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[00:00:00] John: Sarah. It's, uh, yeah. So nice to see you and
[00:00:02] Sarah: I was, once I started listening, I was like, I want to be on that podcast. So,
[00:00:08] Stacy: That is the perfect segue in today's, uh, episode theme, The Power of
Enthusiasm. That's
[00:00:13] John: Yep.
[00:00:14] Stacy: the power of your enthusiasm, put you here.
[00:00:16] John: Yeah. So, Stacy, you wanna take it away?
[00:00:20] Stacy: Yeah, yeah, this one's real high. A 5, boop a doop Damn it, hold on, wait. A 5,
a 6, a 5, 6, 7, 8, boop a doop a doop boop boop! The show runner! Doop a doop a doop a doop
boop! The show! Doop a doop a doop a doop boop! The show runner show! The show runner
show!
[00:00:36] John: All right. A nice simple one.
[00:00:40] Stacy: it was better, it was better in the recording, wasn't it John?
[00:00:43] John: Oh, it was great. This was great, too.
[00:00:45] Drew: The live version was great too.
[00:00:47]
[00:00:51] Drew: Well, welcome to the show on a show where every week we demystify some
aspect of the job of show running for anyone who works in TV. Who wants to work in TV or just
wants to know how it's all made. I'm Drew Doudle.
[00:01:01] John: I'm John Eric Dowdle. Woo!
[00:01:02] Stacy: And I'm Stacy Shabosky, and we are so glad that you're here, and we are so
glad to welcome Sarah Mason.
[00:01:08] Drew: Yay.
[00:01:09] Sarah: ah, thank you.
[00:01:11] John: So, yeah, this week's topic, we're talking about the power of enthusiasm. And
Sarah is maybe the best example. Like, We, when Drew and I got to show run, like by
ourselves, our first like thing we're doing just by ourselves, Sarah, we had a mini room and
Sarah was the writer's assistant in that mini room. And she was kind of the only one who really
knew what, what was going on.
[00:01:36] Like, she was like, I think it's time, uh, for you to start putting cards on the board.
Maybe, you know, like, and Sarah was sort of like, Sarah was the most experienced person in
the room and.
[00:01:48] Stacy: Ha

[00:01:48] John: it's like when, you know, we asked people to read a book, Sarah would read
too. And she was always there, like, Early, like, ready to go.
[00:01:58] Um, and that just made such a difference that, you know, when we got a, so we had a
mini room while the network tested to see if they wanted to like actually buy the show. And then
when we got the main room, that was our one request, was that Sarah, uh, become a staff writer
and not an assistant. And, and from there she's, you know, risen up, uh, you know, onset
supervising and, and all sorts of great stuff.
[00:02:23] And yeah, she's just a, just a crusher.
[00:02:25] Sarah: Oh, thank you. I mean, I, I have to say part of it is like, I have a lot of
enthusiasm. This is about, I really do, but it, it's helpful when the people you're working for
appreciate that, you know, like. Thank you. noticing the, it just, it makes my enthusiasm even
higher, you know, that like you're, you see what I'm doing and you're like, yeah, keep doing that.
[00:02:45] And I'm like, all right, you want me to keep doing it? Like, I'm going to, I'm going to
bring it then. And you guys are really good at facilitating and like encouraging people to be a
part of the process. And it's awesome.
[00:02:56] Drew: Yeah. I felt like you, Sarah, I think you were so good at reading, reading the
room, you know, on a daily basis to have, like, when was the right time to kind of speak up?
When was the time to kind of, you know, tell us like, Hey guys, I think we're a little bit behind on,
you know, breaking an episode. Maybe, you know, maybe we could, uh, like John said, get
some, some cards on the board and just, I don't know.
[00:03:13] There's a, it's such a skill. I think when you're coming up to have just not, you know,
every day, all the time being, you know, the first one to speak, you know, but kind of really
gauging the temperature of the room. And when, when the, the times to do that is, and I think
you're really, really super skilled at that.
