Craig welcomes Alec Berg, executive producer of two current HBO comedies (Barry and Silicon Valley), to discuss balancing productivity and creative energy, “comedy geometry,” and identifying as a craftsman rather than an artist.

We also answer listener questions about committing to a genre, the necessity of act breaks, and how much writers actually get to keep of their paycheck.

Links:

* Thanks for joining us, Alec Berg! Check out his credits.
* Barry is now on HBO!
* Silicon Valley is in its 5th season on HBO.
* Sharing your wifi password
* The Last of Sheila by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, directed by Herbert Ross. Here’s the trailer.
* The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
* The USB drives!
* Alec Berg on Twitter
* John August on Twitter
* Craig Mazin on Twitter
* John on Instagram
* Find past episodes
* Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.