Dead Pilots Society

Welcome to the after-show for Mr. Macho ! Andrew and Al recount their unusual first meeting during a casting session for a show that came together under extraordinary circumstances. They discuss how close Al has come to getting his story on air as a half-hour comedy, as well as the ongoing challenges of Latino representation in TV comedy. Chris also shares his wisdom on guiding and helping sell th...

Our featured dead pilot this month is Mr. Macho , written by Al Madrigal. You might know Al from his stand-up, his time on The Daily Show , or his many TV and film appearances over the years. His autobiographical, focuses on a man struggling with his cultural identity and his place in a newly gentrifying neighborhood. The project was supervised by Chris Harris ( How I Met Your Mother ) and was set...

This is the after-show for Honey Do List , featuring our interview with Julie Bean and Brian Donovan. Julie and Brian share incredible stories about breaking into the industry and how they worked their way up to becoming showrunners. Brian also discusses his time on the legendary Georgetown improv troupe alongside Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Mike Birbiglia, and Jacqueline Novak, to name a few. There...

This month's pilot is Honey Do List , written by Julie Bean (showrunner of Grown-ish ) and Brian Donovan ( American Housewife ). It's based on the real-life story of a mom who extricates herself from a controlling marriage, moves in with her lesbian daughter, Summer, and begins to rediscover joy by checking items off her bucket list, one at a time. This fantastic pilot was written during the pande...

This is a very special episode of Dead Pilots Society . It's our interview with Damir and Dario Konjicija, and in it, you'll hear perhaps the most interesting Hollywood origin story we've ever encountered. Damir and Dario discuss their journey from being Bosnian refugees to arriving in America in 1997 and falling in love with American television. They talk about starting school in America as Bosni...

Our dead pilots this month is I Hate Myself by Dario & Dami Konjicija (Home Economics, Young Sheldon). This is a fun multi-camera buddy comedy with a time traveling twist. It was developed for CBS Studios and we know you're going to love it.   The cast for this one includes Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Josh Banday (Upload), Paige Collins (Good Girls), Leah Lewis (Matlock), Nabeel Muscatwalla (Better D...

We sat down with Jordan Roter to discuss her pilot Common Enemy. If you haven't listen to it yet, what are you waiting for?  Jordan is an experienced writer who's sold her work in the literary, feature and television space. She talks about the process of pitching  a low concept character driven show, pushing the envelope in the family space and development stories about various projects she's had...

You're listening to the table read of Common Enemy written by Jordan Roter (Girl in Development author, American Housewife, The Watchful Eye). Common Enemy is a multi-generational family comedy about three generations of the same family going through their own version of puberty at the same time. The title comes from a joke Jordan's dad loves to tell. You'll have to listen to the table read to hea...

Welcome to the after show, folks! Andrew sat down with the writer of last week's pilot Codependent, Mark Gross. Mark spoke to us about all things sitcom writing. We talked about how he got his start in comedy and his early days as a touring stand up comedian. How fellow comic Rodney Carrington helped him break into tv writing and what he learned working with the great Chuck Lorre. He also told us...

We have a great pilot for you this month! It's written by the hilarious and well respected, Mark Gross (How We Roll, Mike & Molly). His pilot is called Codependent and it centers around a relationship between Nate, an aimless substitute teacher and Ed, the grandfather who raised him and how that relationship is challenged when Nate meets a women who could be the one. This pilot was written and sol...

You're listening to our after show interview with Michael Jonathan Smith (Twisted Metal). In it you'll hear Michael tell the arduous journey he went on to getting this pilot rejected. We talk about his bumpy journey, how he got to where he is now as the creator and showrunner of Twisted Metal on Peacock. For the Cobra Kai heads out there, there's some good discussion of the evolution of that show...

We have a hilarious pilot for you this month! It's called Faking A Murderer  written by Michael Jonathan Smith (creator of Twisted Metal, Cobra Kai). This pilot is about  the members of a small town police department who invent a serial killer to save their town's budget. Trigger warning! There's a lot of death, sick gross stuff, and the mistreatment of corpses in this one but it somehow manages t...

This is our after show interview with Michael Lisbe & Nate Reger (Acapulco, The Cool Kids). In it you'll hear them talk about their show business breaks, how they generate ideas for pilots,  a real dilemma they faced early on in their career,  their favorite staffing jobs and the parts of their pilot Frenemies, that are based on facts. This one is a great conversation with old friends! Enjoy it! F...

