John welcomes writer and showrunner Courtney Kemp (Power, Nemesis) to ask, how do you find an audience and build momentum on television? They look at how writers can match their voice to an underserved audience, the pitfalls of being boxed in by a niche, and what new writers can do to get people excited about their work.

We also chart how Courtney built her career from magazine writer to creating the television franchise Power, look at the exciting success of Obsession and Backrooms, and answer listener questions on talking to your reps about financial struggles, and how to find your project's "why now?"

In our bonus segment for premium members, Courtney shot her new show Nemesis entirely in Los Angeles, and you can too!

Links:

• Courtney Kemp on Instagram and Wikipedia
• Nemesis on Netflix
• 'Obsession' Makes History With Biggest Second-Weekend Spike in Modern Times by Pamela McClintock and Lexi Carson for The Hollywood Reporter
• The 'Pitt' Effect: A Scramble to Get Shows Back on Air Faster by Lesley Goldberg for Ankler Media
• Ryan Walker hotel reviews
• Star City
• Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
• Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
• Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
• John August on Bluesky and Instagram
• Outro by Eric Pearson (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Phil Hay (Destroyer, The Invitation) to ask, how do you get a movie made with independent financing? They look at how indie movies get made, where you get the money, deciding when to go indie, and whether streamers complicate the picture.

We also follow up on testing movies with focus groups and answer listener questions on how to navigate the editing room, daily routines, and what to do when your story has too many themes.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we look back on what Phil learned about D&D from his documentary The Dungeon Masters.

Links:

• Phil Hay
• Scriptnotes Episode 244, Episode 377, and Episode 505
• The Dungeon Masters
• The Answering Machine Meltdown from Swingers
• John's daily to-do template
• Pamela Ribon's One Act documentary
• Petey USA's The Yips
• KOXY College Radio
• Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
• Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
• Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
• John August on Bluesky and Instagram
• Outro by Craig Good (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) to explore the timely questions about art and human labor posed by her long-awaited sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2. We'll warn you now: Spoilers ahead!

We also look at what AI knitting podcasts can tell us about the future of industrially-produced slop, and answer a listener question on how to approach the engine of a TV show.

In our bonus segment for premium members, what would a hypothetical Scriptnotes Screenplay Club look like? Aline weighs in to make sure the design is impeccable.

That's all.

Links:

• The Devil Wears Prada 2
• Aline Brosh McKenna on Instagram and IMDb
• The Sheep Detectives
• Knitting Bullshit by Kate Davies
• Inception Point AI
• How many E's are in Seventeen? on YouTube
• Inserting yourself into Game of Thrones on Instagram
• One Move God Mode vertical by NetShort
• New York Times Issues Stern Warning to Its Freelance Writers About AI Use by Maggie Harrison Dupré for Futurism
• Jared Freid on TikTok
• The Feed Is Fake by Lane Brown for New York Magazine
• Indigo Girls
• Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
• Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
• Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
• John August on Bluesky and Instagram
• Outro by Eric Pearson (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.