Dead Pilots Society

In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Starring actors you know and love from television and film, a live audience, and a good time in which no one gets notes, no one is fired, and everyone laughs. Presented by Andrew Reich (Friends; Worst Week) Ben Blacker (The Writers Panel podcast; co-creator, Thrilling Adventure Hour), and Noah Findling (The New York Times, Comedy Central).

  1. 2d ago

    Episode 208: Weekly World News by Michael Colton and John Aboud

    Episode 208: Weekly World News by Michael Colton and John Aboud   Dead Pilots Society celebrates 10 years with Weekly World News, a comedy pilot from Michael Colton and John Aboud  based on the popular newspaper tabloid, Weekly World News is about the reporters who bring us the amazing but true stories of ghosts, aliens, and mutant freaks. Colton and Aboud created and ran ABC’s Home Economics for three seasons, were showrunners on HBO Max’s animated series Close Enough, and have written for Acapulco, Leverage, and Children’s Hospital. They also wrote and produced the Netflix feature A Futile and Stupid Gesture, directed by David Wain and starring Will Forte, and wrote Penguins of Madagascar for DreamWorks Animation. Before moving into television and film, the duo worked as journalists, launched the online comedy magazine Modern Humorist, and became familiar faces as VH1 talking heads on shows including Best Week Ever and I Love the ’80s. Andrew was especially excited to bring this one to Dead Pilots Society, having been a fan of Weekly World News as a kid. The pilot features an incredible cast, Rich Sommer (Mad Men), Fred Melamed (Barry, Gail Doughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This), Courtney Pauroso (Ruthie Joins a Death Cult, Jackass Forever), Jessica Lowe (Minx), Alex Moffat (SNL, Bad monkey), Zac Oyama (Dimension 20), James Adomian (Comedian), and Stage direction by Andrew Reich.   MaxFun members can watch the full table read, along with all of the Dead Pilots Society video and bonus content from the past decade, for as little as $5 a month at maximumfun.org/join.   Dead Pilots Society Comes to Brooklyn! Tickets are now on sale for the first-ever Dead Pilots Society live show in New York City! The show takes place Sunday, October 25th at The Bell House in Brooklyn, featuring two brand new dead pilots from two incredible writers: Allison Silverman (Russian Doll, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Colbert Report, Portlandia) and Chris Kelly (Saturday Night Live, The Other Two). A star-studded cast will be announced soon. Andrew Reich and Ben Blacker will both be there, so New Yorkers and fans throughout the tri-state area can finally experience Dead Pilots Society live. Follow Dead Pilots Society on social media for cast announcements.  Click this link for tickets! https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/3000651E456BB0C6 Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindeadpilots

  2. Aug 27

    Episode 207: Claudia Lonow Interview

    Episode 207: Claudia Lonow Interview   Here is the after show for Fan Girl, featuring Andrew's interview with Claudia Lonow. Claudia has created four television shows: Rude Awakening, Good Girls Don't, Accidentally on Purpose, and How to Live With Your Parents (For The Rest of Your Life). She's also an actor and director, most recently directing and acting in the indie movie D(e)ad. Claudia and Andrew go way back, not only as friends, but as co-workers. She previously appeared on Dead Pilots Society in Episode 13, where she was interviewed by Ben Blacker. This time, Andrew goes further back, getting into Claudia's early acting career and the unlikely chain of events that landed her a television series almost immediately after becoming a writer.   They also talk about her lifelong love of science fiction, where the idea for Fan Girl came from, and why loving the thing you're parodying makes all the difference. It's a conversation about an unconventional route through Hollywood, a pretty incredible first writing job, and some very good Claudia Lonow stories.   The next Dead Pilots Society live show is at the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles on  Sunday, September 13th, featuring pilots from  Alex Herschlag ( Will and Grace, Modern Family, Arrested Development), and  Katie Greenway (Welcome to Flatch). Go to https://www.elysiantheater.com/ to get your tickets. Dead Pilots Society is also heading to New York City for the first time ever, with a live show at The Bell House in Brooklyn on Sunday, October 25th.   The show will feature two brand new dead pilots from two incredible writers: Allison Silverman (Russian Doll, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Colbert Report, Portlandia) and Chris Kelly (Saturday Night Live, The Other Two).   Tickets will be available soon, so keep an eye on Dead Pilots Society's social media for details. And if you're in Los Angeles, don't forget about the upcoming show at the Elysian Theater on September 13th! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindeadpilots

  3. Aug 20

    Episode 206: Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow

    Episode 206: Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow   This month, Dead Pilots Society presents Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow, a returning guest who previously appeared on the podcast with her pilot Assisted Loving, featured in Episode 13. Claudia has had a long and impressive career as a writer and producer. She has created four television series including How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life), Accidentally On Purpose, Rude Awakening, and Good Girls Don’t.   Logline:  Bad ass, sexy freedom fighter, MORRIGAN CHASE, escapes from certain death into a worm hole that lands her in the closet of her biggest FAN GIRL -- edibles-loving, Beth -- who’s watching similar-but-different events unfold on her favorite sci fi series, DOMINION, which seems to be based on Morrigan’s galaxy! Each week, Beth and Morrigan battle Talarus’s assassins and make alien allies as they struggle to get Morrigan home, the unlikely friendship causing each woman to grow.   The pilot features a cast packed with familiar faces from Dimension 20 on Dropout, making this live reading especially fun for fans of the show. Fan Girl is a wild, funny, and wonderfully strange pilot featuring some of the most entertaining stage directions in Dead Pilots Society history.   The cast is Isabella Roland (Sex Lives of College Girls, Dimension 20), Rekha Shankar (Dimension 20 Star Trek Starfleet Academy), James Adomian (Krapopolis, Jimmy Kimmel), Zac Oyama (Dimension 20), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This), Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20; Critical Role), Caroline Kingsley (Love on Tap), Alex Moffat (SNL, Bad Monkey), and Andrew Reich with stage directions.   The next Dead Pilots Society live show is at the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles on  Sunday, September 13th, featuring pilots from  Alex Herschlag ( Will and Grace, Modern Family, Arrested Development), and  Katie Greenway (Welcome to Flatch). Go to https://www.elysiantheater.com/ to get your tickets.   Video of the live table read is available exclusively to Maximum Fun members. Become a member for as little as $5 a month at maximumfun.org/join.   And don’t forget to check out Andrew’s documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story at  https://www.reddkrossfilm.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindeadpilots

  4. Jun 18

    Episode 202: Here, After by Joel Kim Booster

    Episode 202: Here, After by Joel Kim Booster   This month, Dead Pilots Society welcomes back writer, actor, and comedian Joel Kim Booster, whose pilot Birthright was previously featured on Episode 34. Joel wrote and starred in the hit Hulu movie Fire Island. He was a writer on The Other Two and Big Mouth, and as an actor, you've seen him on Shrill and Search Party.   Joel's pilot Here, After, never actually sold, despite being developed with the companies of Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, and Aidy Bryant. But when Andrew read it, he knew it deserved a place on the podcast.    It is about the unlikely friendship between Ezra, a Gen Z woman trying to make a difference in the world and find her place in it, and Charlie, a caustic, self-absorbed, gay millennial ghost.   Funny, frank, surprisingly moving, and packed with killer jokes, Here, After is a pilot about friendship, purpose, and what happens when a ghost refuses to move on.   The cast for this pilot includes Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island, The Other Two), MItra Jouhari (Digman!, Bigmouth, The Bear), Poppy Liu (Hacks, I Love Boosters!), Charlie Barnett (The Acolyte, Russian Doll), Katherine Bourne Taylor (Bellingham Bay), Lisa Gilroy (Shrinking)   Video of the live table read is available exclusively to Maximum Fun members. Become a member for as little as $5 a month at maximumfun.org/join.   The next Dead Pilots Society live show is at the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 12th. The show will feature readings of Weekly World News by Michael Colton and John Aboud, and Fan Girl by Claudia Lonow. Go to https://www.elysiantheater.com/ to get your tickets.   And don’t forget to check out Andrew’s documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story at  https://www.reddkrossfilm.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindeadpilots

4.6
out of 5
541 Ratings

About

In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Starring actors you know and love from television and film, a live audience, and a good time in which no one gets notes, no one is fired, and everyone laughs. Presented by Andrew Reich (Friends; Worst Week) Ben Blacker (The Writers Panel podcast; co-creator, Thrilling Adventure Hour), and Noah Findling (The New York Times, Comedy Central).

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