Script vs Screen

This week's episode is a real treat as we sit down with comedy nerd/sketch writer extraordinaire Mike Upchurch, who has written sketches for Mr. Show (with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross), The Chris Rock Show, and MADtv.  We learn about his start in Las Vegas, his UNLV Graduate program, where he wrote the Poetics of Sketch Comedy. We cover a little bit of everything from writing for premium channel cult hits, and major network television to meeting Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as his really funny and original projects he is currently working on.  This episode is definitely one for the record books, but it was so easy chatting with Mike, and we know it's an episode you will really enjoy listening to as he shares some really wild tales living and almost dying in Hollywood.  Take a listen and find out more!

This interview was packed with great stories of how Greg brings to life the many projects he is working on, and shows you that you have to keep working on new things with good people to get ahead in the business. From shadowing Steve Levitan on Modern Family to pitching his project to executives at the CW network it was really amazing to hear all about Greg's experiences. There were many little morsels of advice for writers, but one thing is for certain Greg is great at keeping in touch with people he meets, keeping those connections, treating those around him with respect, and believes that hard work will pay off -- you just have to work on a lot of different projects. We mention several of Greg's works, including Worst Birthday Ever, Don't Tell Larry and Bad Dad. Worst Birthday Ever can be seen on CWSeed.com (you must download the app,) Don't Tell Larry is being screened October 11, 2017 at the Bahia Club in Echo Park, Los Angeles, and Bad Dad is being featured at the New York Television Festival, October 26, 2017 at the Helen Mills Theatre in Chelsea, New York.

In this episode I have the chance to speak with writer, actor and ex-Tom Cruise stand-in Mike Stern. I have always been impressed and just how much and how well Mike writes. There doesn't seem to be a genre that he cannot do - film, television, comedy, horror, drama, suspense-thrillers, detective movies - and it's inspirational to hear from someone working hard to break into Hollywood. He offers some really insightful points on honing your craft, and having the drive and work ethic so when the opportunity arises you are ready. Sometimes you even have to create those opportunities through unpaid internships at a production company, or paying a pretty-penny to go a "pitch-fest." I always enjoy spending time with Mike and hearing about all the hard work he is putting into his writing and career, the advice he got from Christopher McQuarrie, and it is always great to hear the occasional Tom Cruise story.

We had the awesome opportunity to talk to writer's assistant Taylor Friedman, who gave us a really insightful view of the Fuller House writer's room, the nitty-gritty work and attention to detail aspects of an assistant, and some really great thoughts on navigating the writer's room and getting noticed for bigger opportunities with the staff. Fuller House writers have a really tough job creating something new in Fuller House, while still paying homage or respect to the original Full House. It has to offer up heaps of nostalgia on fans from the late 80's and early 90's, while still developing a new fan base with different tastes and references. No easy feat. It's really exciting to see that Jeff Franklin is at the helm with practically everyone from the original show including Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, Lori Loughlin, Jodie Sweetin, Candice Cameron Bure, Andrea Barber and John Stamos, who executive produces. We are really excited to hear more about a show that has helped start the trend of bringing back old hits from the 80's and 90's and resurrecting them for newer audiences. This episode gave me the opportunity to catch up with a friend, and it was exciting to hear all about her career. Fuller House Season 3 premieres on September 22, 2017 on Netflix.

In this episode we interview two writers from the political satire show The Jim Jefferies Show. Two stand up comedians, Curtis Cook and Subhah Agarwal, sound appreciative to work with the great comedian Jim Jefferies. Having the opportunity to watch an incredibly talented comedian Jim Jefferies churn out these amazing rants, jokes and take on US politics and world issues is a real eye-opener for Cook and Agarwal. This fun episode is filled with some really helpful advice on sometimes doing the things you don't know will have a payoff, but with hard work and determination (also sheer grit, luck and a good manager) you can get some really awesome opportunities. What helps is that you do the work. Both Curtis and Subhah are talented and funny comedians, and it sounds like the Jim Jefferies Show is a fun place to be - even if it might be depressing to learn just how bad US socio-political situation is getting, and just how weird our world can be.

In our second interview we had the chance to sit down with comedian and writer Dan St. Germain. He opened up about his beginnings in stand up comedy, offering some really great advice for new comedians, as well as what it is like writing for the CBS comedy Superior Donuts. It was a really insightful chat with a very funny and talented writer. Superior Donuts starring Jermaine Fowler, Judd Hirsch, Katy Segal, Maz Jobrani and Dave Koechner has been renewed for a second season and premiers on CBS Monday, October 30 at 9:30pm.  Dan St. Germain mentioned his colleague Dan O'Shannon's book and you can get What Are You Laughing At? by clicking here. 

