Dead Pilots Society

Episode 203: Joel Kim Booster Interview   This is the aftershow for Here, After, featuring a conversation with writer, actor, and comedian Joel Kim Booster. Joel is known for writing and starring in Fire Island and for his work on The Other Two and Big Mouth . As an actor, he's appeared in Loot , Search Party , Shrill , and more.   In this wide-ranging conversation, Joel talks about his early days...

Episode 202: Here, After by Joel Kim Booster   This month, Dead Pilots Society welcomes back writer, actor, and comedian Joel Kim Booster , whose pilot Birthright was previously featured on Episode 34. Joel wrote and starred in the hit Hulu movie Fire Island. He was a writer on The Other Two and Big Mouth, and as an actor, you've seen him on Shrill and Search Party.   Joel's pilot Here, After, nev...

Episode 201: Christian Duguay Interview   This is the After Show for Valley Heat , featuring Andrew’s interview with creator Christian Duguay .   A longtime admirer of Valley Heat , Andrew finally gets the chance to sit down with Christian for a conversation about the unusual path that led to the creation of the podcast. Unlike many guests on the show, Christian didn’t come up through traditional...

Episode 200: Valley Heat by Christian Duguay   This month marks the 200th episode of Dead Pilots Society , which feels like a real milestone for a show that requires considerably more coordination than a couple of people just turning on microphones and talking. Every pilot episode means finding a pilot, assembling a cast, and putting together a live reading, so reaching 200 episodes feels genuinel...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 1   As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.   The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or m...

Episode 199: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview Part Two     This is the After Show for Gimme Five , featuring part two of Andrew’s conversation with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas , creators of How I Met Your Mother .   The discussion digs into the real-life inspiration behind Gimme Five , a project shaped as much by nostalgia as it is by firsthand experience. Carter and Craig reflect on the wr...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 2   As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.   The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or m...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 3   As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.   The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or m...

Episode 198: Gimme Five by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas   This month’s second dead pilot from Carter Bays and Craig Thomas is Gimme Five . Best known as the co-creators and longtime showrunners of How I Met Your Mother , Carter and Craig previously wrote for The Late Show with David Letterman and produced American Dad . They co-wrote this pilot with legendary writer Peter Tolan , whose credits inc...

Episode 197: Carter Bays and Craig Thomas Interview This is the After Show for New York Mythological , featuring Andrew’s conversation with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas , creators of How I Met Your Mother .   As part of this MaxFunDrive run, Dead Pilots Society is featuring two pilots from Carter and Craig. In a few days, the second one, Gimme Five , will be released, followed by part two of Andre...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 4   As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best. The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or mor...

Bonus: Top Five Funniest Openings in Dead Pilots Society History - Number 5   As a special bonus for MaxFunDrive 2026, we bring you the top five funniest openings in Dead Pilots Society history, as voted by the DPS staff. It was a challenge to narrow it down to just five, but that just means you’re getting the best of the best.   The show is supported by MaxFun members contributing $5 a month or m...

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters . In this episode, Ben Blacker ( Dead Pilots Society ), Hal Lublin ( Tights and Fights & We Got This with Mark and Hal ) and Alonso Duralde ( Maximum Film! ) take listeners behind the scenes and swap stories about the ups and downs of podcasting. Pl...

Episode 196: New York Mythological by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas   This month’s dead pilot, kicking off the 2026 MaxFunDrive, is New York Mythological , written by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas . Best known as the co-creators and showrunners of How I Met Your Mother , Carter and Craig previously wrote for The Late Show with David Letterman and produced American Dad . Carter is the author of the n...

Episode 195: Georgia Pritchett Interview   This After Show features Andrew’s interview with Emmy and WGA Award–winning writer Georgia Pritchett , the writer of this month’s dead pilot, Bump .   Georgia is best known for her work on Veep and Succession , and has also written for The Thick of It and Avenue 5 . She created and showran The Shrink Next Door and is the author of the memoir My Mess Is a...

