642. Julia Brownell, Hollywood Writer & Producer

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Run, Health & Fitness, Women, Inspiration, Runner, Entrepreneur, Sports, Fitness, Health, Running

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2023

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"You know in your head who you are. You just have to be brave enough to listen."

When Julia Brownell was little, she had a dream and a plan: to be a writer. She played sports, she loved to run, and she loved writing scripts and stories in her free time. And turns out, dreams come true. Today, Julia is a 3:16 marathoner, a mom of two, and a writer, producer, and playwright in Hollywood. She has been a writer and producer on shows including This Is Us, Parenthood, Smash, and more. (See? Living the dream!) In this conversation, Julia explains how a TV show is made, breaks down her favorite parts of that process, talks about what it was like getting her big break, and talks about what life has been like during the ongoing writer's strike. Plus, she talks about how she's gotten faster as a master and as a mom, taking more than 45 minutes off her marathon PR. Julia will race the Mountains to Beach half marathon this weekend, and she's looking to go sub-1:30.

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What you’ll get on this episode:

How Julia fits running into her busy life, and how she’s feeling heading into her half marathon this weekend (2:05)
On finding and making running friends as an adult (5:00)
What Julia’s life is like right now, during the writer’s strike, and all about how a TV show is made (10:00)
What kind of person makes a good TV writer? (21:45)
Julia’s favorite part of the TV-writing process, and what it’s like being “the runner” in the crew (24:35)
How Julia became a runner and a writer (30:35)
What it’s like to get your big break (39:30)
On adjusting from being an east coast runner to an L.A. runner (40:25)
How Julia has shaved nearly an hour off her marathon PR (41:30)
What’s next for Julia on the run? (46:00)
On getting hired to work on “Parenthood” (52:00)
What it’s like going to the Emmy Awards (56:30)
What Julia was working on pre-strike (1:01:45)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Alley on the Run Show.
0:06.8	I'm your host, Allie Feler, and every week I talk to people who are doing exciting things
0:11.4	on the run and beyond.
0:13.6	From professional athletes and celebrity runners to the everyday amateur and back of the
0:18.8	pack runner, we are here to celebrate everyone and anyone who enjoys a life on the run.
0:25.6	Whether you're running towards something big or away from something that's been holding
0:29.0	you back, I am here to help you pick up the pace.
0:32.8	My guest today is Julia Brownell.
0:35.7	This is such a fun episode.
0:37.7	You know I'm a sucker for anything behind the scenes, so this one was a treat because
0:43.4	Julia is an LA-based writer and producer on some of my favorite TV shows, including This
0:49.5	Is Us and Parrot Hood.
0:52.2	And you know this, since she's here, she's on the show.
0:55.8	Julia is a runner, a speedy one at that.
0:58.9	Julia is a 316 marathoner and it was so fun hearing about how she's fit running into
1:03.6	her busy schedule as a mom of two and about how she's gotten faster as a mom.
1:09.2	You know we love those stories.
1:10.9	There's lots of good stuff in here.
1:12.2	You get to hear my giddy side hearing about how my favorite shows are made and about what
1:16.1	it's really like going to the Emmys.
1:18.6	And of course, we talk about what life is like as a Hollywood writer right now during this
1:22.7	ongoing writer's strike.
	...

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