We introduce this side project Script V. Screen: Writers' Room where we sit down with various writers in the industry to give us a little insight into what it's like being in the room, the process taken to get that beloved television show on air. For each writer has their own experience, and each room is run in its own unique way depending on the showrunners, stars and network executives involved. For our pilot episode of SVS: Writers' Room we are honored to be interviewing Dominic Dierkes. You might know Dominic from his sketch group Derrick Comedy with Donald Glover and D.C. Pierson. He has been a staff writer for shows such as Allen Gregory (created by Jonah Hill, Andrew Mogel, Jarrad Paul), Workaholics (created by Blake Anderson, Adam Devine, Anders Holm), The Grinder (created by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul), and Making History (Julius Sharpe).  He is currently a staff writer on The Mick working with writers/creators David and John Chernin, former staff writers on Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

We celebrate our 50th episode by reviewing this past season's shows, giving our thoughts on some of the shows we covered, what we have learned from reviewing all these pilot episodes and what we are looking forward to in the 2017 TV season. It was an exciting time here at Script vs Screen, we hope you have enjoyed the past 49 episodes covering so many different genres and networks. We covered a lot of different shows from incredible hits like 30 Rock, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Frasier to never seen shows like Warrior and Coach. We took a look at new shows like Sneaky Pete, which a year later is now enjoying a strong audience, and Preacher, both of which are looking forward to a second season. There are a lot of exciting things happening in the coming year for television and the movie industry. Networks like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are still busy producing new content, while more established networks continue to experiment with newer shows on traditional channels like television along with online content distribution such as CBS' All Access platform. This means good things for those that love TV - more choices, more shows, more stories - as well as those that write and act for the shows - more opportunities to create and perform. Here is to a great year ahead!

In our last episode of season 4 we take a look at the beloved, highly awarded comedy Frasier. With an incredible cast that included Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin, Frasier was on the air for an outstanding 11 seasons. This made Kelsey Grammer's Dr. Frasier Crane, one of the longest played characters on television on three shows. This show, created by David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee, is one of television's greatest spin-off series. The pilot episode is well written, and brilliantly performed. There is such great chemistry between Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce you'd have a hard time not believe they were not actual brothers. This first episode does an excellent job of establishing the entire premise of the show, bringing the beloved Frasier into the spotlight. Voted 35 of the Top 50 shows on television, Frasier is a top-notch comedy worth seeing. Netflix has all eleven seasons now streaming, and perhaps it is time for fans to revisit a classic, and for new viewers to enjoy an all-around solid show. Like an excellent wine, Frasier has aged well and needs to be appreciated for the great television it is.

Veteran screenwriter Leslie Bohem tackles the seedy underworld of Los Angeles psychics in this Hulu Original series. Shut Eye follows Charlie and Linda Haverford as they attempt to rise up from their underling position in the Romani world in which they inhabit. This drama is an interesting peek behind the curtain into a world often passed by, and until now overlooked. What goes on in these psychic parlors? Who really owns them? What mysteries lay behind the neon signs? Strong performances from Jeffrey Donovan as Charlie, and KaDee Strickland as his tough and ambitious co-conspirator/wife Linda. Australian actor Angus Sampson plays Fonso, the "leader" of the Romani family.  He sees to be channeling an over-the-top Tony Soprano with a gruff Batman voice and seems cartoonish in many scenes. His work (alongside Jeffrey Donovan) in Fargo Season 2 is worth noting as incredible, so anything he does in Shut Eye is forgivable. And if you did not think the cast could get any better it has David Zayas (Dexter), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) and Isabella Rossallini as Rita Marks (the true head of the Romani empire.) Shut Eye is a pinch of shows you know, a touch of a world you don't, mixed in with a really great cast. If the cards are right for this Hulu series, we see good things for this show in its future.

We are rebroadcasting Script Vs Screen's Season 3 Episode 5 Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  Jason and Alex have had a great time this year with season 4 and looking forward to 2017. We are very excited to bring you new episodes, hoping to bring some requested shows into the Script Vs Screen family. Until then, merry christmas, happy hanukkah, and have a safe and happy new year everyone!

Based on the novel by Kem Nunn "Chance" follows neuropsychiatrist Dr. Eldon Chance through a noir-ish drama involving an abused patient and her monstrous husband. While the acting is fairly decent in the pilot episode, having an incredible cast in Hugh Laurie as the titular character, Gretchen Mol as the dame in distress, and Ethan Suplee as the engaging but odd side kick D, the material falls a bit flat in the pilot. The script is richer with more characters, both annoying and odd, including a usually silent garage attendant and artist Jean-Baptiste and Chance's workplace partner Dr. Haig. The screen pares down the unnecessary for the pilot, mainly focusing on Chance, his strange friendship with D, his patient and obvious love interest Jacklyn Blackstone, and Chance's family - his ex-wife and daughter. Chance is trying hard to be Amazon's Bosch with AMC's Breaking Bad. Hugh Laurie is a remarkable actor who brought his past character House to life with so much angst, edge and sorrow it would seem unlikely that could be repeated. We are willing to give Chance a chance (sorry we had to), but without much needed humor, and too much bizarre drama this does not seem like a show worth investing in.

