This episode features Rachel Shukert, showrunner behind The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix) and executive producer on The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), charting her fascinatingly unconventional path from New York memoirist and playwright to Hollywood showrunner.

Is television overstaffed right now? What’s the best way to get yourself into a writers’ room? How should writers think about the anxieties that both propel them and get in the way?

Brian and Bailey discuss all this and more with Rachel, including what she learned from her first chaotic writers’ room, what it was really like producing GLOW alongside Jenji Kohan, and how she has kept building her television career through Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu) and most recently The 'Burbs (Peacock).

Produced by Brian Landwehr and Bailey Patterson

Links mentioned in this episode:

The 'Burbs on Peacock https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/the-burbs

The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/81005407

Everything Is Going To Be Great by Rachel Shukert https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Going-Great-Underfunded-Overexposed/dp/0061782351

Have You No Shame? by Rachel Shukert https://www.amazon.com/Have-You-No-Shame-Regrettable/dp/0345498615

Imagine writing for an animated Disney series. Now, imagine being invited to write for the Star Wars universe. And imagine that leading you to the Marvel universe.

And now, imagine your audience is preschoolers!

In this episode of Living To Write, Brian and Bailey talk with James Eason-Garcia, who has done all this and more.

His behind-the-scenes stories are fun and enlightening, and his industry and craft advice applies to far more than just animation and writing for kids.

Join us to hear everything from how the industry works to how to fine-tune your portfolio to get the attention your writing deserves.

And along the way, James even shares his strategy for storing 30,000 comic books!

Produced by Bailey Patterson and Brian Landwehr

Paul Schrader wrote classics like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ, directed American Gigolo, Affliction and First Reformed, documented the history of the transcendental style of film, and he’s still hard at work telling stories with impact.

In this special episode, we present his engaging Story Summit VIP Guest Lecture, recorded shortly after the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where he premiered his latest feature, Oh, Canada.

Hear how a strict Calvinist upbringing devoid of cinema led to Paul picking up the mantle of the transcendental style of filmmaking, and how he utilizes metaphor to draw audiences into his stories without all the handholding.

If you care about meaningful cinema with lasting impact, or simply want to hear what Taxi Driver is actually all about, don’t miss this episode.

Produced by Brian Landwehr and Bailey Patterson

Brian and Bailey chat with The Naked Gun (2025) screenwriters Dan Gregor and Doug Mand.

Comedy ain’t easy. And neither is the job of continuing the beloved Naked Gun franchise with a new chapter that honors the spirit of Lt. Frank Drebin without feeling stuck in the past.

But that is exactly what Dan Gregor and Doug Mand have accomplished, and they are here to discuss why and how they do what they do, the lessons learned from years of partnership, and what it takes to keep audiences laughing in a new era.

Their journey from the improv comedy scene to How I Met Your Mother, from Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers to The Naked Gun, is a colorful one. So tune in for all that, plus their thoughts on comedy writing in the age of YouTube, and why even in Hollywood a good script is never truly dead.

This episode is produced by Brian Landwehr and Bailey Patterson.

Brian Landwehr and Bailey Patterson conclude their two-part conversation with former president of Paramount Motion Picture Group, David Paul Kirkpatrick.

As the man who greenlit some of the most iconic films in cinematic history, David knows not only how the Hollywood machine works, but why it sometimes doesn’t.

Why do so few people in the studio system actually read scripts? Why does strong coverage matter more than you think? What does it take to get a studio project across the finish line? And what really happens when a movie falls apart?

Plus, why did Michael Jackson shed tears over lunch with David? And is Steven Spielberg truly the mensch the world believes he is?

With a remarkable career, a writer’s heart, and a mentor’s wisdom, David brings both insight and irresistible Hollywood tales in one of the most revealing conversations we’ve ever had.

This podcast is produced by Brian Landwehr and Bailey Patterson.

On the latest episode of the Living to Write, Brian and Bailey chat with Story Summit founder and former Paramount Pictures studio executive David Paul Kirkpatrick in Part 1 of an unforgettable conversation.

Throughout his illustrious career as president of the Motion Picture Group and head of production at both Disney and Touchstone, David helped bring to life some of the most iconic and influential films and franchises of all time, including — Indiana Jones, Star Trek, Friday the 13th, Top Gun, Ghost, The Hunt for Red October, Witness, Reds — and a Living to Write favorite — Can’t Buy Me Love.

His remarkable history, combined with talents as both a writer himself and mentor to many, makes David just the man to share some of the most insightful advice and outrageous Hollywood-insider stories you’ll ever hear.

What’s it like to be a studio executive? What does it take to actually greenlight a film—and what quietly kills it?

Tune in to Part 1 to find out what really happens behind the curtain. And yes... He names names.

This podcast is produced by Brian Landwehr and Bailey Patterson.

On this episode of Living to Write, Brian and Bailey sit down with Emmy- and Peabody-award-winning writer/director Peter Hastings.

With Dog Man now out in the world, Peter discusses why he writes, how improv led him to screenwriting, what it was like working with Steven Spielberg on Animaniacs, and how writing is like music for him. Plus, a look at the projects that shaped his career and what keeps him coming back to the blank page.

Support for this episode comes from Story Summit.

This podcast is produced by Bailey Patterson and Brian Landwehr.

This time on Living to Write, writer/director Drew Hancock, fresh off his feature debut Companion, joins us to talk about why he writes, how he made the leap to directing his first film, why story is everything, and how he keeps imposter syndrome from slowing him down.

Support for this episode comes from Story Summit.

This episode is produced by Brian Landwehr & Bailey Patterson.