[00:03:28] Sarah: Oh, thank
[00:03:28] Stacy: you about that. I was wondering if, um, because you were so much more
experienced than we were for that mini room, Um, did you know, like, like, I've realized now,
sometimes writers assistants are almost invisible, they're very quiet, they're very, you know, or
sometimes they're very like proactive and take a leadership role.
[00:03:44] Did you, how quick was it or did you find it out from your reps of like, oh they don't
have that much experience, this is my chance to like, you would literally stand up
[00:03:53] Drew: don't know what they're doing.
[00:03:54] Stacy: they don't realize that different people could be in charge of these cards. Ha,
ha, ha. You know, I'm like, you know, there were so many ways in which you would take on a
leadership role in a really active role.
[00:04:06] did you sense that early where you're like, Oh, now's my chance. Or is that
[00:04:09] Sarah: Well, I got, I got the job from a friend who, my, my friend had worked for John
and Drew on Waco as the writer's assistant. And that's the, the funny thing about a writer's
assistant, you can often get your friend's jobs, like, it's a little different as a writer, but as a
writer's assistant, you really have an opportunity to be like, I have somebody who's amazing.
[00:04:25] And, you know, talking to my friend about working with John and Drew, I had, like, I
had a good idea coming in that, like, my ideas would be welcomed and that it would be a room
where I could not only, like, do a great job as a writer's assistant, But there might be

opportunities to stretch a little bit. And, you know, I did see that and I, I was like, Oh, this is
great, because I, you know, I immediately liked the material, I loved the pilot script.
[00:04:49] You guys were all really fun. And I was like, Oh, this is just good. For me, it was just
like playing. It was just so much fun. I, I didn't like, necessarily think like, Okay, well, they don't
have a ton of experience. It was more just like, Oh, I'm in a room with people who love what
they're doing. And, it, it's not even like a thought.
[00:05:05] It's just sort of like... It's just who I am, I'm just going to start doing the cards, I'm just
going to start doing the thing, and no one told me no, so I
[00:05:12] Stacy: Yeah. That's true. Ha,
[00:05:18] Drew: I would just like, you know, for a second to just take a, take a step back and
explain maybe what a miniroom is. And I think, uh, you know, for writers and everything, the
advent of the miniroom has not been necessarily a good thing. what it is, is when a studio or
network wants to, you know, uh, They want to pick up three out three scripts, basically, you
know, or a fraction of the season and kind of see where it goes and then they'll make the
decision later whether they want to greenlight the whole season.
[00:05:43] And so, you know, for writers, it kind of screws up your schedule because you're, you
know, employed for 12 weeks and then you have a month or two down while they decide if they
want to continue it. But I will say from a writer's assistant, it's a really, uh, Unique opportunity for
a writer's assistant to join a miniroom.
[00:05:59] And because the, the opportunity to go from writer's assistant to staff writer happens
very quickly. You're not, you know, an assistant for a whole year and 10 episodes. And then
maybe the next season you might be, you know, you're, you're a writer's assistant for three
episodes and you might have an opportunity to jump up.
[00:06:14] So, um, in some ways coming, you know, for, from where you came from in our
miniroom, Sarah, it was kind of the ideal scenario where you, you could move to staff writer so
quickly. Um,
[00:06:25] Sarah: That is so true, Drew. I mean, I know for me, I was so lucky, I mean, I, I've
been a writer since this night, I've been a writer since a long, long time, and I've had some
opportunities to get staffed in the, in minirooms, and those shows didn't end up going, which is
such a bummer, and, you know, it's, it is a risk taking a job like that, where you don't know, for all
the writers, you know, with the miniroom, you don't know if it's going to get greenlit.
[00:06:46] but there is often, I mean, you guys are great at promoting. Not, not everybody's
great at promoting and that is such a credit to your leadership style. And I think it brings a lot out
in people. If you know you have an opportunity to grow, like, you're gonna, you know, bring that
much more to the table.
[00:07:03] John: Is anyone else hearing pan flute, or is that in my head?
