Brad Falchuk on life, death, and ‘Famous Last Words’
The Business
KCRW
4.5 • 699 Ratings
🗓️ 31 October 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Eric Deggans talks with Brad Falchuk about his Netflix series Famous Last Words. The longtime Ryan Murphy collaborator talks about adapting a Danish format built around deeply personal conversations that air only after the guests have died. He also explains why working with streamers isn’t so different from his days in cable television, and how living with dyslexia has made him a stronger writer and creative partner.
Plus, NBCUniversal has snatched up Taylor Sheridan from Paramount, marking the latest shift in Hollywood’s talent landscape. The Yellowstone creator will start a film deal at NBCU in 2026, with his TV projects following in 2029. His departure comes as Paramount faces layoffs and budget tightening under CEO David Ellison, who has spent heavily on sports and South Park rights since acquiring the media company. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni dig into how Sheridan’s exit has amplified the growing tension between creative power and studio belt-tightening.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW, I'm Kim Masters, and this is The Business. |
| 0:05.3 | Brad Falchuk has long been known as half of a powerhouse partnership with Ryan Murphy, |
| 0:10.0 | producing such shows as Glee and American Horror Story. |
| 0:13.9 | His latest project, famous last words, |
| 0:16.3 | sees him interviewing cultural figures in conversations that air only after their deaths. He says getting |
| 0:22.2 | Netflix to do things his way took some persistence. We don't have big music cues. We don't have |
| 0:27.0 | cutaways. We don't have a big star interviewing the people. Yeah, there were fights and there was |
| 0:31.6 | having to convince to say, no, this is going to work. You have to trust. And God bless him, they did. |
| 0:36.9 | Brad Falsick talks with Eric Diggins about adapting a Danish series in which the identities |
| 0:41.3 | of the guests isn't revealed until their interviews are about to air. He also explains why |
| 0:46.7 | working with streamers isn't so different from his days in cable and how living with dyslexia |
| 0:51.6 | has made him a stronger writer and creative partner. |
| 0:58.4 | But first we banter, stick around. It's the business from KCRW. |
| 1:03.9 | I am joined by my partner in banter, Matt Bellany. Hello, Matt. |
| 1:10.2 | Hi there. So you had quite the scoop this week. Taylor Sheridan, who was seen, I think, as quite the crown jewel in the Paramount |
| 1:12.5 | crown, was stolen away in the dark of night by Donna Langley at NBC Universal. |
| 1:18.3 | Taylor Sheridan is like this geyser of programs for Paramount Plus. He kind of is Paramount |
| 1:24.2 | Plus's thing. And, you know, David Ellison talked about he was a unique, brilliant |
| 1:29.1 | genius, and I think he flew with this group to Texas, where Taylor Sheridan resides, to tell him |
| 1:35.6 | how much they value him. And then Taylor Sheridan apparently did not reciprocate that feeling. |
| 1:41.3 | Well, he wasn't feeling the love. Yes, Ellison said those things publicly. |
| 1:46.3 | But when push comes to shove, Ellison is dropping, you know, nearly $8 billion on the UFC. |
... |
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