The Business

Trevor Pryce spent 14 seasons as a defensive end in the NFL. In the off-season, he devoted himself to various creative endeavors, including his passion project: an original animated series. Once he retired, he made his show his way, and Kulipari: An Army of Frogs  is streaming now on Netflix.

James Andrew Miller has worked on in-depth oral histories of Saturday Night Live and ESPN. His newest book Powerhouse , traces the history of CAA, the dominant, but secretive Hollywood talent agency. He tells us how he got notoriously press-shy agents, including Michael Ovitz, to go on the record. 

Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been on ABC for almost 14 years, making Kimmel one of the "grizzled veterans" of late night. Kimmel tells us about the struggle of the early years of the show, accidentally creating the first late night viral video and his plan for hosting the upcoming Emmy awards.

When comedian Louis C.K. created and self-financed his new web series Horace and Pete, he kept the production a secret and did absolutely no advertising. He tells us about risking his own money and making Horace and Pete completely on his own terms.

Writer-producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields had never even met before they were teamed up to work on the FX spy series The Americans . What started as a blind date, of sorts, led to a creative friendship and one of the most critically acclaimed dramas on cable. Now Fields and Weisberg, as well as the stars of their show, are Emmy nominated for the series' fourth season.

Thomas Kail won a Tony for directing Hamilton on Broadway. Now he’s up for an Emmy after directing the TV musical Grease: Live on Fox. He tells us how having a specific vision for your project up front can save money in the long run. Then, actor Sterling K. Brown, also Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of Chris Darden on the FX limited series The People vs. O.J. Simpson , shares how he transformed...

Robert Smigel and his foul-mouthed puppet Triumph the Insult Comic Dog have been harassing unwitting subjects for almost 20 years. It's no surprise that in this election year, they found fertile ground (for Triumph to poop on). A two-part special on Hulu takes Triumph on new adventures on the campaign trail and at the conventions.

Comedian Mike Birbiglia's new film Don't Think Twice  follows a close-knit improv group that starts to feel the strain when one of its members gets a big break on a hit TV show. Birbiglia tells us what improv and directing have in common, and how he's set out to "hand-deliver" his film to theaters.

James Schamus was a successful producer of independent films with his company, Good Machine, and then as the CEO of art-house label Focus Features for 13 years. In 2013, he was fired and decided to try something new. Schamus tells us about calling the shots on his directorial debut, Indignation .

Joe Berlinger says his mind is boggled by the criticism of his new film, Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru . Some critics think Berlinger should have approached his subject with a more skeptical eye, but the a ward-winning veteran documentarian  says that was never the point of the movie.

Writer-producer Noah Hawley, recently Emmy-nominated for both writing and directing in season two of Fargo , tells us how he gets so much writing done, why he doesn’t ever want to work in broadcast TV again, and what he knows so far about Fargo season three.

Jerrod Carmichael’s NBC series The Carmichael Show takes an old-fashioned approach to the sitcom--complete with a live studio audience. Still, the show tackles topical issues from guns to religion. He tells us why he loves the multi-cam set-up and what other modern day sitcoms are missing.

The dramedy UnREAL , now in its second season, is a major departure from the typical Lifetime fare. The series co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro tells us how her past experience working on The Bachelor  led to the creation of a show all about the behind-the-scenes machinations of a reality TV producer.

In the new Netflix series Lady Dynamite , comedian Maria Bamford plays a version of herself, trying to regain her footing following a battle with mental illness. Bamford and show co-creator Pam Brady talk about how they developed the show and keep the real Bamford sane on set while she plays the semi-fictional Bamford on TV.

Director Tim Miller and producer Simon Kinberg tell us how Deadpool  went from being almost dead at Fox to an R-rated box office sensation. And as for the leaked test footage that made fans go wild and got the movie made? Miller swears it wasn't him.

As the host of NBC's Late Night , Seth Meyers has been tearing into this unhinged election year -- and he feels no obligation to strive for fake balance. He defends himself against that and the semi-serious charge that his insults drove Donald Trump to run for president.

Comedian Julie Klausner is the creator and star of the Hulu comedy Difficult People . She tells us how her experience writing recaps of reality shows for Vulture informs her character on the show and why she and Billy Eichner, her friend and co-star, will never have a fight on air. 

Directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg set out to make a documentary about what could have been Anthony Weiner's comeback campaign. When everything tanked, they kept their cameras rolling. And actors Timothy Simons and Matt Walsh tell us about working with a new showrunner in Season 5 of HBO's Veep .

In Fox's wry sitcom The Grinder, Rob Lowe starred as an actor famous for playing a lawyer on TV. The show drew praise from critics, but struggled in the ratings. Now it's been cancelled and Lowe tells us he's questioning what's next.

When comedian Louis C.K. created and self-financed his new web series Horace and Pete , he kept the production a secret and did absolutely no advertising. He tells us about risking his own money and making Horace and Pete completely on his own terms.

Marvel's newest blockbuster has so many super-characters, it's no wonder it took two directors to handle all the action. Brothers Anthony and Joe Russo tell us how they went from directing quirky TV shows to big-budget superhero movies. 

Bill Borden has spent years making movies in both the U.S. and China. He was a producer on Stephen Chow's recent film The Mermaid , the biggest hit in Chinese box office history. He tells us how filmmaking is different in China than the US, and what American filmmakers can do to bridge the divide.

Veteran director Richard Donner tells us about the behind-the-scenes adventures of making the original comic book blockbuster Superman in 1978.

Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna had never planned to go back to working in television. Then she found Rachel Bloom's YouTube videos. She tells us how they teamed up to create the quirky CW musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend .

After years of playing drug dealers and terrorists, Maori actor Cliff Curtis is finally finding more complex, nuanced roles. He tells us how he's able to bring his own background to two recent leading man roles. And Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, creators and stars of Catastrophe talk about the anxiety leading up to their second season.