Onwriting: A Podcast Of The Wga East

WGAE member organizers Rez Nemorin, Jessica Schulberg and Leah Gotcsik sit down to discuss what the organizing, bargaining and enforcement process looks like at each of their workplaces, how being in a union builds a stronger and more supportive community, the importance and responsibility of being an active union member – especially right now – and much more. Rez Nemorin is a producer in the world of nonfiction television, where she is currently involved in bargaining the first contract at Lucky8. Jessica Schulberg is a senior reporter at HuffPost who helped bargain their second and third contracts, and is gearing up to start bargaining their fourth. She has been on HuffPost's Enforcement Committee since 2017, and is a WGAE Council member representing the Guild's Online Media sector. Leah Gotcsik is a children's television writer primarily working in animation. She was just involved in the WGA's successful contract negotiation with PBS, WGBH, WNET and PBS SoCal, which won first-ever union protections for ani

Co-showrunners Tracey Wigfield and Lang Fisher discuss running their latest writers' room, how the pitching process has changed for them throughout their careers, why figuring out the story is like being good at math, and much more. Tracey Wigfield is a TV writer and showrunner. She created the NBC series Great News and the Saved by the Bell revival on Peacock. Before that, she was a writer on 30 Rock as well as The Mindy Project. Lang Fisher is a TV writer, showrunner and director. She co-created the Netflix series Never Have I Ever and was a writer on 30 Rock, The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Together, Tracey and Lang are the co-showrunners of The Four Seasons, which they co-created alongside Tina Fey. The miniseries is an adaptation of the 1981 film of the same name, written and directed by Alan Alda. It follows three married couples whose decades-long friendship is tested when one of the couples divorces, complicating their tradition of quarterly weekend getaways. The Four Seasons premiered on Ne

Saturday Night Live head writers Alison Gates, Streeter Seidell and Kent Sublette join Greg Iwinski to talk about the process of writing for a different host every week, how giving notes to writers differs from giving notes to the cast, what writing for SNL teaches you about rejection, and much more. Alison Gates, Streeter Seidell and Kent Sublette are the current head writers of Saturday Night Live. Kent has been a head writer for the show since 2016, and Alison and Streeter have been head writers since 2022. Greg Iwinski is an Emmy-winning comedy writer whose credits include Last Week Tonight, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Game Theory with Bomani Jones. --- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: wgaeast.org/onwriting Follow the Guild on social media: @WGAEast OnWriting is a production of the Writers Guild of America East. The show is produced by WGA East staff members Jason Gordon, Tiana Timmerberg, and Molly Beer. Production, editing, and mix by Giulia Hjort. Original music is b

Three intrepid Writers Guild of America East member Captains – Sarah Montana, Devin Delliquanti and Suzanne Weber – kick off the summer season of the WGAE's OnWriting podcast with a roundtable discussion of our Film and Television Captains Network: what is a Captain, how Captains further the Guild’s ability to provide effective union representation for each and every member, the all-important WGA Captain hat and more.   The WGAE Captains Network is a group of dedicated and engaged WGAE members in the Guild’s Film/TV/Streaming sector who connect other members in their workplace and networks to the union. They work to build community for members and to facilitate communication between their teams and union leadership and staff. Sarah Montana is a screenwriter who primarily writes romcoms, often involving a Santa or Christmas theme, for networks like Hallmark Channel, and is also a member of the WGAE Council. Devin Delliquanti is a writer who currently works at The Daily Show, and has written recently on the Gra

Three Daytime Drama writers whose shows were contenders the 2025 Writers Guild Awards join us to discuss their work, how they became daytime drama writers, how the daytime format helps you avoid procrastinating, some favorite plotlines, and much more. Kate Hall is a daytime drama writer whose credits include Days of Our Lives, All My Children, General Hospital, and Young and the Restless. She was nominated for the 2025 Daytime Drama Writers Guild Award for General Hospital. Ron Carlivati is a daytime drama writer who has served as head writer for One Life to Live, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, and as a staff writer on the new show Beyond the Gates. He was nominated for the 2025 Daytime Drama Writers Guild Award for Days of Our Lives. Charlotte Gibson-Bauer is a daytime drama writer who has worked as a scriptwriter on All My Children and General Hospital, and as a breakdown writer on As the World Turns, Guiding Light and Days of Our Lives. She was nominated for the 2025 Daytime Drama Writers Guild Aw

Lynn Nottage is joined by Soo Hugh for a conversation about approaches to adaptation for the screen, improving work-life balance by recentering collaboration, building the writers room for a show that spans several languages, countries, and times, and much more.  Soo Hugh is a writer, showrunner and producer who cut her screenwriting teeth as a staff writer on shows like the AMC crime drama The Killing, the CBS sci-fi series Under the Dome. She then went on to serve as creator and showrunner for ABC’s 2015 sci-fi series The Whispers and as the co-showrunner for the first season of the AMC supernatural anthology The Terror. She is currently the showrunner, writer, executive producer, and visionary behind the drama series Pachinko, based on the international bestselling novel of the same name by Min Jin Lee. Told in three languages – Korean, Japanese, and English – Pachinko follows the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family as they leave their homeland in an indomitable quest to survi