We returned to the CW in this episode because we felt we did not truly understand certain CW shows. In this episode we looked into the pilot episode of Frequency, a time travel-esque show based on the movie Frequency (2000) starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel. The premise of the show follows female detective Raimy Sullivan (Peyton List) discovering her father's HAM radio in 2016 can contact her father 20 years into the past. While we enjoyed this pilot episode, just after we reviewed it for this podcast Deadline released that both No Tomorrow and Frequency will not be getting more episodes ordered. Both shows will have season one on Netflix and the CW has not made any decisions just yet on whether or not it will cancel the shows. Frequency is worth checking out if you like movies that play with time, and we all have this fascination with what we could do with that kind of super-power. It would be really cool to see how Raimy helps her father, Frank (Riley Smith) solve crime with a 20 year gap between them.

The CW's No Tomorrow is a show about a 30-something attractive, risk-adverse, single woman who falls hard for a very handsome free spirit who happens to believe the world is going to end in less than a year. Together they embark on living life to the fullest, and knocking things off their Bucket List, or as Josh's Xavier has it, his "Apoca-list." Starring Tori Anderson as Evey Covington, a product or productivity manager at a big-box cyber retailer very similar to Amazon, and Joshua Sasse (pronounced Sass or Sassy - we don't know) a former science magazine copy editor turned unemployed, live-everyday-like-it-is-your-last free spirit. These two are the reason to watch the show. Their charisma and charm is off the charts, and casting knocked it out of the park with two really attractive, endearing actors in Sasse and Anderson. Their chemistry is unbelievable, and you want to root for these two lovebirds. The pilot episode covers a lot of ground, and we do mean a lot. Aside from establishing the obvious - the main character, the wacky coworkers, the terrible boss, the love interest, the ex-boyfriend, the intrusive, but loving family, and a life threatening heart condition (what?!) you may ask yourself how one sitcom manages so much. There's the catch: The CW has this as a 1 hour drama. After all, what's so funny about the end of the world?

Fox's Lethal Weapon is a surprise hit for television. Many anticipated and reviewed that the show would and is a disappointment, however, it seems to be clocking in some impressive numbers right out of the gate with about 10 million viewers each episode. The show, starring Damon Wayans and Clayne Crawford, brings to the small screen the action comedy cop duo of Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs.  With Fox pouring a good dose of money into the production, and getting movie director McG to helm the first couple episodes the show offers a fast paced popcorn blockbuster cop show all from the comforts of your couch. It's familiar, but different - like Star Wars the Force Awakens. One thing is for certain, with the recognizable star power of Damon Wayans, and the incredible and emotional acting from Clayne Crawford, as well as including Fast and Furious' Jordana Brewster, this show has a lot going for it. If Lethal Weapon's three movies are any indication, this television show is in for a long run.

Speechless on ABC breaks new ground as a show with one of its main characters being disabled and the format being a 30-minute comedy. That's right a comedy. And it is tasteful and touching, centering on a family trying to adjust to a big move to a new community who in turn is trying to do their politically correct best at welcoming them with open arms. Families with disabled children have reacted positively to Speechless, as have the reviewers for the show, given them the levity they have craved. Speechless' main character JJ who has cerebral palsy and is restricted to a motorized wheelchair brings a character to life that has rarely been seen on television. Speechless' creator Scott Silveri channels his own life story of growing up with a sibling with disabilities to bring a realism and humor to the show. It stars Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie, and Cedric Yarbrough. Rate us on iTunes, GooglePlay, and or where else you listen to your podcasts and don't forget to share this podcast with your friends!

We return from the summer with a new batch of autumn pilots. Our first show is the explosive political thriller Designated Survivor, starring Kal Penn, Natascha McElhone, Maggie Q, LaMonica Garrett, and Kiefer Sutherland. It is hard to not look at Kiefer Sutherland as anything but Jack Bauer from 24, and this show is a mashup of 24 meets Homeland meets House of Cards. So much so you can hear the little familiar House of Card trills and horns in the Designated Survivor theme. The script and show have a great premise to work with, and definitely deliver an action packed hour of television. The show does an excellent job establishing the characters, the world, and what is at stake - which for a show centered on the annihilation of the United States government - is a heck of a lot.  Designated Survivor starts off really strong with an incredible premise and it will be interesting to see where it can go.  Check out Designated Survivor Wednesday's at 10pm on ABC. ** Rate and review us on iTunes, or tweet or email us.**  Sponsors We want to thank our sponsors DookieTV for their support of our podcast. Sign up today for all the best of the very worst on DookieTV. A new steaming pile streaming service that has your favorite shows you hate, and the ones you want to hate-watch.

This minisode was a product of us getting really carried away in our discussion after Warrior. We wanted to share this, because we have learned that you can always take away something from every script you read. And what works and what doesn't work can only help with your own personal writing. Becoming a screenwriter in Hollywood can seem pretty elusive, but it is important to craft your own path, write the things you know and care about, and do not let minor set backs define you. Plus, it gives us another reason to sample the Stranger Things theme.  Enjoy. 

