This week on On Story we’ll hear from comedy veteran Ali LeRoi who’s longtime collaboration with comedian Chris Rock resulted in Everybody Hates Chris and Down to Earth. And later we’ll discuss Young Adult fiction with the screenwriters behind The Fault in our Stars and CW’s The 100.

Ali LeRoi is an Emmy® Award-winning writer/director & producer best known for his collaboration with comedian Chris Rock that resulted in Everybody Hates Chris and the films Head Of State and Down To Earth. Comedian Dave Buckman sat down with LeRoi to discuss his transition from stand-up comedy to screenwriting and the perseverance required to make it as a writer.

Clips of Head of State courtesy of Dream Works LLC.

Clips of Everybody Hates Chris courtesy of CBS Studios, Inc.

Clips of The Chris Rock Show courtesy of Home Box Office, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, LP

Clips of Survivor’s Remorse courtesy of Starz Entertainment, LLC.

Clip of Pootie Tang courtesy of Paramount Pictures Corporation

Young Adult fiction has exploded in popularity over recent years, and while the stories are centered around teenagers and are marketed to that demographic, a recent study found that more than half of YA readers are actually adults. Professor Karol Hoeffner spoke with The Spectacular Now co-writer Michael H. Weber and CW’s The 100 writer/producer Charmaine DeGrate to discuss the draw of YA stories and the process behind adapting novels to the screen.  

Clips of The 100 courtesy of Warner Brothers Television, The CW Network, & CBS Television Studios

Clips of The Fault in Our Stars & Paper Towns courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Clips of The Spectacular Now courtesy of TSN Ventures, LLC.