[00:07:06] Stacy: Yeah,
[00:07:06] Sarah: I'll, laughs
[00:07:08] Stacy: or Nelly.
[00:07:09] Drew: I can tell, Nelly's not here.
[00:07:12] Sarah: laughs

[00:07:14] Drew: It did sound like
[00:07:15] Sarah: That's my sad dog. That's my really sad
[00:07:17] Stacy: Was that Atticus?
[00:07:19] Drew: What was that Sarah?
[00:07:20] Sarah: I have Atticus in a cage downstairs. You guys don't mind, right?
[00:07:25] Stacy: Wow.
[00:07:26] Sarah: No, it's my, it's my dog. She's, uh, just mad
[00:07:29] John: your dog?
[00:07:30] Sarah: So
[00:07:31] Drew: Yeah, that sounds like my dog, yeah. Totally.
[00:07:34] Stacy: hmm.
[00:07:35] John: That's funny too. And Sarah, you had just in our, in our mini room, you like
Atticus was like nine months old or six months old. He was young.
[00:07:43] Drew: Sex, yeah,
[00:07:44] John: months old. Like that's amazing. Like that's, you know. Because of you, now
Drew and I are like, Oh, like new moms, new moms are killers.
[00:07:53] Cause they're like, I, I don't have time to like, think about writing. Like I'm going to sit
down, I'm going to write it. I'm going to get it done. I'm going to hand it in. Like, you know what I
mean? There's, there's no time for. There's no time for resistance, you know what I mean? Like
you just have to like do the thing and and uh, I don't know that that kind of
[00:08:13] Drew: It's counter, somewhat counterintuitive, but yeah, that's our hiring criteria now
is, uh, new moms. How recently have you had a baby? That's, uh, that's the first question we
ask.
[00:08:20] Sarah: you're, like, working is so much easier after dealing with a kid, I mean, that's
how I felt about everything, like, having a kid, there are things about it that are just so hard, and
the stakes are so high with your kid, and you go into a show, and you're like, this is fun, this is
just fun.
[00:08:35] Drew: yeah,
[00:08:36] John: it really does
[00:08:36] Stacy: clean. It's so tidy and people give you food. Oh,
[00:08:42] John: I know. There was like a 10 year gap in there where I was like, oh, thank God
it's Monday, you know, like, like no one's gonna throw feces on me, you know, hopefully,
hopefully.
[00:08:57] Stacy: have a couple of questions for you, Sarah, and you can, you can pick up
either one you want one is if somebody is hoping to make the jump from writer's assistant up,
how do you, how do you balance those two? Cause I'm sure even if you have great ideas and

enthusiasm and all that, if the writer's assistant side of it suffers.
[00:09:16] I'm sure that wouldn't work, you know what I mean? So you gotta make sure that
that's firing really well. And, and then, you know, I'll save my other question for later. That's,
that's my first question is, how did you balance out, like, be so good at the writer's assistant stuff
that, that becomes a no brainer and then people are totally open to you doing all the other stuff?
[00:09:32] Sarah: Well, I, you know, there are a few answers that one, I had a lot of experience
coming in. So I would say if you're a brand new writer's assistant, focus on that first, because it's
a hard job. It is. The mini room was another advantage of the mini room is there were a lot fewer
writers because if you're in a full room and you're taking notes for six writers, sometimes 10, 12
writers.
[00:09:52] You, you really don't have much time to think of your own ideas. There's not a ton of
downtime in the room. but when you're, when I was in the mini room one, I came in with a ton of
experience. I mean, I had been doing it for a decade, so following conversations and knowing
what's important, that part was kind of second nature.
[00:10:09] So I had the advantage, like if you're a more experienced, um, assistant, you can do
that job and you know, you can do it well. And then again, you're good at reading the room.
You're like, Oh, there's a lull here. I'm going to pitch this idea like lulls are great because there
are times, especially if it's a small room, you know, the, the conversation fizzles or people are
stuck or something.