We were fortunate enough to get a script and first look at a pilot episode of Warrior - a mysterious martial arts crime drama that was potentially going to find a home on NBC. The script is really well written, with big ideas and great descriptions of the action and story. This show really illustrates that even with a great script, a strong cast, a skilled director and backed by a great production company, the final project could still miss the mark with editing, and not having the budget for better special effects, or more characters to give it a more fuller feel. It is as though it has all the right ingredients, but was not left in the oven long enough to rise.

This week we look into Animal Kingdom, the action drama series on TNT. Inspired by the Australian movie with the same name, the premise revolves around a young boy "J" taken in by his extended family. The young boy's (Finn Cole) grandmother is the matriarch of a crime family, where two of her boys and an "adopted" third (Scott Speedman) pull off heists to fund their somewhat lavish lifestyle. Somewhat because they live in a modest home in Ditmer, California. Conflict arises when Smurf's eldest son returns from prison looking to rejoin the gang. Animal Kingdom is like the Sopranos meets Point Break, meets the Sons of Anarchy, meets the Trailer Park Boys. We would recommend the original Australian movie, if you enjoy an interesting, thoughtful drama on the meaning of family. The show is still something to question. If you enjoy bad people doing bad things, then this is right up your alley. Shirtless men, drug use, stealing cars, shoot outs, the California sun, excessive drinking and sex, and wrestling in a pool -- Animal Kingdom is very much an Americanized version of the simple story around an Australian young boy trying to belong.

We have returned from our hiatus to start season 4 with an incredible show with AMC's Preacher. This comic book adaptation has been in the works since the mid-1990's. Fans of the story and comics Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg finally bring this to the screen and the adaptation is different from the source material giving it a fresh essence that has Garth Ennis' blessing. The show is a campy, fun and close adaptation of the comic book. There are a few moments of action, which makes the show seem slow, and at times it was hard to have empathy for Jesse Custer - many of his sermons delivered seemed dry and without any sort of conviction or zeal. It was hard to believe Dominic Cooper in those moments. Visually, the show is doing a great job with sweeping establishing shots showing off the sadness and desperation of Annville. As directors both Rogan and Goldberg do a great job in telling a very complex story in a packed 60 minute show. The writer Sam Caitlin did an amazing job and it is worth reading to see how a great script is written. This is definitely something you should give your attention to past the first episode. If the F'ed up, wild, bizarre and twisted story that is Preacher comes to light in the rest of the episodes the audience is in for a special treat. And AMC is the right network for that to happen.

In our final episode of season 3 we take a look at the show of 2016 People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. This dramatic look at the crime of the century, is well cast, well acted (for the most part), and most importantly recaptures the fascination the country had in the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman by OJ Simpson. Ryan Murphy, FX and the writers behind American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson really outdid themselves with this series, capturing the frenzy sensationalism that this case represented. In ten episodes race, politics, sexism, crime, the justice system and celebrity are all discussed deftly, making this series one of the best in 2016.  The pilot kicks the series off with enough gore, camp, and information on the case to hook you in. If you have not already checked out FX's People v. OJ Simpson, find out now what the entire nation had experienced back in 1995.

Andrew W. Marlowe created something really wonderful with his show Castle. While the police procedural pairing up a unique character with special talents, with a by the book, no-nonsense cop is something TV viewers are accustomed to, both Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic brought something very special to Rick Castle and Kate Beckett. The strong acting, fun writing, and great storylines turned this police mystery show into an eight season fan favorite.

Instead of taking the week off, we bring you this bonus recap minisode. While Alex was away on his honeymoon, Jason takes the microphone and recaps the season 3 episodes, adding some hilarious updates on the shows.  Jason has some great insight on the shows and shares his opinions on shows he wants to review and even shows he never wants to do like Fuller House. He shares some exciting news about Married With Children, incredible show stats on Always Sunny, and really strives for Script vs. Screen to get a hold of the Mr. Robot pilot episode. Jason delves into more in depth reasons on why people hate Zach Braff from Scrubs...and finally he touches on that war he keeps wanting to start, all during season 3. 

Vince Gilligan created something so incredibly good when he decided to be so bad. Breaking Bad changed the way we looked at a central character. With Gilligan's mission to take Walter White from Mr. Chips to Scarface, he made us slowly watch and attach ourselves to a very bad person. With Bryan Cranston performance as Walter White is so compelling, and intense it made for very good television. Looking back at the last 10 to 15 years, Breaking Bad will rank as one of the greatest shows on television. The pilot episode is so incredibly well written, it is almost amazing that HBO, Fox, Showtime and TNT turned it down. Perhaps it was the whole "meth" thing, we cannot be certain. Vince Gilligan has a way with words, painting a painfully mundane world of the Whites living in the Inland Empire. For the final production, the show relocated the setting to New Mexico, which benefitted the show, since California has been done before. Breaking Bad is like if the show Weeds went through a meat-grinder and then injected with meth. Remarkably, Gilligan was not aware of the similarities or the existence of Weeds (starring Mary-Louise Parker and created by Jenji Kohan) and he noted that if he had, he might not have written the pilot.  Lucky for us, he created Breaking Bad.

