6 showrunners on blowing the pitch, the WGA strike and Meryl Streep and Harrison Ford
LOS ANGELES — The timing couldn't have been scripted any better. On the eve of the Writers Guild of America strike — called as the contract negotiation period with major studios ended without a new deal in place — six storytellers gathered for The Envelope's annual Showrunners Roundtable to share what it's like crafting the sort of dynamic storytelling that has helped make this television era so distinctive. Few things get a group of Hollywood writers talking quite like a critical moment for the viability of their craft.
"It's a fun opportunity to try and explain residuals to your dad," Bill Lawrence, who co-created Apple TV+'s "Shrinking," said, playfully acknowledging the difficulty of breaking down the high stakes of the issues at play for the average person to understand.
For Craig Mazin, who co-created HBO's adaptation of the popular video game "The Last of Us," the current juncture feels different from past standoffs with studios.
"I remember very distinctly how everything went down in 2007, and this feels different in the sense that I think even the companies understand on a fundamental level that they have f— up," Mazin said. "It's almost like someone finally pointed it out to them and said, 'You've just blown out the foundation of your own house, and now the whole thing's crumbling down around you.'"
Janine Nabers, who co-created the serial killer series "Swarm," Liz Tigelaar, who adapted Cheryl Strayed's "Tiny Beautiful Things" book, John Hoffman, the co-creator of the whodunit comedy "Only Murders in the Building," and Ramy Youssef, the creator and star of "Ramy," joined in the conversation that delved deeper into the existential moment
