Julie Hébert is an award-winning playwright and a television writer, director, and producer. She began her career in the San Francisco theater world, and her plays have been produced across the country and won many honors, including two PEN awards for drama.
But for the last two decades, Julie has worked as a writer, director, and producer on some of televisions most popular and influential shows: ER, The West Wing, Third Watch, Nashville, The Good Wife, and many others. She is currently the executive producer and a writer/director on ABC's award-winning show American Crime.
In this episode, Julie and I cover a lot of ground, including what it's like to be a woman director in an industry still so male-driven. She shares one of her tricks for bringing instant authority to her role, and her opinion on whether this disparity is getting better.
Julie patiently answers all of my questions about how a writer's room works on these large sweeping dramas, and how the cast and crew reacts to having a different director for each episode.
She shares set stories from her days on The West Wing and ER, as well as the responsibility of making a show like American Crime.
This is a GREAT discussion, informative and inspiring.
Two books that made an impact on Katie:
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Wayne Newton has been a bodyguard for the most high profile of celebrities, protecting Mariah Carey, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and many more. In 25 years of private security, he has never once spoken publicly about this job.
What he says in this interview will make you rethink any assumptions you have about who is REALLY the smartest person in the room.
Shanna Zablow is an executive producer and general manager for the Gorilla Flicks Productions whose producing credits include MTV’s Rob and Big, Ridiculousness, and Nitro Circus as well as feature length films such as Bad Grandpa, Being Evel, and the Jackass franchise.
This interview was personal for me as I am the one who hired Shanna for her first job in production many years ago, and she has been an irreplaceable part of my husband Jeff’s team ever since. The productions Shanna has worked on for more than a decade are all shows by boys and for boys, and in this episode, she explains how this dynamic has created both difficult challenges as well as a deeply rewarding career as a producer.