From all the medical television shows out there, Scrubs managed to ring true for a lot of medical professionals. Creator Bill Lawrence was able to craft a very relatable comedy that had a good dose of heart. The everyday interactions between the doctors, residents, nurses, staff and patients was something everyone, for nine seasons really enjoyed. The pilot episode does a great job establishing the characters of Dr. John "JD" Dorian (Zach Braff), Dr. Elliott Reid (Sarah Chalke), and Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison), Carla, Dr. Bob Kelso, Dr. Perry Cox, and even the Janitor. It managed all that while still  clearly maintaining the silly nature of the show and the heartfelt conclusions Scrubs managed to achieve in most if not all of its episodes.

Mad Men is a delightful look into 1960's New York life, using the crazy world of advertising as the perfect backdrop to this drama. At the center is the enigmatic and charming Don Draper, the genius ad man (or madman) at the Sterling-Cooper agency. Created by Matt Weiner, who used this script he wrote in 1999 to get a job with David Chase on the Sopranos, Mad Men is known for being authentic and real without being too over the top. The clothes, the brands, even the weather were meticulously researched and many historical events made their way into the seven seasons of this very popular show. It would almost impossible to believe anyone else in the Don Draper role aside from Jon Hamm. While a few auditioned for the role, it was fortunate for Jon Hamm as he had a streak of bad luck being cast into shows that never got picked up. In this episode we cover some of the other trivia on who auditioned for which roles, and as usual we note some of the changes from script to screen.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, starring Andy Sandberg, Andre Braugher, and Terry Crews is a brilliant and absurd comedy with heart. Created by veteran comedy writers Michael Schur, co-creator of Parks and Recreation, and Daniel J. Goor, a writer on Parks and Rec, this show is now in its third season on Fox. The writing on the show is solid, with incredible story lines that show off the absurdity in the characters, keeping things fun and funny, while never making light of the crimes they solve. Since it first debuted, Brooklyn Nine-Nine has consistently been a well written, well performed show. With guest stars Dean Winters and Craig Robinson, this comedy powerhouse brings the laughs every episode. It has made stars of all the cast, and we are excited for its continued success for many more seasons.

7:55am - Tuesday Morning. We get to review the eleven season comedy juggernaut Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This show, even after all these years, is still going strong.Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day are the insane geniuses behind this "Seinfeld on Crack" style show. Also featuring Kaitlin Olsen, and Danny DeVito. In this episode of Script vs Screen we go through some minor changes we found in the script, mostly due to allowing the actors room to breathe and improvise within the lines on the script. The four main actors have such great chemistry, it is no wonder the comedy just explodes on stage. When Danny DeVito joined the cast in the second season it was like adding more gasoline to an already roaring comedy fire.

Fox's fantasy drama Lucifer centers on the titular character's recent "vacation" to Los Angeles. The show joins the spate of dramas that involve a special character teaming up with law enforcement to help solve crimes. Think Castle, Minority Report, Sherlock Holmes, Limitless, Bones, Forever, Elementary, and Sleepy Hollow. The police procedural is a comfortable format on television today, and Lucifer (Tom Ellis) offers the potential to be one of the most interesting of these quirky characters to team up with LAPD, and help detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German). Please let your friends know about Script vs Screen. We would love your support by rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thank you! 

As it is the case with our third episode we take a look back at a retro show, and we are delighted to take a look at the Fox Network juggernaut show Married with Children. It helped make stars out of Ed O'Neil, Katey Sagal, and Christina Applegate. Looking back it is almost hard to believe a show about a dysfunctional white trash family became so popular. But with such a strong cast, and a really lowest common denominator type of humor - jokes that included light misogyny, fat-shaming, and slutty blond references.  Incredibly, it all worked into a fun, highly popular show.

Angel from Hell is a high concept comedy starring Jane Lynch as the titular character. Jane Lynch stars as Amy, a down on her luck Guardian Angel, who is somewhat desperate to have her earthly assignment, Allison (Maggie Lawson) accept her help and guidance. Dr. Allison Fuller is skeptical, but willing to befriend Amy, despite partially believing that her, "guardian angel" is probably just a crazy person. This sitcom has a stellar cast with incredible chemistry. Starring as Allison's brother Brad is Kyle Bornheimer, and the incredible Kevin Pollack stars as Allison's father Dr. Marv Fuller. The first episode is heavy on setting up the premise, so give this Angelic comedy a chance, the proceeding episodes are a lot of fun, and very funny. 

