Scriptnotes Podcast

John welcomes five-time Emmy-winning writer Ali Barthwell (Last Week Tonight) to ask, can writers learn to be funny? Drawing from her time as a teacher at The Second City, they look at what writers can learn from sketch and improv, and how to reliably find ways to make an audience laugh.
We also celebrate the WGA membership's ratification of the 2026 MBA, the educational future of the Scriptnotes book, and answer listener questions on the first scene of a comedy and when to stop taking assistant gigs and bet on yourself.
In our bonus segment for premium members, Ali shares how she built a thriving writing career without ever having to live in New York or LA.
Links:
Ali Barthwell
Preorder Ali's new book, Reality TV for Snobs
The Second City
Pre-inked star stamps
The Padilla Pause: How the Breakout Star of SNL Nails Comic Timing by Jason Zinoman for NYTimes
Funnier by Anne Libera
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John August on Bluesky and Instagram
Outro by Matt Gillespie (send us yours!)
Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at [email protected]
You can download the episode here.

John welcomes writer/showrunner Haley Z. Boston for a post-mortem on her terrifying new series, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. They look at how the series evolved from initial idea through production, her experience as a first-time showrunner, the special relationship between women and horror, and how she constructs terror on the page.
We also chart her early career, and answer listener questions on splitting scenes and how to handle an overwhelming amount of development notes.
In our bonus segment for premium members, it's spoiler territory as we look at what we can learn from the clever red herrings and misdirects of the series.
Links:
Haley Z. Boston on Instagram
Something Very Bad is Going to Happen on Netflix
Read along with an excerpt from the pilot
Saying 'I do' is supposed to be joyous — unless something very bad happens by Gina McIntyre for LA Times
Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film by Carol J. Clover
Tasting Day
Freaks Only
Atomic Wave Dance by The Comet is Coming
Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
John August on Bluesky and Instagram
Outro by Gloom Canyon (send us yours!)
Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at [email protected]
You can download the episode here.

John and Craig flip the idea of motivation on its head and ask, what are your characters running from? Using examples across film and TV, they look at the psychological underpinnings of discomfort, and how to use avoidance as a driving force of character and story.
We've also been away for a minute, so there's a lot to catch up on! We follow-up on where the heck we've been, locked pages, a Scottish rap duo, and a new scientific answer for whether one page of script really equals one minute of movie. We also answer listener questions on the afterlife of residuals and writing with a significant other.
In our bonus segment for premium members, we go through their feedback on our first ever video podcast and announce our plans for the future of the show.
Links:
Does one page of a screenplay really equal one minute of screen time? by Stephen Follows
California Schemin' trailer
Indistractable by Nir Eyal
Explanation of Disbursement of Residual Payments After Death from the WGA West
Parseword
Frankenstein's Regrets by Ben Tarnoff for The Nation
The AI Paradox: How to Make Sense of a Complex Future by Virginia Dignum
Indigo Girls Tour featuring Jessie Mazin!
Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
John August on Bluesky and Instagram
Outro by James Ashley McLaren (send us yours!)
Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at [email protected]
You can download the episode here.

There's a brand new agreement between the WGA and the AMPTP! And since John was the co-chair of the negotiating committee, he's excited to share all the details of the 2026 MBA.
Links:
The 2026 MBA agreement memorandum
John August on Instagram and Bluesky
Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt
Email us at [email protected]
You can download the episode here.

John and Craig connect the dots on transitions and how they can be just as important as the scenes themselves. They look at how to get your scenes flowing into one another, the many different types of transitions, when to use "CUT TO," and how to use your cuts to tell your story.
We also discuss those shots we no longer need to see in movies, and use a lawsuit filed by two GI Joe writers to examine some common issues created by prewriting.
In our bonus segment for premium members, the Olympics are coming to Los Angeles and we have conflicting feelings!
Links:
Episode 89 – Transcript
The 100th episode
The Inebriati from That Mitchell and Webb Look
Paramount & MGM Sued By 'G.I. Joe' Writers from Deadline
Twenty Shots to Be Henceforth Retired from Film Vocabulary on Reverse Shot
Good Times | Florida Breaks Down
The Los Angeles Times on Studios donating film set materials to Habitat for Humanity
Scandal Revealed, Episode 221
Mistresses on ABC
We're the Millers on Wikipedia
LA28 Design Guide
torched.la
Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
John August on Bluesky and Instagram
Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at [email protected]
You can download the episode here.