Episode 180: Gracie Glassmeyer Interview

This after-show episode dives deeper into Here She Lies with its creator, Gracie Glassmeyer. If you heard the table read of this dark, twisty pilot, you probably have questions—like why Seth can’t leave his house, or why Talia has been spying on Amber’s stepmom. Gracie shares the answers, along with her unique path into comedy writing.

She’s part of that rare breed of “jock comedy writers”—a group that proves you don’t have to be bad at sports to be good at jokes. This conversation explores the thoughtful world-building behind the pilot and the larger series it could have become.

Dead Pilots Society has a live show coming up on Sunday, September 14th at the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles, featuring two fantastic pilots:

• Humans of the Americas by Jim Brandon and Brian Singleton (Arrested Development, Animal Control, and more)
• Dream by Lisa Muse Bryant (Black-ish, The Four Seasons)

Go to elysiantheater.com and get your tickets for Sunday, September 14th.

And don’t forget to check out Andrew’s documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story at reddkrossfilm.com/rent.

Episode 179: Here She Lies Written by Gracie Glassmeyer

Welcome to Dead Pilots Society, the podcast that takes comedy pilots from A-list writers that were sold and developed at networks and streamers but never produced, and gives them the table reads they never got to have.

This episode features a pilot from Gracie Glassmeyer. Gracie has written for Ghosts and The Neighborhood, with previous credits including Jane the Virgin, Happy Together, and Impastor. Her pilot defies easy categorization—too smart and compelling to be just a comedy, too funny to be labeled strictly drama.

The story centers on a fascinating main character, originally conceived by Yael Grobglas (Matlock, Jane the Virgin), who also leads the cast. She’s joined by Dustin Ybarra (One Day at a Time, We Bought a Zoo) as the agoraphobic co-lead. The rest of the ensemble is a powerhouse Dead Pilots Society lineup: Rachel Keller (Legion, Tokyo Vice), Imani Hakim (Mythic Quest), Oscar Montoya (Minx, Star Trek: Lower Decks), Joy Osmanski (1923, Ghosts), Katherine Bourne Taylor (The Ms. Pat Show), and Marcus Bishop-Wright (Bring on the Damned!).

Video of this Zoom read is available to Maximum Fun members along with exclusive bonus content from past years. Become a member for as little as $5 a month at maximumfun.org/join.

Dead Pilots Society has a live show coming up on Sunday, September 14th at the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles, featuring two fantastic pilots:

• Humans of the Americas by Jim Brandon and Brian Singleton (Arrested Development, Animal Control, and more)
• Dream by Lisa Muse Bryant (Black-ish, The Four Seasons)

Go to elysiantheater.com and get your tickets for Sunday, September 14th.

Episode 178:  Chris Marcil & Sam Johnson Interview (Blessed and Highly Favored, NewsRadio, Beavis and Butt-Head)

In this after-show interview, Andrew sits down with longtime writing partners Chris Marcil and Sam Johnson. Friends and collaborators, Marcil and Johnson share some incredible stories from their decades in the business.

They talk about how they got their start writing for Beavis and Butt-Head at MTV, the wild ride that was the NewsRadio writers’ room—complete with its nocturnal schedule—and the drastic shift to the buttoned-up, rarefied world of Frasier.

Chris and Sam have been through it all. They’ve seen more writers’ rooms than most, and they’re still at it, working together and “Semi-separately”. They get into what that means and what it looks like for two longtime creative partners to evolve their collaboration.

Their recent work includes What We Do in the Shadows, The English Teacher, and the Beavis and Butt-Head reboot. It’s a wide-ranging conversation with two veteran writers who’ve seen it all.

Episode 177: Blessed and Highly Favored by Chris Marcil & Sam Johnson - Live from the Elysian Theater

We have such a great dead pilot for you this month. It's called Blessed and Highly Favored. It’s a hilarious comedy about a rookie pastor struggling to keep her progressive Baptist church afloat while dealing with megachurch competition, financial strain, and the looming presence of her father—the church’s legendary former pastor.

The pilot comes from seasoned writers Chris Marcil and Sam Johnson, whose combined credits include Frasier, NewsRadio, What We Do in the Shadows, Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria, Hot in Cleveland, and All About the Washingtons. They bring not only their deep comedy chops but also real-life churchgoing experience to this story, which was further enriched by the stories of their friend and collaborator Peri Gilpin (Roz from Frasier).

This one was recorded live at the Elysian Theater with a killer cast. 

Clancy Brown (Highlander, Shawshank Redemption), Craig Cackowski (Drunk History, The Pitt), Bob Dassie (New Looney Tunes), Peri Gilpin (Frasier), Isabella Gomez (One Day at a Time), Brandon Scott Jones (Ghosts), Mike Liebenson (Hacks), Lizzie Peet (How to Get Away With Murder) Caitlin Reilly (Dead Boy Detectives, Hacks), Jordan Rodrigues (Lady Bird), Brendan Scannell (Loot).

Want to see the table read? Become a Maximum Fun member for just $5 a month and get access to the video and lots more. Sign up at maximumfun.org/join.

And don’t forget to check out Andrew’s documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story at reddkrossfilm.com/rent.

