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Working: "The Other Two" Creators on Running a Comedy Writers' Room

Slate Daily Feed

Slate

Society & Culture, News, Business

3.91.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 July 2022

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, creators and showrunners of the comedy series The Other Two. In the interview, Sarah and Chris talk about what it’s like to run a writers' room, how to work exposition into TV dialogue, and what they look for in the writers they hire.  After the interview, Isaac and co-host Karen Han discuss how difficult it is to write good exposition.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Chris and Sarah talk about a unique challenge they faced while making season two of The Other Two.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron Drews.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Big Mood, Little Mood—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:43.0

Even though we have unlimited time, we will still cut jokes that we love, we will still tighten things up within as tight as they can be.

1:00.0

There's nothing worse than one of those bloated 35-minute comedies where you're like, what are we doing here guys? Let's get a move on.

1:07.0

Let's go!

1:13.0

Welcome back to Working. I'm your host, Karen Hahn.

1:15.0

And I'm your other host, Isaac Butler.

1:18.0

Hi Isaac, I'm very excited to hear that we had a duo on this week. Who did you talk to for this episode?

1:24.0

We did and later this summer we'll have a trio in one person.

1:27.0

Oh my gosh!

1:28.0

I know it's wild microphone management.

1:30.0

For this week I talked to Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, who used to be the headwriters for Saturday Night Live and are currently the creators and showrunners of HBO's delightful comedy The Other Two.

1:42.0

Now I'm a huge fan of the show The Other Two, but just in case some of our listeners aren't as familiar with the show, can you tell us what it's about?

1:50.0

Yeah, so The Other Two is titled that because it is about a brother and sister Brooke Duback played by Helene York and Carrie Duback played by Drew Tarver, who are the unsuccessful siblings of a kind of Bieber-esque YouTube star.

2:07.0

They're younger brother Chase, who goes by the name Chase Dreams, it is played by Case Walker.

2:13.0

And then they also have a very lovably eccentric mother named Pat, played by Molly Shannon, and a kind of not nefarious so much as incredibly needy and mildly incompetent manager named Streeter, played by Ken Marino.

2:28.0

And the first season is all about Chase Dreams' rise and fall as a recording artist, and the second season is about their mother having a hit daytime talk show.

2:38.0

The Other Two is a great show, so I really can't wait to dive into this interview.

2:42.0

And I know that we have a little extra slate plus bit this week. What can listeners look forward to?

...

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