[00:10:29] And those are really great opportunities. The other thing like I took advantage of like
when we're in the physical room and because you know a lot of people in the room hadn't I've
never been in a writer's room before, um, taking over the cards and everybody letting me do it.
Sometimes writers like to control their own cards, which is totally cool, but it's an opportunity to
help shape story.
[00:10:51] I mean, when you really think about it, it's like, you're kind of like, you, as a writer's
assistant, you can be like, I mean, I'm, you know, I'm always like on board, whatever my
showrunner's vision is, like, that's what I want to do. But like, There may be something that I see
that I'm like, Oh my God, this is really cool.
[00:11:06] And in controlling the cards and stuff, you can kind of be like, what about this? You
know, there's like ways to kind of bring your ideas in. And so I would say. As a writer's assistant,
figure out where your bandwidth is, do your job first, like, do your writer's assistant job first, and
if you have any extra bandwidth, just find the places, whether it's doing the cards, or helping put
together the beat sheet, wherever you can, like, you know, find room for yourself to bring your
ideas, like, use those opportunities, and again, read the room, I mean, I've been lucky, I feel like,
I've been in two comedy rooms that were not pleased, To have my ideas and you learn that very
quickly
[00:11:45] Drew: that's probably evident
[00:11:46] Stacy: I love how you put that! They were not pleased to have my ideas. Really, a
[00:11:50] Sarah: I was like, oh my voice is not welcome
[00:11:53] Stacy: didn't want to hear what you had to say.
[00:11:55] Sarah: Uh, so, you know, obviously reading the room's huge but the those were really
early on and since then i've almost always been in very inclusive rooms where I think john i've
heard you say in the podcast before best idea wins. It's not you know, there's some shows that
are very hierarchical and you have to know that going in where it's like Certain people talk first,
and, know, that's not been my experience, um, in the Joe Pickett room, and, you know, I've been

lucky with a couple of other rooms that they, any voice can talk as, you know, as long as they're
contributing something helpful.
[00:12:30] John: That's great. You were mentioning, yeah, Stephanie, uh, who is a assistant on
Waco. I remember there was, there was one scene That we were going to cut. It was the
wedding scene and we all went home and, and which was a big part of like episode two, I think
it was, and it was our first scene and we came back to work the next morning and Stephanie
had been, uh, there for like hours trying to explain, like articulate why she thought it was so
important to have that moment.
[00:13:02] And it's, uh, It's hard not to heed that, you know what I mean, to like, you see
somebody who's there as an assistant, you know, more to listen and, you know, take notes, but
was so moved by losing the scene that she. Very, you know, very respectfully, like brought up
that, that idea of like, I really think this is important.
[00:13:24] This is why we don't get this like bright spot of sunshine anywhere else. Like we don't
see this love get, you know, um, and you know, and, and it was, I don't know. And that scene
ended up back in the show as a result, you know, of her, her push and
[00:13:39] Sarah: It is such a powerful scene, really great scene. Yeah, and Stephanie's gone
on, she's definitely, every room she's ever been in, she's gotten promoted. And, you know, I
think there are just certain writer's assistants where my, okay, I would say my biggest advice as
a writer's assistant is like, obviously, always do your job.
[00:13:57] If you're not doing your job, then that's what people are going to remember. But if
you're doing your job well as a writer's assistant, you also want to make sure your bosses see
that you'd actually be more valuable as a writer. You know what I mean? Like, I think that was
always my intent, too, of like, I want you guys to see that if you promote me, you're going to get
even more out of me, that if I'm not having to do this writer's assistant job, you're going to get my
full writer brain.
[00:14:21] And ultimately, that's what you're going to want on your team.
[00:14:24] John: That's great. And how, how would you, like, what are some strategies for
showing that?
[00:14:28] Sarah: Being prepared. I mean, that's something you can do as an assistant.
Reading all the books. If it's, you know, a book series you're adapting, doing extra research. Um,
and it's, it's hard because it's a hard job. You're, you know, often as a writer's assistant, you're
You know, in the room the entire time, fully engaged in taking the notes, and then you have to go
home and spend an hour to three hours, depending on the type of show you're on, to clean up
those notes and send them out.