We start seasons 3 of Script vs Screen with Fox's Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life. A cast of relative newcomers, with the Hangover's Justin Bartha and Battle Creek's Lisa Lapira. It's a Ferris Bueller meets Parker Lewis Can't Lose with a touch of over-the-top Workaholics/Hangover like antics. All directed to a Millenial demographic all trying to survive their 20's. 

Thank you to all our fans, listeners and supports of the podcast. We take a little time to talk about some things regarding the upcoming season we are working on.    We bring up something regarding our Twitter account and Dr. Ken actor and star Ken Jeong. And talk about the upcoming season's new structure. Moving forward we hope to keep the episodes under an hour, and have about 4 sections:  A) Differences between the script and the final production. B) More talk about the Cast C) Catch-All, a section where we can bring up something about the show we wanted to elaborate on, including controversy, and Hollywood news D) Hot-Minute - a section where each host has one minute to talk about anything on their mind - sometimes about television or anything else.    We end the episode with some inside information on upcoming series that have already been picked up. Shows like Gypsy, Futureman, and Marvel.   Looking forward to an amazing third season!

We are ending Season Two of Script Vs Screen with an incredibly well written script and an amazingly produced final produce: Game of Thrones. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff took George R.R. Martin's epic novels and translated them so incredibly well, we can only say if you can get your hands on the script you will enjoy reading it. And, for casual fans, with the new season coming to HBO in April it would be worth revisiting past seasons.  

Script vs. Screen just wanted to wish you all a Happy holidays and a wonderful New Year. Alex gives a quick year in review going over some of the episodes done on SvS and talks about some of the shows he hopes to catch up on during the break. We give you a little television news on upcoming shows in 2016 and future projects in Hollywood it's just a quick message from us here at the podcast. Thanks for tuning in and we look forward to more great things in the New Year!  

NBC hit a bullseye with their new show Blindspot, the story about a woman is discovered naked in a duffel bag in Times Square with no recollection of who she is or how she got there. She is the key to uncovering the mystery as her entire body is covered in cryptic tattoos that turn out to be leads to crimes about to occur. It's like Christopher Nolan's Memento meets Minority Report, or Prison Break with a woman. It takes 7 hours each day to apply the tattoos to actor Jaimie Alexander in her role as Jane Doe. With so many tattoos it is possible for the writers to never run out of storylines and crimes to stop. But with a character that seemingly does not know who she is and why she has the tattoos to begin is it possible that Jane Doe's mystery is enough to sustain a series past Season 1? 

Coach was a long running sitcom on ABC that starred Craig T. Nelson and Jerry Van Dyke. In April of 2015 NBC went forward with a 13-episode order of a Coach reboot written by the original creator Barry Kemp. The show would follow Craig T. Nelson's TV son Tim Fox as he becomes the head coach of the fictional Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (PIST). Through some gentle persuasion the head coach decides to call upon his father Hayden Fox to join the team as the assistant head coach.   The pilot script sets up the situation fine, but lacks the comedy. This script relies heavily on Hayden Fox's over the top delivery of simple lines he was known for in the original series. For the other characters it seemed the script would have been punched up several times before being shot. The first episode was filmed in front of a live studio audience, and the end result received mixed reviews. While audiences always seem to enjoy the Hayden Fox character and Craig T. Nelson as an actor, the show it self was labeled as "dated." Lucky for Nelson he was paid for the entire 13-episodes, the other actors were only paid for the pilot. What do you think? Do you wish NBC moved forward with the new Coach series? Or are there other reboots you would rather watch?

Sneaky Pete has found new life on Amazon Prime. After CBS passed on the Bryan Cranston and David Shore story of a 30-something con artist joining a family's bail bond business it was a small miracle that the off-cable networks decided to pick it up. David Shore has an incredible track record writing for Due South, Law and Order, and creating the venerable House MD. More recently his last show Battle Creek featuring Dean Winters and Josh Duhamel failed to attract a strong audience and was canceled after one season by... you guessed it CBS.  On today's podcast we discuss some of the small changes from script to screen. We originally thought this wasn't going to be made into a pilot and were ready to discuss if CBS had made a mistake in passing on the show.  What do you think? Are you glad Sneaky Pete has a second life on Amazon?

We peel behind the epidermal layers of the CBS medical drama Code Black. Starring Marcia Gay Harden, Luis Guzman and a handful of new comers as medical residents this show aims to stay true and accurate to the nature that is LA County Hospital. As one of the busiest emergency rooms in the country they frequently find themselves understaffed and under resourced which is the crux of what a "code black" is. The characters and story in the pilot episode are well thought out, and while only a few scenes were cut and some names were changed the pilot episode and script received top marks.    In this episode we discuss some of the changes, funny and heart-wrenching moments in the script and screen and in the last few minutes of the podcast discuss the entire US health care system in under 5 minutes. (Or perhaps not.)   Code Black is an incredibly well written and well done show and while both Jason and Alex are not super-fans of medical dramas, this show has definitely made us reconsider the genre.     