Episode 194: Bump by Georgia Pritchett   This month’s dead pilot is Bump , written by Emmy and WGA Award–winning writer Georgia Pritchett . Georgia is widely known for her work on Veep and Succession , and has also written for The Thick of It and Avenue 5 . She served as creator and showrunner on The Shrink Next Door and is the author of the memoir My Mess Is a Bit of a Life: Adventures in Anxiety...

Episode 193: Ginger Gonzaga Interview   This is the After Show for Yellow , featuring Andrew’s conversation with writer and actor Ginger Gonzaga. Many listeners know Ginger from her roles in Marvel’s She-Hulk , CBS’s True Lies , Showtime’s Kidding , I’m Dying Up Here , HBO’s Togetherness , and Room 104 . But in this episode, the spotlight shifts to her as a creator as well as a performer.   Andrew...

Episode 192: Yellow Written by Ginger Gonzaga   This month’s live episode features Yellow , a pilot written by Ginger Gonzaga . Most people know Ginger from her work in front of the camera—she’s appeared in Marvel’s She-Hulk , CBS’s True Lies , Showtime’s Kidding , I’m Dying Up Here , HBO’s Togetherness , and Room 104 . Yellow showcases her voice as a writer.   After being arrested, following a ve...

Episode 191: Text Thread Dead Pilot Summit   This special episode of Dead Pilots Society brings together the writers behind the last two pilots for a sort of Text Thread Dead Pilot Summit . The conversation features Aaron Brownstein and Simon Ganz , writers of Guy Text , alongside Mike Gagerman and Andrew Waller , writers of The Thread . Andrew brings all four writers together for a deeper, side-b...

Episode 190:  Andrew Waller and Mike Gagerman Interview   This week’s After Show features Andrew’s conversation with Mike Gagerman and Andrew Waller , writers of the film Search Party (not the TV show), creators of the viral Twitter thread Shh… Don’t Tell Steve , and currently writing the pilot for Last Chance Lawyer on NBC, with Henry Winkler set to star. Mike and Andrew walk through how they bec...

Episode 189: The Thread Written By Andrew Waller and Mike Gagerman   This month’s episode features The Thread, written by Andrew Waller and Mike Gagerman , the second of two dead pilots built around a shared group text that’s been running for years.   Here is the log line for this show, A modern ensemble comedy about a group of longtime friends leading diverse chaotic lives who stay connected thro...

Episode 188: Aaron Brownstein & Simon Ganz Interview   In this After Show Andrew talks with writing partners Aaron Brownstein and Simon Ganz about their long road to Guy Text .   They share what they learned working under Jason Katims ( Friday Night Lights , Parenthood, About a Boy) and Victor Fresco ( Santa Clarita Diet ), including lessons about character, tone, and why even a waiter with two li...

Episode 187: Guy Text Written by Aaron Brownstein & Simon Ganz   This month’s dead pilot is Guy Text , written by Aaron Brownstein and Simon Ganz, whose credits include Santa Clarita Diet , Beavis and ButtHead , and About a Boy .  Four geriatric millennial friends struggle with what it means to be sensitive, thoughtful, emotionally available modern men. It’s a fast paced and funny pilot that you’l...

Episode 186: Lisa Muse Bryant Interview This month’s After Show features Andrew’s conversation with Lisa Muse Bryant , the powerhouse behind our latest dead pilot Dream . Lisa traces her remarkable journey from Camden, New Jersey, to writing on standout series like Black-ish , The Four Seasons , Man on the Inside , and Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur . She dives into the real-life inspiratio...

Episode 185: Dream Written by Lisa Muse Bryant This month’s Dead Pilots Society features Dream , a musical comedy pilot from Lisa Muse Bryant, whose work includes Black-ish , The Four Seasons , Man on the Inside , and Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur . The show centers on Dream Morgan, a former teen mom who finally goes after her long-delayed ambition of becoming a singer once her son finishe...