[00:14:50] So it's not like there's a ton of time, but like, it is, it is the time to prove yourself, and
it's the time to like, you know, stay up an extra hour to do a little bit more research and come in
with ideas, and um, I kind of look at being a writer's assistant as being an external hard drive for
the showrunners.
[00:15:09] You know, they're, they're, they've got so much going on, you know, it's not just the
writer's room, it's dealing with the network, and if you're in pre production, there's just so much
else on their plate, and there are things that they just can't hold in their head all the time, and it's
like, you're, you're so involved in the story breaking process as the writer's assistant, even if
you're not talking a lot, hopefully you're retaining all that information, and one of your biggest
values is, at a moment's notice, if somebody brings up, what did we talk about, like, last
Tuesday, we were going to Had this character go there, but that didn't work.

[00:15:42] And you can go, okay, this is why we didn't do it. Because we tried this and this, and
we went down that path and it didn't work. And, um, I think that's where you can show them, you
know, your attention to detail, and your understanding of story and character and all of those
things.
[00:15:55] Stacy: That's awesome. I would think the fact that as the assistant, you're writing it all
down too. For me, that really helps me remember stuff. Like I can listen, it's cool, but it's when I
scribble notes with my pen. And then when I take the scribble notes and I put them tick, tick,
tick, tick. And you know, when I type them up, like that's what really seals it in my mind.
[00:16:11] So that makes sense that you, that would give you a certain expertise. And then if you
hone it a little bit, you know, maybe glance through your notes like over the weekend or
something, then you'd really be, uh, the knowledge keeper.
[00:16:23] Sarah: Yeah, exactly.
[00:16:25] Stacy: noticed you did a couple things that I want to point out and then because I'm
sure people want like some nice actionable tips for what they can do. One was you picked, uh,
and a lot of people do this, but it worked really well for you. You picked one or two things that
were sort of your pet.
[00:16:39] Characters are your pet things, you know, so early on you showed a love for Mary
Beth, you know, and then, and then the actress did such a good job and she became such a
beloved character that there was, you know, we're always looking for like more ways to
incorporate that character, more ways to elevate her story.
[00:16:55] And you just naturally had been a champion for her the whole time. And that's always
helpful. You know, you have that one person in the room like going like more gunfights, more
gunfights. And then, and then,
[00:17:05] Sarah: But
[00:17:06] Stacy: then.
[00:17:07] Sarah: what about the
[00:17:08] Stacy: What about, what about
[00:17:08] Sarah: mom?
[00:17:09] Stacy: pregnant mom? What about her? She's great. Um, and the other thing that
you would do, is show us like, like, uh, bring in other ideas.
[00:17:18] It might be like a YouTube clip or it might be, and we use something, we used an app
or software called Basecamp that made it easy to like share stuff, but you would have, um, oh,
you read this article or you saw this show or you did this, you know, that would spark ideas or
that would. Layer on top of like, Hey, we were talking about those, uh, Native American water
rights.
[00:17:38] Did you guys see that headline, that brr, brr, brr? And it was good. It had to be a
balance because sometimes people do that so much that you're like, Oh my God, every time I
talk to you, you give me homework. I am not going to watch a PBS documentary every time you
send me a link. You know what I mean? So that enthusiasm can be taken too far, you know, but
you didn't do that.
[00:17:54] You would just have, you just sort of showed that you were thinking about it, even
when you were outside of the room and then would have cool ideas that, that we ended up

[00:18:02] Drew: Yeah. That's so big. Yeah. I mean, that shows so well for people like us, too,
who I think, you know, when you're looking at Writer's Assistant they so clearly get the DNA of
the show and they really, you know, all the ideas are kind of woven into the DNA of the show
and then I think, you know, from our standpoint, it's like we just really trust this person at any
level, whether it be Writer's Assistant, Staff Writer, Super, Onset Supervisor, like this person gets
it and, uh, is making the exact same show we're making.
