“I loved writing about TV and speaking to people I admired to learn how the sausage was made, but I wanted to leave [entertainment journalism] and work on getting a spec made,” said screenwriter and former critic Andy Greenwald.

In addition to writing for publications like Entertainment Weekly, Spin, ESPN: The Magazine, and The Washington Post, Andy Greenwald is the author of Miss Misery: A Novel and Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo.

Greenwald decided he no longer had the same passion for music, but really carried about the types of stories being told on television. “I really cared how the story got made and the process. It was really a lightbulb moment. I had always had this interest, but didn’t put two and two together.”

After interviewing Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion), Greenwald was invited to come write for ‘Legion.’ Thanks to the success of this job, Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot, Homecoming) reached out to see if Greenwald had any samples, so his agent sent over the spec for Briarpatch.

On the new USA series, Rosario Dawson stars as Allegra Dill, an investigator who returns to her hometown in a Texas border town to try and solve the mysterious death of her sister, a police officer who died in a car bombing.

In this interview, Greenwald discusses lessons he learned from Sam Esmail, how to expose genre, what he loves about the surrealist world of ‘Twin Peaks,’ how his career as a critic influenced his showrunner position, and why screenwriters need to take big swings and make risky, artistic choices.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join thousands of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5