The D'Ascenzo Zone

Insider Secrets From a Seinfeld & Everybody Loves Raymond Writer: Rejection, Risk & Comedy Gold!


Listen Later

Prolific TV writer Steve Skrovan breaks down his experience from doing standup at open mic nights to Emmy Wins and working on some of the world's most famous and beloved shows like Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and more.


In this conversation we discuss:

• Television Writing and Production

• Writing on Seinfeld

• Handling Rejection

• Adapting "Everybody Loves Raymond" for different cultures

• How real life experiences became iconic episodes

• The difference between an acting problem and a writing problem

• The Evolution of Comedy & Television


TDZ Podcast 001 - Steve Skrovan

0:00 Intro

0:47 Meeting in the Writers' Room

1:54 The Early Days

3:07 Comedy Clubs & New York

5:36 Larry David Launched Steve's Career

7:44 The Comedy Boom & Sitcom Writing

9:08 The Seinfeld "Think Tank"

12:47 Pitching Larry David

17:33 Handling Rejection

19:26 Russian Writer's Room & "Room Bits"

26:14 Adapting Raymond

32:23 Pitching Personal Stories

36:19 Knowing When to Quit

37:09 The 7-Year Theory

39:09 The Raymond Room's Secret

40:24 Acting Problem vs. Writing Problem

44:24 Writing 10 Scripts in Hiatus

46:27 The Raymond Script Process

48:42 Killing Your Darlings

50:06 Network Notes: The Condom Episode

53:26 Could Raymond Be Made Today?

54:40 Sitcom Evolution

56:48 Streaming's Impact

59:28 Advice for Young Writers

1:02:43 Advice to 25-Year-Old Steve

You can follow Steve here:

◼︎Ralph Nader Radio Hour: https://www.youtube.com/c/RalphNaderRadioHour

◼︎Bits & Pieces Substack Blog: https://steveskrovan.substack.com/

The D'Ascenzo Zone:

◼︎Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCphk_rom3ggaW9qhFlIDrag?sub_confirmation=1

◼︎ Check out my children's book: https://www.amazon.ca/Tiffy-Spiffy-Mr-Michael-DAscenzo/dp/B0CKGVFP72

◼︎Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikedascenz/?hl=en

◼︎Tik Tok: tiktok.com/@dacenzozone

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The D'Ascenzo ZoneBy Mike D'Ascenzo