We take a look back at the pilot of the powerful HBO series True Detective. The first season starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson was a delightful trip in the true crime genre, featuring stark Louisiana landscapes and a deep and dark look into the occult.   In this episode we discuss some really neat differences from the script such as the shows original location was Arkansas. More significantly near the end we delve into three main topics on True Detective  1) the role of women in season one,  2) the accusations of plagiarism by writer Nic Pizzolatto and  3) hate watching Season 2 and how it may have impacted the franchise and the actors in that series.    Alright, alright, alright... we hope you enjoy the show!

Ken Jeong is back on television. You may know Ken Jeong as the naked Asian guy from the Hangover but more so in his breakout role was as Senor Ben Chang in Dan Harmon's Community. In Community Ken Jeong played the wonderfully acerbic Spanish teacher with a harsh and in-your-face attitude towards his students. Ken Jeong's new show is loosely based on his real life in that Dr. Ken Jeong was in fact a doctor before becoming a full time comedic actor. Unlike his real-life Dr. Ken the character is an supposedly amazing doctor with a poor bed-side manner towards his patients.  Dr. Ken also has a bizarre attitude towards his children, wife and co-workers which make him very unlikeable and hard to watch.  Rounding out the cast are veterans like Tisha Campbell-Martin (Gina from Martin) as Damona, Jonathan Slavin (Phil Myman from Better of Ted) as Clark, and the incredibly talented Dave Foley (Dave Nelson from Newsradio, Kids In The Hall) as Pat.  Also part of the show are Kate Simses as Dr. Julie their clinic resident, Suzy Nakamura as Ken's wife Alison Park, and Krista Marie Yu and Albert Tsai as Ken's children Molly and Dave.    Central to the show is Dr. Ken's over-acting and somewhat narcissistic approach to dealing with everyone around him which makes it very difficult to watch. The pilot episode took a strong departure from the script removing some really X-rated jokes, only to replace them with more suitable R-rated jokes. More surprising was Dave Foley's character making openly racist "jokes" to Dr. Ken which wasn't in the script.  Reviews of the show from USA Today to Hollywood Reporter have not been great and as the season progresses the writers are attempting to make Dr. Ken more likable and even retooled Foley's character away from the overt racist sense of humor.     In this episode we try really hard to find some moments in the show that worked and that were funny, and we manage to find a few. Dr. Ken has the potential to make for a great show but the prognosis based on the pilot is a sitcom barely breathing and hardly worth saving.     

It's been said that Steven Spielberg had turned down every opportunity to make Minority Report into a television show until it was pitched to him as "what happened to the three pre-cogs after Pre-Crime was shut down?" Suffice it to say with a wonderful movie as their source material the show managed to waste anything that was good about the film and have it fall into a regular sci-fi police procedural.  It's your buddy cop film like Medium meets Turner and Hooch.    An early leaked version of the show did not seem to worry the network since they said they were still adding more tweaks to the show, but ultimately both versions of the show were very different from its pilot script.  The leaked version managed to stay a bit truer to the script, where as the final version took out much of the mystery written.     In the end Minority Report suffered from poor casting with zero chemistry, and a really lame first crime to solve. Minority Report had its initial thirteen episode order cut down to ten, and will not be renewed for a second season making it one of this season's first television casualty.    Starring Meagan Goode, Sands Stark and Wilmer Valderrama the future of this show is clearly over. 

Script vs Screen takes a look back at another older show - a retro callback - that has already had an extremely well run on tv - the Amy Poehler vehicle Parks and Rec. Originally supposedly called Public Employees the show did not want to make fun of government employees and so the name changed to Parks and Rec in the fictitious town of Pawnee, Indiana.    Several text to production changes aside the cast was a power house of incredible talent. Aziz Ansari and Rashida Jones were already cast before their roles were assigned and the true gem found in Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson.    Take a listen to learn some more interesting aspects that transformed the script to the screen. It's phenomenal! 

Quantico on ABC is a unique sort of whodunnit that combines elements of The Fugitive, and 90210, with a dash of Back to the Future (we explain it in the episode). The story revolves around  Alex Parrish, played by former Miss India Priyanka Chopra, as the FBI's most talented recruit and number one suspect. Ms. Parrish is found at the epicenter of an explosive terrorist event without any clues as to how she got there. The pilot episode flashes forward and back giving you glimpses into the FBI's Quantico training program where someone, perhaps one of their recruits, is likely the person responsible for blowing up Grand Central Station.  In this episode we talk about how well the pilot script is written and the intensity of it on screen.  The hosts Jason and Alex chat about strong female characters, some of the missing lines from the script and why this show as exciting as it is, might just be the FBI's version of a high school drama.     

