John welcomes writers John Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building, Looking) and Brittani Nichols (Abbott Elementary, A Black Lady Sketch Show) to bring us behind the scenes of the comedy writers room. They explain ‘alts’ (alternative line jokes), crafting tone, and the process of pitching.

We also discuss the sophomore season and different comedic engines. We answer listener questions on whether you need to live in LA and how to choose a writing sample.

In our bonus segment for premium members, the group chats about being openly queer writers in Hollywood.

Links:

• Only Murders in the Building on Hulu
• Abbott Elementary on ABC/Hulu
• John Hoffman on Twitter
• Brittani Nichols on Twitter
• Remittance by the Barrel by Ameena Walker
• The Knock LA Voter Guide
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

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You can download the episode here.