John is joined by The Americans’ executive producer Stephen Schiff at a live Scriptnotes taping in New York! They discuss grounding an outrageous premise in character, suspension of disbelief, premium act breaks, and writing for a foreign language. We also answer audience questions about New York writers rooms, expert consultants, expecting comparisons, first drafts, and how to write a period piece when history is full of spoilers. Links: * Stephen Schiff currently works on The Americans. Its final season premieres on March 28th. * Thank you, McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers for hosting our live show! * Google Ngram Viewer * Bookstore staff recommendations, which led John to The End We Start From by Megan Hunter * The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide! * The USB drives! * John August on Twitter * Craig Mazin on Twitter * John on Instagram * Find past episodes * Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Email us at
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