[00:18:27] I think once that kind of switch is flipped, it's really, um, you're willing to give, you
know, unlimited responsibility to that person. And part of it's what you're sending us. Some of
those, you know, stories and those links, it's like, Oh my God, all of these are like perfectly
baked into our world, you know, these are all like the right ideas, you know, if they don't all fit,
they're all like the right ideas.
[00:18:45] And I think that, you know, for us, gives us just like unlimited confidence.
[00:18:48] John: yeah, it's like you learn to see competence, you know, you're like, oh, this is a
really competent person, whatever she does, like, you know what I mean? And, and that really, I
don't know that. That, that's so much of it, like Drew and I always say like, Oh, that person,
they're, they're part of the away team, you know, they're there, they should be on the away
team.
[00:19:05] You know what I mean? Like there's, there's the team you leave in town and there's
the team you take on the road, you know, and, I could see somebody in an assistant role being
like, I really want to be a writer. So this is kind of beneath me or, you know what I mean? Like
I'm not, I'm going to phone this in while I wait to be a writer.
[00:19:21] Like. Whereas, you know, by killing it, you know, in whatever, whatever spot you're in,
if you're, you know, you know, an assistant getting coffees, but you're killing it. And you're, like
as an example, my son, um, just started high school and he wanted to play high school football
and he was like, okay, I'm not the biggest guy, I'm not the fastest guy.
[00:19:42] Like, how should I, uh, how should I manage this? I was like, what if you're like the
enthusiastic guy? You're the, you're the kid who shows up. Early, when, you know, everyone
goes to the line, you're the first one on the line, you're gung ho, like, the coaches will notice that,
and in fact, now he's, you know, he's the starting tight end, he's, you know, playing, uh, you
know, linebacker, he's on special teams, he's playing, like, almost every snap of the game, even
though he's one of the smaller guys on the team, you know, because he's, he's the one the
coaches know they can rely on to be focused and enthusiastic, and, and I feel like that's so, you
know, In a writer's room, you, you see who's like watching the clock, you know, you see who,
who's kind of phoning it in and just doing enough to like get by and treating, treating writing like
a, like a, you know, for lack of a better word, like a, like an hourly paycheck job and you see the
people who are like, this is, this is their, their thing.
[00:20:40] This is what may, you know, get some up in the morning and,
[00:20:43] Sarah: I think particularly at a lower level, as there is like a support staff or a staff
writer, one of the things that you can bring is enthusiasm. It's, you know, it is a fun job. We're so
privileged to get to do this. It's so cool that we get to play make believe and tell these stories.
But there are times when you're like, you know, you've been banging your head against the wall
on a story point for a week, or two weeks, or the network's thrown something out.
[00:21:06] And, you know, I think because, like, when you're at a lower level, your
responsibilities are different. Like, when you're at a higher level, you're responsible to the
network, you're responsible for the overall story. And that's a big, it can be stressful. It can be
very stressful. But it's like a lower level, you can, you have the room, I feel like, sometimes.

[00:21:23] To bring the enthusiasm and I always saw part of my role as a writer's assistant and
even even still like, you know At this point in my career as a cheerleader and reminding the
writers guys But I know we're stuck on this but we're getting somewhere great or that this teaser
We have is amazing like this episode is gonna be so great like just reminding people like
Everybody loves this that you did or you know I think it can be easy to forget that in a writer's
room when you're like circling a thing over and over and you're all just like frustrated and just
being that little cheerleader.
[00:21:57] Drew: Yeah, me too.
[00:21:58] Stacy: I'm glad you mentioned that because there is, You know, um, both as a writer
who's being rewritten sometimes, and that hurts, or a writer who pitches an idea and they don't
get picked up, you know, like, like, the room goes, Hmm, anyone else have an idea? something
better?
[00:22:13] Um, you know, there's a bit of rejection, and then, of course, the higher up you go, as
you rise to showrunner, there's lots of rejection, like notes. You know, nice, nice execs will lead
with, Oh, we love this, this, and this. And of course, as always, so and so was hilarious. Now
here's 78 pages for what we hated, you know?
