John welcomes back Susanna Fogel and David Iserson (The Spy Who Dumped Me) to steal their secrets on creating an original tone in their new series PONIES. They look at how the writers room was built to match their sensibilities, using characters to anchor the audience, and what it takes to sell and produce an original period TV series in 2026.

We also talk about the pros and cons of filming in Budapest, and answer listener questions on trusting your judgement, recognizing your talent, differentiating character voices, and whether spec pilots are out of fashion.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Susanna and David look at how our taste develops, including what we can learn about taste from The Beatles.

Links:

PONIES Trailer | On Peacock January 15th
Susanna Fogel and David Iserson
The last time Susanna and David were on the show (Episode 361)
The Work of Art by Adam Moss
So You Want to De-Bog Yourself by Adam Mastroianni
Procreate emulators True Grit and Retro Supply Co.
International Society of Character Artists' character resolution 2026
The Plague (2025)
The Taste Gap by Ira Glass
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Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

82: The Missing Variable

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