Blood and Oil is a new drama on ABC centering around the Boom Town going on in North Dakota's Bakken Oil fields. Originally called Boom! The story follows Billy and Cody as they move from Florida to Rock Springs, North Dakota to make it big as the owners and proprietors of laundromats. Things do not go their way almost immediately but Billy manages to work his way into the world of oil speculation and wildcatting.  Check out the first episode of our second season where Jason and Alex discuss some of the fun differences found in the script to the screen.     

A surprisingly hilarious show marking the return to television of two incredibly strong actors - Rob Lowe and Fred Savage. In the Grinder Rob Lowe plays Dean Sanderson, a super-star actor who just finished a long stint as a super-lawyer known as "the Grinder." Rob Lowe's comedy chops go all the way to Wayne's World and in Tommy Boy, with this intentional straight-man character with impeccable comedic timing. But for the most part he has played dramatic roles that included the West Wing, Brothers and Sisters, and Dr. Vegas. More recently Lowe played state auditor Chris Traeger for five seasons on the very funny and much loved Parks and Rec. Together Lowe and Savage are a comedic dynamic duo. With William Devane as their affable lawyer father, Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Stewart's wife, and Hana Hayes and Connor Kalopsis as Stewart's children rounding out the immediate family and cast. And the casting is superb - Mary Ellis and Kevin Arnold... I mean Fred Savage have a genuine relationship that is funny and enjoyable to watch on screen. The final product takes the script and pumps it up on comedy steroids. The rewrites and changes clean any sort of odd choices right up. Lizzie, the daughter (originally called Rebecca), was described in the script as chubby and slutty and making out with six guys, changes to a lovely and funny Lizzie who has a boyfriend in the one football player. The case they are working on - the eviction of the Ramirez family is more real. Dean for one doesn't commit a crime (thank god! It seems a bit too ridiculous) but instead "finds the evidence in the garbage" which from watching any cop procedural is fair game. If you pay close attention, the show is executive produced by Nicholas Stoller (The Carmichael Show, The Muppets) a strong comedy writer with a good sense of both written and physical humor. It could be that the Mogel/Paul script received some solid notes to help bring the script to the next level. In closing, our dear esteemed jury, is that The Grinder is this season's hottest new comedy. Rob Lowe and Fred Savage together make two very funny reasons to watch the show, and the evidence of that is set in the pilot.

The Bastard Executioner is FX's answer to the popular medieval/fantasypowerhouse Game of Thrones. Kurt Sutter returns to television after a success run with Sons of Anarchy with this 14th Century tale of the turbulent times in Wales at the hands of the land owner Barons and King Edward II. 

Fresh Off The Boat is a fairly popular single-cam sitcom, loosely based on the memoir of Eddie Huang.  If you’re not familiar with Eddie, he’s an American chef and restaurateur.  The book “Fresh Off The Boat: A Memoir” and the show both follow Eddie’s family as they live their lives in Orlando, Florida in 1994 1995. (One of the changes from script to screen.) Fresh Off The Boat is entering its second season on ABC.  The first season received overwhelmingly positive reviews, as seen here on Rotten Tomatoes, and if the pilot is any indication, it deserves the high praise. In the script, most of the action follows young Eddie (Hudson Yang) as he tries to adjust to life in Orlando.  The pilot episode, however, more evenly distributes the screen time between Eddie, his mother Jessica (Constance Wu) and his father Louis (Randall Park).  And even though the entire pilot is filled with well-written, well-delivered jokes, Jessica steals the show by being such a believable fish out of water.  Even so, there are still great comedic performances by the oblivious restaurant host Mitch (Paul Scheer) and the so-over-it waitress Nancy (Jillian Armenante).

AMC's Fear the Walking Dead is a prequel spinoff to the popular Walking Dead series. In this episode we pick apart the script and final product like a decaying body. While the essence of the script is in the final show, names have changed, a couple of scene locations change, references get dropped, while others change completely and the over all tone seems a little bit lighter and less scary. It is a challenge for a show like this because the audience already knows what happening. The pacing picks up in the second episode as more and more people come to realize something seriously messed up is going on. But no one is able to call it out. One thing is clear though, in a world like ours the Los Angeles of Fear The Walking Dead is devoid of any sort of zombie pop-culture. This is particularly fun episode as Jason and Alex wonder what they would be like in the zombie apocalypse. (Here's a hint: Alex believes he'd be zombie chum)

The best comparison for The Carmichael Show is the Norman Lear era type shows like All In The Family, Sanford & Son, Good Times and Maude all of which tackled larger than life issues like race, equality, abortion, sexuality, etc. etc. Something that has been missing from television as of late (or usually relegated to the slight undertones in dramas) The Carmichael Show wants to talk about these issues openly in the sitcom format. In this episode we take a look at the original script and the final product and you'll be surprised by some of the changes - one of the biggest was the addition of Tiffany Haddish as Lil'Rey's (Bobby's) ex-wife. We are grateful for this podcast because without it we don't think we would have even considered watching The Carmichael Show, but after you take a listen we definitely think you should. Current episodes are streaming on NBC.com so catch them while you can.