[00:22:28] So there's a, there's naturally, it's not really like that, but you know, um, there's
naturally going to be a lot of, not so much this, or, you know, of negativity, uh, so having that
positivity leading with. This is what I love about it. Like this was, you know, of saying let's, you
know, that moment was so scary and exciting.
[00:22:47] Let's have more of that. Or that moment is so funny and quirky. Let's have more of
that. Like building what's on already good building on however I say it. And the other is calling
people out by name. If you can remember what they did to be able to say, Drew, remember you
had that great idea, like two days ago, we kind of let it drop then.
[00:23:05] But let's like, remember there was that cool idea for how to do the thing. I feel like.
The whole room brightens up when people are remembered, called out by name, lifted up. I do
feel like sometimes just amplifying someone's voice and just, even if you don't come up with
your own idea, even just going that one, I like that one.
[00:23:25] Can go a long way.
[00:23:27] Sarah: I so agree with you Stacey. Yeah, it's really nice to, I mean what it, you know,
sometimes people you know will repeat an idea in a room and the last person that said it gets
the credit for it and that, I mean that just happens. That's just, you know, everybody's talking and
that happens, but it means so much.
[00:23:44] I think it's like Your, your entire room, all your colleagues remember when you give
credit to someone else. Like, it's such a valuable thing to remember to, to give credit. It doesn't
lower you. It like, I think if anything, is it like, it builds you up and your colleague up. Cause it's
just like good for everybody.
[00:24:01] Drew: Yeah.
[00:24:01] Stacy: speaking of giving credit where credit is due, do you want to set the record
straight on those Cane Corsos?
[00:24:06] John: Oh yeah, I was going to bring that up. I heard, I heard an injustice has been
committed in our previous podcast where we were citing the Cain Corsos as a writer specificity
that, you know, then people were trying to find Cain Corsos and Sarah mentioned to Stace that
it had been what, Great Danes or Dobermans or something.

[00:24:28] Sarah: you remember, like, I, you may not remember. I just remember cause it was
my episode and you know, obviously like fake details from your episode, like stick in your head
and my, my outline or something had like German shepherd or German pitcher or whatever, just
some like. Kind
[00:24:40] Stacy: Generic scary dog.
[00:24:41] Sarah: scary dog and John's like, it's gotta be really scary.
[00:24:44] And I'm like, okay
[00:24:47] John: that specificity is per my note. So, apologies and thank you.
[00:24:56] Sarah: I'm glad the
[00:24:58] Stacy: We want the scarlets to have a pack of timber wolves that follow them at all
time. Is that going to be a problem, Flo? Flo's the animal handler.
[00:25:06] Drew: That's so funny. Yeah. Yeah. That's so funny. You are responsible for the kid
crisis.
[00:25:07] John: Yeah, uh, yeah, I, I guess that's, that's one of those things, like in the script
phase, you're pushing for more specificity and then in the production phase, you're like, a little
less specific, we'll actually get it done, you know? Yeah, so apologies. Those are my, those are
my cane corrisos. Yep, yep, I take, I take full responsibility.
[00:25:33] Stacy: killed me.
[00:25:34] John: So funny.
[00:25:36] Stacy: We feeling that rapid fire?
[00:25:38] John: yeah, let's do the rapid fire for, so every week we have four questions. We ask
each guest or every other week, I guess. starting with what is the first television show you truly
loved and why?
[00:25:50] Sarah: this is a hard one for me because I've been a TV junkie basically my whole
life I really like TV was such a source of comfort for me so I'm gonna start with the first and it's
gonna be two TV shows where It was a time in my life where it was like a harder time in my life,
and it just provided me such a sense of comfort.
[00:26:07] And, uh, that was in high school, and it was Buffy and Gilmore Girls. And I really loved
those shows because I felt like you kind of disappear. Like, you as a person disappear, and all of
a sudden you're in their world. And, like, yes, it's entertaining and fun, but, like, you're in a family.