Thank you to everyone who upgraded their max fun membership this year. We had more upgrades than last year and we're so grateful for all of you. You're support allows us to keep bringing you dead pilots. Our dead pilot this month is called Frenemies: The Journey Of Lewis & Clark  written by Michael Lisbe & Nate Reger (Just Shoot Meet, Cougar Town, 2 Broke Girls). Their dead pilot is a comedic take...

This is an episode dedicated to unscripted television.  J. Keith van Straaten, Jordan Morris, and John Moe talk about their dead unscripted projects that were sold to networks and streams but never produced. This conversation went to a ton of unexpected places and that's definitely a part of it's charm. Enjoy it! There's still time to help support our podcast by becoming a maximum fun member for a...

Another #maxfundrive bonus episode for you! Thank you to everyone who has boosted or become a #maxfundrive member, it's because of you that we can put out episodes like this. We sat down with comedy writer Andy Bobrow about his sitcom writing rules. Andy is a writer who's script Greatest American Heroes (ep link here ) was last year's MaxFunDrive episode. We had an incredible cast for that one inc...

This is our after show interview with Open Mike Eagle (The New Negroes) & Mike Benner (Bob's Burger) about their pilot Principle. Mike and Mike developed Principle for Comedy Central wanting to explore the differences between a rapper's public and private persona. In this interview, you'll hear them talk about their comedy and hip hop influences, Open Mike's move from rapper to comedy writer/rappe...

We have a hilarious MAX FUN DRIVE episode for you!  It's the table read for Principle written by Open Mike Eagle (The New Negroes) & Mike Benner (Bob's Burgers) recorded LIVE at THE ELYSIAN THEATER! Principle was sold to Comedy Central. It's about a rapper trying to change his life and image but keeps being pulled back into the gangster character that made him famous.  This show should be on the l...

This is a special  episode in honor of The MaxFunDrive where Andrew and Ben answer a variety questions sent to us from listeners.  We had J. Keith van Straaten from Go Fact Yourself drop by to moderate. It was a lot of fun and we know you're going to love it.  Thank you for supporting our show! This special network wide event is a celebration of The MaxFunDrive! If you’d like to support podcasts y...

This special network wide event is a celebration of The MaxFunDrive! If you’d like to support podcasts you love for just $5 a month and get bonus gifts in the process, go to maximumfun.org/join .  We’re kicking off the most exciting time of the year for the MaxFun Network with a trivia game show featuring hosts from tons of great podcasts. J. Keith van Straaten and Helen Hong from “ Go Fact Yourse...

This is our after show interview with Tommy Johnagin (That 90s Show, Man With A Plan) about his pilot You're Only Young Twice. Tommy tells us about starting his stand up career at the age of 19, inspired by David Letterman.  How he went from being a touring comedian to writing on a television show. Andrew shares some good insight from his time on Friends and they both spend time figuring out a bet...

This is the table read for You're Only Young Twice written by Tommy Johnagin (That 90s Show, Man With A Plan). This pilot was a CBS network multi-camera sitcom. Logline: A young couple  discover the upside to getting pregnant at your junior prom is that your kid goes to college when you’re 35, and you become empty nesters who get to start life all over again while you're still young enough to enjo...

This is our after show interview with Alex Burnett & Brendan McCarthy (Grace & Frankie) about their pilot Localized.  Alex's recounts his personal connection to the show, having grown up on Nantucket. You'll hear about the persistence it took to sell this show, their experience working with Mitch Hurwitz (creator of Arrested Development) and their journeys to becoming tv writers. They also share s...

This is the table read of LOCALIZED written by  Alex Burnett & Brendan McCarthy (Grace & Frankie). This pilot is based on a real life character. A man who is the only full time doctor on the island of Nantuckett. Localized is based on the book Island Practice written by Pam Belluck.  It's a wonderfully weird pilot that was sold to HBO Max with Mitch Hurwitz attached to executive produce.  We had a...

This is the after show for Fulfillment with its writer Vali Candrasekaran (Modern Family, 30 Rock). Vali is a respected veteran comedy writer who's written on all of your favorite sitcoms. You'll hear the crazy story about how he landed his first job on "My Name Is Earl".  He talks about a show he created with Christopher Lloyd (Modern Family, Frasier) starring two A-list actors that somehow didn'...