steven Bochco on his pitch to NBC for L.A. Law

Joshua Brand on writing the pilot for Northern Exposure, and on his writing process with writing partner John Falsey

Joshua Brand on his writing process

Joshua Brand on dealing with writers block and on the general process of writing

Joshua Brand on what he loves about writing

Joshua Brand on advice to an aspiring television writer, and on dealing with studio politics

Alton Brown on believing cooking shows in the late '80s were dull, and getting the idea that would become Good Eats

Allan Burns on co-creating My Mother The Car

Stephen J. Cannell on his knack for casting the right people in the right roles

Chris Carter on the characters' motivation in the first season of The X-Files

Chris Carter on keeping track of the story arc on The X-Files

Chris Carter on the process of collaborating with other writers and producers on The X-Files

Chris Carter on how they handled Gillian Anderson's pregnancy on season 2 of The X-Files, which led the the "Scully abducted" storyline

Chris Carter on the decision to move The X-Files from Canada to Los Angeles starting with season 6

Chris Carter on advice to aspiring television writers and show creators

Glen and Les Charles on being their own bosses on Cheers and their initial plan for the series

Glen and Les Charles on being their own bosses on Cheers and their initial plan for the series

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on their responsibilities as executive producers and showrunners on Sisters

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on their push to have as many female directors and writers on Sisters as they could

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on what they look for when hiring writers on their series

David Crane and Marta Kauffman on how they worked with the actors on Friends

David Crane and Marta Kauffman on what they looked for when hiring writers on Friends

Vin Di Bona on his producing style for America's Funniest Home Videos

Vin Di Bona on advice to aspiring producers and show creators

Julian Fellowes on the structure of Downton Abbey

Julian Fellowes on plotting out Downton Abbey  and his writing process

Julian Fellowes on advice to those starting out in the television business 

Tom Fontana on doing extensive research in prisons for Oz

Tom Fontana on advice to aspiring television writers and producers

Larry Gelbart on putting an acutal epsiode of M*A*S*H together; the process, technical considerations; the writers, directors and crew 

Vince Gilligan on how his unfamiliarity with meth helped him write "Walter White's" character on Breaking Bad

Gary David Goldberg on the atmosphere of the writers' room on Family Ties

Gary David Goldberg on assigning writing credits on Family Ties

Gary David Goldberg on hiring inexperienced writers on Spin City

Paul Henning on the writing process for The Beverly Hillbillies

Silvio Horta on being showrunner on Ugly Betty

Silvio Horta on the process of writing for Ugly Betty

Roy Huggins on coming up with stories and producing for television 

Ken Levine and David Isaacs on assembling writers' rooms for Almost Perfect and Mary

David E. Kelley on creating Picket Fences

David E. Kelley on creating and exiting Chicago Hope

David E. Kelley on the idea behind creating Ally McBeal

Barry Kemp on the writing process on Coach and the comedy of the show

Rita Lakin on the premise of Flamingo Road, and on her duties as showrunner

Glen A. Larson on the writing process for Battlestar Galactica

Norman Lear on the rigorous schedule writers had in the Golden Age of Television and on his personal life at the time

Norman Lear on starting a production company with Bud Yorkin

Norman Lear on casting being critical to a show's success, and on the "magical" casting of Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, and Sally Struthers on All in the Family

Norman Lear on the business aspects of All in the Family and Tandem Productions

Norman Lear on juggling so many successful shows in the '70s

Norman Lear on making his audience laugh

Norman Lear on starting TAT Productions

David Lee on developing ideas for Frasier

David Lee on writing the first episode of Frasier

Ken Levine and David Isaacs on assembling writers' rooms for Almost Perfect  and Mary

Christopher Lloyd on coming up with story ideas for Modern Family; borrowing "real life" stories from the cast and writers

Chuck Lorre on balancing producing/creating three shows at once

David Milch on his writing process

David Milch on the key to creating a series

David Milch on advice to aspiring television writers

Michael Moye on the writing staff of Married...With Children

Michael Moye on creating and casting Married...With Children

Agnes Nixon on creating One Life to Live and then reviving All My Children

Phil Rosenthal on the network having doubts about him as a first time show-runner for Everybody Loves Raymond

Richard and Esther Shapiro on their pitching style

David Shore on creating the series House

David Shore on the advice he would give to young writers

David Shore on the key to creating a successful series

Sam Simon on his advice to aspiring writers

Darren Star on the difference between being a screenwriter and being the creator/writer of a television show

Darren Star on adapting books for television

Leonard Stern on how a pitch meeting went in the 1960s; how he sold a show

J. Michael Straczynski on the process of writing Babylon 5 episodes 

J. Michael Straczynski on dealing with the network while producing Babylon 5

Matthew Weiner on his ability to remember dialogue and moments vividly, which he later used in writing for television shows like Mad Men

Matthew Weiner on how he had difficulty differentiating between fantasy and reality with his childhood exposure to TV and film; on how that translates to his writing being "dreamlike"

Matthew Weiner on why it's easier to hustle your work than actually write and finish a product

Matthew Weiner on his first job punching up scripts for TV shows

Matthew Weiner on how invaluable it is to be funny as a writer

Matthew Weiner on his design choices for Mad Men; on the attention to detail for the period

Matthew Weiner on the emotional toll of writing

Matthew Weiner on his writing process and how much he reveals to others

Matthew Weiner on using The Beatles' song "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the Mad Men  episode "Lady Lazarus"

Matthew Weiner on plotting out stories and themes for Mad Men,  the suicide of "Lane Pryce" (Jared Harris), and other elements of season five 

Matthew Weiner on making viewers cry at Mad Men  and confounding viewers' expectations 

Matthew Weiner on the time lapse between seasons 7a and 7b on Mad Men  and updating the styles and fashions

Matthew Weiner on dealing with writing and directing the final scenes of Mad Men

Matthew Weiner on Mark Moses as "Herman 'Duck' Phillips" on Mad Men  and stories they never got around to doing

Larry Wilmore on what he enjoys about writing and producing

Hugh Wilson on the atmosphere in the writers' room on WKRP in Cincinnati  and what he looked for in a writer

Hugh Wilson on his writing process and the then-current state of writing for features and for television

Hugh Wilson on the cancellation of Frank's Place  and the difference between writing for television and writing for film

Hugh Wilson on advice to an aspiring writer and an aspiring director

Terence Winter on his development deal with HBO that led to the creation of Boardwalk Empire

Dick Wolf on his process of creating a show

Dick Wolf on the pilot process

Dick Wolf on negotiating with actors over their salaries, and on casting actors in multiple series across roles

Dick Wolf on how he is able to balance multiple series' on the air at the same time