You know, and you hear that note all the time from the network, like, What, you know, what's the
family story or whatever that's a push?
[00:26:29] I do think it's a good note because that's why I watch TV. I mean, sometimes I watch
it just to be entertained, but when I'm really connected with the show, it's because I feel like I'm a
part of something. I feel like I'm part of a family, and that's why I write television, too, is that I
want to create that for other people.
[00:26:47] Stacy: That is so sweet.
[00:26:48] Drew: That is sweet. Yeah.

[00:26:50] Stacy: number two. What is your favorite part of the job?
[00:26:53] Sarah: Oh, favorite part of the job. Um, there's, there's so much to love about this
job. Like I've wanted to be a TV writer for so long, and you know, it's There's so many aspects of
it that I love, but one of my favorite is just being entertained by my fellow writers. Like, Stacey. I
mean, I, I love coming in a room, like, I know Stacey's just gonna, like, I'm gonna laugh so
much, like, she's just gonna say something, whether it's on StoryPoint or not.
[00:27:19] I mean, often it is, but sometimes it's not, and I'm just so wildly entertained.
[00:27:24] Drew: What is the part of the job that costs you something?
[00:27:30] Sarah: I think the uncertainty and instability is a really tough part of the job. Um, you
have to have a lot of resi like, resilience, I think, to make it as a writer. There's so much rejection
and, so it's like the rejection part of it is one mental burden, and then just the uncertainty. You
don't, you don't know if your show's coming back, you don't know when your next job is coming,
and um, it's not for everybody.
[00:27:53] You know, some people really want to know what they're going to be doing. It's like,
you know, my family will be like, Hey, we're going To this family trip, you know, next April, and I'm
like, I will tell you, uh, March 31st, or March 30th, whatever, how many days are in March, I'll tell
you then if I'm coming.
[00:28:08] Drew: Yeah. I couldn't agree more. That's the part that cost me the most too. It's, I
don't think, you know, I look at friends who work in other industries and like, Oh, you just took a
job and then you just went to that job every day for like 15 years. You know, that is crazy. You
know, that is wild. You never stressed about having a job for a decade, you know, like that.
[00:28:27] Um, I'm not sure people outside of our industry realize how. Constantly, uh, searching
for jobs. We all are all the time, you know, even when we're working, you're looking for the next
thing. It's just, it's, it's a constant source of stress, but
[00:28:40] Sarah: And no, there's no level that's immune to it
[00:28:42] Drew: no, there's none. There's not. And it's also what gives us, you know, some
freedoms in our lives too.
[00:28:47] So it's, it cuts both ways, but that is, uh, I couldn't agree with you more on that.
[00:28:51] John: yeah, yeah, you have to really like be a hunter, you know, hunter gatherer, like,
you know what I mean? Like in a, not a, not a farmer, I guess, in that sense. Um, and, uh, fourth
question.
[00:29:03] Stacy: We're all Word Farmers.
[00:29:06] John: Hey, if you had, if you had a time machine, what one piece of advice would you
give yourself when you started your television journey?
[00:29:13] Sarah: I would tell myself to seek out failure more. Um, I think that's where you really
learn and grow, and I think sometimes there are moments where I didn't try something for fear of
failure. And, uh, I would, you know, write more bad scripts, and just take the, take the chances,
even if it meant failing. Because if you're, if you're not failing and you're not getting rejected, it
means you're not putting yourself out there.
[00:29:37] John: That's great advice.

[00:29:39] Drew: awesome advice, I love that.
[00:29:41] John: All right. Well, in summary, yeah, we talked about, uh, the power of enthusiasm
with Sarah. if you like our show, please consider taking a moment to subscribe or rate us
wherever you get your podcasts and please tell a friend that really helps our audience. Thank
you.
[00:29:54] Drew: Thank you so much, Sarah. Thanks for being here.
[00:29:56] Sarah: Thank you guys for having me.
[00:29:58]
[00:30:06]