Happier in Hollywood

Liz and Sarah talk to actor and friend Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse, Altered Carbon, Animal Kingdom) about the audition pain point that almost made her leave the business, and what she did about it. Then Liz and Sarah discuss the psychology of documents — how does the look of a document impact its audience? This week’s flu season friendly Hollywood Hack: Throat Coat tea. Finally, Liz and and Sarah ha...

TILiz and Sarah talk to their good friend Nichelle Tramble Spellman, creator and showrunner of the fantastic new Apple TV+ show TRUTH BE TOLD, starring Octavia Spencer, Aaron Paul, and Lizzie Caplan. Then, in Take A Hike, Liz reveals why she’s “failing on all fronts” during this extra busy time. This week’s Hollywood Hack comes courtesy of Nichelle: get a fabulous suit custom-made for a big event....

Liz and Sarah offer tips to executives and producers who are giving notes to writers during the development process. Do be direct! Don’t be an asshole! In a hits-only Hits & Bombs segment, Liz and Sarah share the many things they’re thankful for — including their amazing listeners! This week’s Hollywood Hack is a Chinese Proverb: “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best...

Liz and Sarah answer questions from the Happier In Hollywood Facebook Group — and they answer them fast! Do they ever feel like their kids deplete their creative energy? Do TV writers take ownership of specific characters? How does Sarah feel about Liz touring? If they hadn’t moved to Los Angeles, what would they be doing today? What was it like to work with Kurt Sutter? And, most importantly, how...

With development season at peak intensity, Liz and Sarah are putting their noses to the grindstone. What does that mean? They’re often giving up their precious nights and weekends — and accepting that they have to “just say no” to many social functions. Then in Take A Hike, Liz and Sarah talk about why there’s one activity they’re NOT giving up: their new monthly Mahjong game. They also answer a M...

Liz and Sarah pitch “American Beauties,” a pilot script they sold (twice) to Fox. After the pitch, they critique their own work— and reveal what they would change if they were going to pitch the show today.  Photo by Ameen Fahmy on Unsplash To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://pod...

Liz and Sarah give an update on their efforts to reject anxiety during development season. Then they strategize about how to stay focussed on work when it feels like they’re in the middle of Armageddon. Between the wild fires and the news, it’s all too much! The advice they get from Liz’s sister, Gretchen Rubin? Turn off phone notifications and schedule time to worry. In Take Two, listeners weigh...

Liz and Sarah wish listeners a Happy Halloween and share a tip from The Whole 30’s Melissa Hartwig Urban about how to resist the temptation to eat candy. In From The Treadmill Desks Of, they talk about their decision to reject anxiety when it comes to the notes process during this development season. Their new anxiety mantra: “There is no space for you here.” Then Liz and Sarah answer a Mailbag qu...

Liz and Sarah announce their upcoming Bonus Episode! They’re going to pitch American Beauties, a pilot script they sold (twice) to Fox. Then they discuss strategies for conquering the fear of new things. Sarah’s suggestion? Rip off the band aid NOW. In The Craft (and Fain) segment, Liz and Sarah discuss the ins and outs of the famous Warner Brothers pitch document. If you want a copy, email them a...

Liz and Sarah explain that even a “put” pilot isn’t a sure thing. Then they discuss why “enough is enough.” It’s tempting to over-write and over-speak, but don’t do it! Going on and on makes you look weak and unfocused. In their new segment, You’re The Boss, Liz and Sarah talk to author Morgan Simpson about his new book, What’s Running You? How to Become the Entrepreneur of Your Life. Morgan’s adv...

Liz and Sarah talk with actor, web series creator, and New York Times best-selling author, Felicia Day, about her new book Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity. Liz and Sarah’s big take-away? They really need to be more playful. Then, in Take A Hike, they discuss why we should all be reacher-outers (in a not creepy way). This week’s Hollywood Hack is the perfect baby gift: af...

Liz and Sarah share an email from a listener who gives a counterargument to their advice to “arrive early.” Then they announce their new development projects! They’ve sold two pilots — one to ABC and one to CBS. They discuss strategies to maintain their endurance for the months-long journey toward (hopefully) series pickups. In Take A Hike, Sarah reveals her health lull is over, and she’s diving h...

It’s a Listener Questions episode! Liz and Sarah open the mailbag and answer your questions. How does Liz feel about working at Sarah’s house? If they could be flies on the wall at someone else’s work, what would it be? How has Happier In Hollywood helped or hindered their TV writing career? Sarah and Liz give up the dirt on these and so many other questions. This week’s Hollywood Hack also comes...

