Ben Wexler - Arrested Development, The Grinder, Community, The Comedians - Ep. 27
Whistling in the Dark
This week my guest is tv comedy writer/show runner Ben Wexler, whose illustrious credits include - among others - Arrested Development, Community, and most recently two sadly canceled shows - The Comedians starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad - as well as the Rob Lowe vehicle The Grinder. Though both shows were brilliantly executed and critically acclaimed, neither found a big enough audience to fill the network coffers and thus, were unceremoniously axed. Such is the business of show. It seems few comedies are working anywhere on television these days, and Wexler is right in the trenches...
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Rose McGowan - Actress/Director/Activist- Ep. 26
Whistling in the Dark
I Honestly Can’t Think Of A Better Way To Usher In A Brand Spanking New Year Than With This Week’s Guest - Actress/Director/Activist Rose Mcgowan. ...
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TV Writer Mike Royce (Everybody Loves Raymond, Lucky Louie..) - Ep. 25
Whistling in the Dark
This week’s guest is tv writer Mike Royce. The native Syracuse NYer burst on to the small screen nearly 20 years ago, writing for such shows as "SNL" and "Spin City". But it wasn't until he joined the writing staff of a little known sitcom called "Everybody Loves Raymond" that things really took off. ...
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Lennon Parham and Jessica St Clair - Ep. 24
Whistling in the Dark
There’s something about Jessica St Clair and Lennon Parham. Ever since discovering their awesome but sadly, short-lived, 2012 NBC sitcom - Best Friends Forever - this bonafide comedy nerd has been hooked on their unique, and oddly soulful brand of comedy which can currently be seen on their most recent creation - USA’s critical darling Playing House. ...
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Marti Noxon - Unreal, Mad Men, Buffy - Ep. 23
Whistling in the Dark
This week’s guest Marti Noxon - is having a moment - as they say. This tv veteran whose credits include Greys Anatomy, Prison Break, and Glee most recently created and oversees 2 shows, Unreal on Lifetime and Bravo’s The Girlfriends Guide to Divorce - both of which have garnered second season pick ups - and rave reviews. ...
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The TV Comedy Director with Richie Keen - Ep. 22
Whistling in the Dark
It’s amazing how many universal themes and strategies come up again and again no matter whom I’m talking or listening to. It doesn’t matter whether they’re a nurse, a stay-at-home mum, an architect or actor - if something works it works. For instance, It doesn’t matter whether you have any intentions of ever becoming a comedy tv director like this week’s guest Richie Keen. What matters is that you glean something useful from our conversation and that it adds value to your life in some small way. That’s why I do the podcast. And that’s...
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Meghan Daum - Selfish, Shallow and Self-absorbed - Ep. 21
Whistling in the Dark
To have kids or not to have kids. Now THAT is the real question. And its one that has plagued many women for decades, particularly in the modern age where we are constantly being told “we can have it all”. Some of us who bought in - myself included - are trying to cram an awful lot of stuff in before popping out a kid or two, if we pop one out at all. There’s big careers to build, and traveling the world, not to mention enjoying our hard earned money and the freedoms that affords us. We’re endlessly self-reflecting and knuckle deep in analysis, seeking deeper meaning...
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Trailblazers - Kassie Thornton and Christy Spitzer - Ep. 20
Whistling in the Dark
In 2011 my then MTV colleague Christy Spitzer walked into my office, and happily pronounced her lengthy, self-imposed dating sabbatical - one we had discussed at length over the course of the past year - was finally over. And it was over because of Kassie Thornton - a sensational woman she had recently met through mutual friends. Though it was only a few weeks in, she had a hunch this was the real deal, that this one was somehow different from the rest. She was right. Not because she had never been with a woman before - no that was not the only life changing part of the...
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The Fantasy Bond with Dr Lisa Firestone - Ep. 19
Whistling in the Dark
If you’re a regular listener to this podcast you will know that your lanky, Canadian host is a big fan of two things… 1 - therapy, self help. Not as a crutch but as one of many valuable tools available to help navigate life’s often murky waters. And 2 - books. I’ve had some big authors on the show including James Frey and Jon Ronson and there’s more on the way. Now combine those two things with a subject matter whose organizing principal illuminates a part of the human experience so succinctly, so profoundly, and yet still manages to make it palatable to you and...
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Rachel Pally - Fashion designer, entrepreneur - Ep. 18
Whistling in the Dark
Fashion designer Rachel Pally's dresses have been worn from everyone from Angelina Jolie to Kim K and Dita Von Teese - most notably her famous jersey cotton dresses and kick ass kaftans - but it’s you and me and everyone in between she really relishes dressing. ...
info_outlineIt’s amazing how many universal themes and strategies come up again and again no matter whom I’m talking or listening to. It doesn’t matter whether they’re a nurse, a stay-at-home mum, an architect or actor - if something works it works. For instance, It doesn’t matter whether you have any intentions of ever becoming a comedy tv director like this week’s guest Richie Keen. What matters is that you glean something useful from our conversation and that it adds value to your life in some small way. That’s why I do the podcast. And that’s why I pick the guests I do. Richie has a cool job there’s no doubt. But what’s even cooler is the road he took to get there. As far as I’m concerned, the more we share our journeys - what has and hasn’t worked - the more we all evolve. And isn’t that sort of the point? Why else are we here but to keep growing, evolving and expanding our definitions of success, and happiness?
I first met Richie Keen nearly 4 years ago after hiring him to direct a comedy pilot during my stint at MTV. To say he impressed me is an understatement despite being a relative newcomer to the profession. During that brief stint, he landed his big break; several episodes of the long running FX sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And he hasn’t looked back since. Keen has gone on to direct episodes of The New Girl, Franklin and Bash, new FX sitcom The Comedians starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad, Shameless and a slew of other notable tv shows.
We recently sat down in his Hollywood Hills home to discuss his journey from relative late comer to in-demand director. Topics include meditation, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, being a late bloomer and how that has served him, why being someone people want to work with is key to long term success, the role of the director and of course what it’s like to work on some of television’s top shows. It’s a peek behind the Hollywood curtain as well as an inspiring chat about changing gears late in the game.
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