The five contenders for Digital News at the 2025 Writers Guild Awards sit down for a roundtable discussion of their nominated pieces, their writing processes, facing challenges and finding silver linings in the media industry, pre-publication nerves, and much more. The Digital News nominees at the 2025 Writers Guild Awards were Henry Grabar for "Mise-en-Seine: A Paris Olympics Diary" (Slate), Akbar Shahid Ahmed for "What Is Hamas Thinking Now?" for (HuffPost), Molly Olmstead for "Sent by God" for (Slate), Jim Newell for "The Unraveling of Nancy Mace" (Slate), and Jaya Saxena for "The Food That Makes You Gay" (Eater). --- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

A special episode featuring a panel of 2025 Writers Guild Award nominees from the original and adapted screenplay categories. Moderator Kathryn VanArendonk, TV critic at Vulture and New York Magazine, moderates a conversation between Justin Kuritzkes, Joslyn Barnes, Ramell Ross, and Dana Fox to talk about their critically and culturally acclaimed screenplays. Justin Kuritzkes is the writer of Challengers. Joslyn Barnes and Ramell Ross are the co-writers of The Nickel Boys. Dana Fox is a co-writer and executive producer of Wicked. This episode is a live taping of our annual Writers Guild Awards contenders panel, And the Nominees Are..., which took place at the SVA Theatre on January 30, 2025. --- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast  

Screenwriters Peter Straughan (Conclave) and Zack Baylin (The Order) discuss their latest projects and previous work, their process, and much more. Peter Straughan is a writer and playwright. His most recent screenplay is the 2024 film Conclave. Before Conclave, Peter's screenwriting credits have include The Goldfinch, Our Brand is Crisis, Frank and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the latter of which received several accolades including a 2011 Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. In addition, he wrote the 2015 television adaptation of Wolf Hall, which earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special. Zach Baylin is a writer whose 2024 credits include The Order and Bob Marley: One Love. His other credits include Gran Turismo, Creed III and King Richard, the last of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. --- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow

Writers and showrunners Julio Torres and Jeff Schaffer discuss their work on some of TV's most acclaimed comedy series. Julio Torres is a writer and comedian who wrote for Saturday Night Live and the HBO comedy series Los Espookys, the latter which he co-created alongside Ana Fabrega and Fred Armisen. He then went on to write and direct the 2023 surrealist dramedy film Problemista. After Problemista, he created, wrote, and starred in the critically acclaimed surrealist comedy series Fantasmas, which premiered in June 2024 on HBO. Jeff Schaffer is a film and television writer and director known for cowriting cult-classic features like Eurotrip and Bruno and for his work on acclaimed television series like Seinfeld, The League and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He served as showrunner for Curb Your Enthusiasm from 2009 until the end of its twelfth and final season, which concluded in April 2024. --- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @O

Host Anya Epstein is joined by Laura Eason to discuss gaining confidence as a first-time showrunner, the art of adaptation and collaboration, hiring diverse writers to give life to diverse characters, navigating delicate topics with the nuance that they require and much more. Laura Eason is a screenwriter, showrunner, executive producer and playwright. She began her television writing career as a staff writer for four seasons of House of Cards, for which she received both an Emmy nomination for Drama Series and a Writers Guild Award nomination for Writing in a Drama Series. After House of Cards, she went on to serve as co-Executive Producer and writer for the 2019 miniseries The Loudest Voice in the Room. Laura is currently the showrunner, executive producer and writer of Three Women. The Starz limited series, which is based on Lisa Taddeo's 2019 book of the same name, is intimate and haunting portrayal of female desire that finds three – or really, four – women on a crash course to radically overturn their l

Host Greg Iwinski sits down with Gabe Sherman to talk about Gabe’s path from New York real estate journalist, to writing a book about Roger Ailes, to writing a movie about one of the most famous people on earth: Donald Trump. Gabe Sherman is a journalist, author and screenwriter known for writing The Loudest Voice in the Room, the 2014 bestselling biography of Fox News president Roger Ailes. As a journalist his work has appeared in publications like The New York Times, The New Republic, The New York Observer and GQ. He previously served as national affairs editor at New York magazine and is currently a special correspondent for Vanity Fair and a regular contributor to NBC News and MSNBC.  Most recently, Gabe wrote the screenplay for The Apprentice, the 2024 feature that follows Donald Trump's career as a real estate businessman in New York in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as his relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn. The Apprentice was released in the US on October 11, 2024 and is now playing in theaters. This

Host Zhubin Parang talks to MSNBC Union members Amy Hooker and Andrew Joyce about staying flexible in the challenging newsroom environment, how to handle an election season where unprecedented events happen weekly, and winning a strong union contract that helps them do both of those things as effectively as possible. Amy Hooker has worked as an associate producer on MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes since 2018. Andrew Joyce is a segment producer with at MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show and Alex Wagner Tonight, with over a decade of experience in journalism. Amy and Andrew both served on the bargaining committee that negotiated MSNBC Union’s recent groundbreaking contract wins. Zhubin Parang is a co-executive producer and writer on The Daily Show, as well as a former member of the WGAE Council. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter

Host Susan Kim sits down with children’s television writers Geri Cole and Bob Mittenthal to discuss balancing entertainment and education in children's storytelling, embracing restrictions – from budget limitations to writing for puppets — in creative ways, the ongoing fight for union coverage in animation, and more. Geri Cole is a full-time staff writer and lead interactive narrative designer for Sesame Street, co-chair of the WGAE Black Writers Salon, she's won five Daytime Emmys, a Writers Guild Award, a Producers Guild Award, and an NAACP Image Award. Geri also hosted seasons 7-11 of OnWriting. Bob Mittenthal has had a long career as writer and producer. Credits include Double Dare, KaBlam, and Bossy Bear. He created such shows as Welcome Freshmen, Think Fast, and Make the Grade. Other shows include It's Pony, Welcome to the Wayne, the Loud House, the Adventures of Pete and Pete, and the Naked Brothers Band. Susan Kim is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning documentary and children’s television w

Host Katie Rich sits down with Sophie Summergrad, Christina Cauterucci and Madeline Ducharme — three of the journalists and producers behind Slate's "Slow Burn" and other acclaimed podcasts — to discuss their paths into journalism, the process of turning an idea into a critically acclaimed podcast, how a strong union contract gives you the freedom – and time – to do the things you care about, and much more. Sophie Summergrad is a producer at Slate currently working on season 10 of "Slow Burn". Before that, she worked on "Slow Burn" seasons 3 through 9, as well as the narrative podcast "One Year". Christina Cauterucci is a senior writer at Slate who covers politics and culture. She's also the host of season 9 of "Slow Burn": Gays Against Briggs, the host and co-founder of "Outward", Slate's weekly podcast about LGBTQ life, and previously wrote for and hosted episodes of "One Year". Madeline Ducharme is a producer for Slate's daily news podcast, "What Next". Before that, she produced season 4 of "Slow Burn", an

Host Liz Hynes, a WGAE Council member and writer for LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER, moderates a conversation with writers from some of your favorite late night comedy series about their experiences and insights from the world of late-night comedy writing.  The panelists include late night writers Molly McNearney  (JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!), Dan Amira (THE DAILY SHOW), Felipe Torres Medina (LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT) and Jenny Hagel (LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS). --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast  

John Hoffman and Amy Schumer sit down to talk about the joys and challenges of leaning into the personal in your writing, the importance of finding the right collaborators, confronting the hardest parts of life with both vulnerability and confidence, and much more. John Hoffman is the co-creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed and award-winning comedy-drama mystery series Only Murders in the Building. Amy Schumer is a writer, actor, director and producer known for creating and starring in the sketch comedy series Inside Amy Schumer, writing and starring in the 2015 comedy film Trainwreck and creating and starring in the comedy-drama series Life & Beth. Only Murders in the Building and Life & Beth are both currently available to stream on Hulu. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEas

Acclaimed comedy writers Meredith Scardino and Paula Pell sit down together for a conversation about their journeys to WGAE membership, their journeys to the WGAE office, how producing differs from other positions in the writers room, the importance of both deadlines and procrastination in the creative process and much more. Meredith Scardino is a screenwriter, showrunner and producer who has written for multiple TV comedies, including The Colbert Report, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Mr. Mayor. Most recently, she created and is the showrunner of the Peacock/Netflix musical comedy series Girls5eva. Paula Pell is a writer, actor and producer known for her work as a writer and supervising producer on the late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, a writer and producer on the comedy series 30 Rock, and as the writer of the 2015 comedy film Sisters. Paula received the WGAE's Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence at the 2020 Writers Guild Awards. She also currently stars as Gloria in Girls5eva. --- B

Host and WGAE Nonfiction Women of Color Caucus Chair Chinisha Scott talks with WGAE members Gautam Singhani and Sarah Katz, who both recently worked at the nonfiction television production company Story Syndicate. Story Syndicate is one of the latest nonfiction television shops to join the Writers Guild of America East and they are currently negotiating their first collective bargaining agreement.  This week, we focus on nonfiction television, lovingly described as the Wild West. Chinisha, Gautam and Sarah discuss advocating for the truth, both in nonfiction production and the labor movement, why the time to unionize is now and what it means to be fairly compensated in nonfiction television. --- Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives. Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host T. Cooper is joined by Ron Nyswaner to discuss having the confidence to push Hollywood's boundaries, staying flexible during the unpredictable reality of being on a TV set, telling authentic LGBTQ+ stories without always centering suffering, and more. Ron Nyswaner is the 2024 recipient of the WGA East’s Walter Bernstein Award, and creator of the Showtime series Fellow Travelers. He is known for his feature screenplays, including Smithereens, Philadelphia, and My Policeman. He is also known as a writer and producer of the Showtime series Ray Donovan and Homeland. Over the course of his career, Ron has been nominated for numerous awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. His most recent project is the Showtime series Fellow Travelers. Based on the 2007 fictional novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, the historical drama follows the paths of political staffers Hawkins Fuller and Tim Laughlin, whose paths converge at the height of the Lavender Scare of the 1950s. Despite