John and Craig decipher mystery box shows, where the premise and audience experience involve solving the puzzle of what’s really happening. They look at strategies for revealing clues and information, being mindful of the audience’s expectations, and the importance of the emotional journey inside the labyrinth.

We also announce a new video game, discuss what we can learn by revisiting old projects, follow up on unlocked pages and home automation, and answer listener questions on live instruments, pulling story from D&D campaigns, and where to draw the line between INT. and EXT.

In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you set boundaries when you feel like you’re always supposed to be writing? That’s not rhetorical — we need help.

Links:

Birdigo on Steam
Lutron HomeWorks and Home Assistant
The Prisoner (1967)
Scriptnotes, Ep 296: Television with Damon Lindelof
Patrick Wilson, Jordan Donica Leading Industry Reading of Revised, Broadway-Aimed Big Fish on Playbill.com
Falling Slowly scene in Once
Life and Trust
Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram
Outro by Spencer Lackey (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.

Round 1 Mock Draft w/ Daniel Racz