Liz and Sarah give an update on a listener suggestion that they coordinate their meeting outfits. They did it! And it was surprisingly easy. Their new vow? Try a personal shopper together. Then they discuss how to be — and create — happy campers at work with parenting expert Audrey Monke, author of Happy Campers: 9 Summer Camp Secrets for Raising Kids Who Become Thriving Adults. Audrey owns Gold A...

“Bachelor Happy Hour with Rachel & Ali” takes fans behind the scenes with all things Bachelor Nation-related in the first ever, official Bachelor podcast.  You’ll hear from current cast members and get the details on what really happened when the cameras stopped rolling.    Start listening now at:  wondery.fm/inhollywood To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://ww...

Inspired by an overheard conversation (and a thousand notes calls), Liz and Sarah ask listeners to weigh in on what makes a character “likable.” Then they discuss how to deal with the fact that everything— from a home remodel to a series sale— takes longer than you think it will. In their new segment, You’re The Boss, Liz and Sarah discuss their  recent realization that doing the podcast has impro...

After an update on the great how-to-pronounce “gif” (is it a hard “g” or a soft “g”) debate of 2019, Liz and Sarah discuss the back-to-school productivity boost that September brings. Then they do a listener inspired Take Two deep dive on how to get out of health lull. Some favorite ideas? Reconnect with your “why” and treat being healthy  like it’s a job. This week’s Hollywood Hack comes from Sar...

The Onward Project is celebrating Labor Day with #HappierLaborDay! Liz and Sarah invite Sheri Salata (author of The Beautiful No, co-host of the podcast The Sheri & Nancy Show) to be their special Labor Day co-host! Sheri shares how a “beautiful no” led to her job as the powerhouse Executive Producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Then they discuss how we can all have a happier work life by reframing...

Liz and Sarah have an update on their new office space in Sarah’s house. It’s done! And they love it! In From The Treadmill Desks Of, they reveal that Liz recently hit the wall and declared they needed a break. Turns out, taking a few days off made them way more productive when they came back. Then Liz and Sarah debut a new segment, You’re The Boss, about how we can all be in charge of our own car...

Liz and Sarah share the details of their first Happier In Hollywood Q&A Cocktail Party. It was a huge success! Then they interview TV writers Jess Burkle and Ryan Knighton from the CW show “In the Dark” about how they navigate Hollywood while being blind, their superpower in the writers’ room, and why they hate being called “inspirational.” Then Liz and Sarah answer a listener question about wheth...

Now that Liz and Sarah don’t have an official office, they’re creating “a room of their own” at Sarah’s house. While Sarah insists on following the feng shui guidelines in the book Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life, Liz just wants a functional, pleasant space to work in. Then they debut a new segment, The Craft (And Fain) on the craft of writing. Their first topic? Swim out. This week’s Hollywood...

Liz and Sarah discuss a listener suggestion that they coordinate their meeting outfits. Are they up for the task? Then they talk about the difficulty of compartmentalizing when they need to work on several projects at once. Next, Liz and Sarah answer a listener question about whether they think a different network president would have kept The Fix on the air. In Take A Hike, Sarah shares her “heal...

Inspired by listener demand, Liz and Sarah announce their August 8th Happier In Hollywood Q & A Cocktail Party.  (For more information email happierinhollywood@gmail.com.) Then Liz and Sarah talk to Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg, the cohosts of one of their favorite podcasts, By The Book, about being each other’s work wife. What IS a work wife? How is work marriage different from actual ma...

Liz and Sarah discuss why they’ve recently decided NOT to take every meeting. Sometimes they need to go deep instead of going wide. Then Sarah’s recent bout of pneumonia is a reminder that we all need to listen to our bodies. In The Mailroom, Liz and Sarah tackle a listener question about whether they ever feel like the “weak link” in their partnership. Short answer? Yes! This week Sarah and Liz h...

Liz and Sarah break down the experience of being a Staff Writer on a TV show with their former assistant turned TV writer, Brook Sitgraves Turner. Brook’s advice: show up prepared and stay late. In Take A Hike, Liz and Sarah discuss the concept of Swedish Death Cleaning and why we should all accumulate less stuff. Finally, Liz shares yet another Hollywood Hack that will help you achieve “meeting h...