Episode 176: Ilana Peña (Diary of a Future President) and Anne Sundell (writer and comedian) Interview

In this month’s after-show interview, Andrew chats with Ilana Peña (Diary of a Future President) and Anne Sundell (writer and comedian) about their pilot How to Get Over Bryan Byers. The pair share the real-life inspiration behind the show — yes, the actual Bryan Byers who unknowingly brought them together as friends and collaborators.

Ilana and Anne reveal the incredible, improbable career breaks that launched them into TV writing, and offer candid, insightful advice about what makes a great writing partnership. This episode is a refreshing reminder that in the midst of all the negativity surrounding the industry, good things still happen — sometimes to good people.

Episode 175: How To Get Over Bryan Byers Written by Ilana Peña & Anne Sundell (Recorded Live at the Elysian Theater)

This month on Dead Pilots Society, we’re bringing you How To Get Over Bryan Byers, a hilarious comedy pilot from Ilana Peña (Diary of a Future President) and Anne Sundell (writer and comedian).

The show follows two former enemies, Anna and Izzy, who become best friends after realizing they’ve both dated—and been dumped by—the same guy. Together, they tackle the ups and downs of their twenties: work, dating, and moving on. In the end, they discover the only way to truly get over someone is to fall in love with yourself.

We recorded this live at the Elysian Theater, and the crowd had a blast.

Cast includes: Isabella Gomez (One Day at a Time), Jordan Rodrigues (Ladybird), Mary Beth Barone (Black Mirror; Overcompensating), Courtney Parchman (Sex Lives of College Girls; "Average Fashion Blogger”), Brendan Scannell (Loot), Mike Liebenson (Fairfax), Craig Cackowski (The Pitt; Drunk History), Bob Dassie (New Looney Tunes), Caitlin Reilly (Hacks), and Andrew Reich with stage directions.

Want to see the table read? Become a Maximum Fun member for just $5 a month and get access to the video and lots more. Sign up at maximumfun.org/join.

And don’t forget to check out Andrew’s documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story at reddkrossfilm.com/rent.

Enjoy the read!

Episode 174: Austen Earl Interview (Letters to Beyoncé, Up All Night, The Millers, Happy Together)

In this after-show interview, Andrew talks with writer/producer Austen Earl about his pilot Letters to Beyoncé, inspired by his own mom. Austen shares how he went from a tiny town in Vermont to a Hollywood writing career—with a surprising assist from his athletic background.

They discuss the ups and downs of working in TV, including cancelled shows, and the influence of White Lotus creator Mike White on Austen’s path. A funny, honest look at what it takes to make it in comedy writing.

Episode 173: Letters to Beyoncé written by Austin Earl (Up All Night, The Millers, Happy Together)

In this episode of Dead Pilots Society, we bring you a heartfelt and hilarious pilot from Austen Earl (Up All Night, The Millers, Happy Together, About My Father). The script, Letters to Beyoncé, tells the story of a middle-aged schoolteacher in rural New England who decides to reclaim her life—with a little inspiration from an unlikely source: Beyoncé. Inspired by Earl’s own mother (who was in attendance for the table read on Zoom!), the pilot balances sweetness with big laughs.

The cast this month is, Stephnie Weir ( Happy Together, A Million Little Things), Jamila Velazquez (Law and Order: SVU, Empire), John Gemberling (The Great North), Steve Agee (Peacemaker), Will Choi (Central Park, BoJack Horseman), Kira Kosarin (The Thundermans), Karan Menon (comedian), Clare Gillies (Sprung), Nancy Lenehan (Veep, People of Earth), and Andrew Reich with stage directions.

To watch a video of the table read, become a Maximum Fun member at maximumfun.org/join for as little as $5 a month.

And don’t forget to check out Andrew Reich’s music documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story at reddkrossfilm.com/rent.

In this after-show episode of Dead Pilot Society, we're joined by writer Lauren Herstik, who brought us Camp Friends — a pilot that's had more lives (and deaths) than most scripts could dream of. This one has everything: clown camp trauma, projectile vomit over a salad bar, surrealist puberty freakouts, and a long, winding journey through the chaotic world of TV development.

Lauren sits down with host Andrew Reich to talk about the evolution of her coming-of-age summer camp comedy, from its original, raunchy YA vision at HBO Max, to a beachy reinvention, to its current cryogenic stasis somewhere in the Disney orbit. Along the way, we hear how shifting mandates, network rebrands, and executive shakeups nearly killed the project multiple times — and how Lauren refused to let it go quietly.

This month, we have a fantastic dead pilot, Camp Friends, written by Lauren Herstik. You may know Lauren as a writer on American Vandal and Pearson. Camp Friends is about best friends who spend every summer at Camp Wigeon. This is their CIT (counselor-in-training) year, the last before becoming counselors, and the last chance to have the best summer ever. So when a new, hot, mystery girl shows up at camp and threatens to derail those plans it’s a big problem.

Our cast this month features Zosia Mamet (Girls), Sasheer Zamata (Agatha All Along), Aparna Nancherla (The Great North), Jasmine Elist (Mr. Corman), Comedian Mary Shalaby, John Gemberling (The Great North), Will Choi (Central Park, BoJack Horseman), and Andrew Reich with stage directions.