The Emmy-winning co-creator of 'Friends' opens up about the sitcom's real-life inspirations, why she and David Crane creatively split and she avoided TV for 11 years and why she finally returned not with another multi-camera broadcast show about young people but with a single-cam streaming show about older women. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 21, 2017•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 156
2016's Emmy winner for best actor in a drama series — an Egyptian-American who was that category's first non-white honoree in 18 years — reflects on early stereotypical casting, great collaborators who helped him break out of it and the prescience of his current show about a disturbed hacker hiding beneath his hoodie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 20, 2017•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 155
The seven-time Emmy winner reflects on how theater led to some of her greatest film and TV opportunities, walking and talking through eight years on 'The West Wing' and why she feels so personally connected to Chuck Lorre's "other" multicam sitcom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 18, 2017•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 154
The legendary child star turned adult actor turned Oscar-winning director, who has been known to the public for almost all of his 63 years and still is creating top-notch entertainment, reflects on his one-of-a-kind journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 17, 2017•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 153
One of the all-time most prolific and accomplished directors/producers of live TV events — awards shows, Super Bowl halftime shows, Olympics opening ceremonies, political conventions and music/variety specials — looks back on a half-century in the control room. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 14, 2017•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 152
The South African comedian, who is the youngest person and only person of color currently hosting a late-night show, discusses his childhood under Apartheid, lessons learned from Jon Stewart, why Donald Trump is like an African dictator and his plans for the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 12, 2017•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 151
In her first wide-ranging podcast interview, the trailblazing legend opens up about her horrific childhood, finding her calling, what made her successful on TV, why her fame causes her to hesitate before taking acting jobs and what she thinks her legacy will be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 12, 2017•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 150
The two-time Tony winner reflects on her early desire to be a rock 'n roll singer, her rollercoaster of a career ("I am not anybody's first choice"), why she hates the word 'diva,' what she'd do if Donald Trump came to one of her shows and why she dreams of ending her career on a sitcom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 05, 2017•47 min•Ep. 149
2017 nominees Danny DeVito ('The Price'), Josh Groban ('Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812'), Corey Hawkins ('Six Degrees of Separation'), Andy Karl ('Groundhog Day') and Ben Platt ('Dear Evan Hansen') sit down for a wide-ranging conversation about life on Broadway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 03, 2017•55 min•Ep. 148
2017 nominees Denee Benton ('Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812'), Christine Ebersole ('War Paint'), Jennifer Ehle ('Oslo'), Sally Field ('The Glass Menagerie') and Laura Linney ('The Little Foxes') discuss the challenges and rewards of working on Broadway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 02, 2017•47 min•Ep. 147
The 40-year-old Swede, currently in serious contention for his first Emmy nom, reflects on attaining and then fleeing from child stardom, his breakthrough in 'Generation Kill' and 'True Blood' and his intense scenes of sex and violence with Nicole Kidman in HBO's provocative limited series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 30, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 146
One of this year's biggest breakout stars — she won Golden Globe and SAG awards for her portrayal of young Queen Elizabeth II in the most expensive TV series ever made (Netflix allocated $100 million for its first two seasons) — reflects on auditioning while pregnant, playing a woman famous for hiding her emotions and growing as an actress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2017•50 min•Ep. 145
The first openly gay host of a late-night talk show opens up about helping to create the reality TV era at Bravo, the positive and negative impact of the 'Real Housewives' franchise that he EPs and making the jump from suit to on-air personality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 23, 2017•57 min•Ep. 144
The irreverent British comedy genius behind ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’ explains how his life informs his work, what it would take for him to host the Oscars (he’s hosted four unforgettable Golden Globes) and what it was like to revisit his most iconic character — who, he believes, paved the way for Pres. Trump — 15 years after he last brought him to life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 19, 2017•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 143
Recently hailed by New York magazine as “the funniest woman alive,” the two-time Tony and Emmy winner reflects on being part of the landmark sketch comedy series 'SCTV,' why she feels much more at home on Broadway than doing improv and discovering that she helped to inspire the likes of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 17, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 142
The fast-rising stage and screen star reflects on entering showbiz as an out gay man, how his Tony-nominated 'Book of Mormon' perf led Lena Dunham to hire him for her groundbreaking HBO series and why he'll always return to Broadway (where he's also starred in 'Hamilton'). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 15, 2017•55 min•Ep. 141
On the heels of his third Tony nom in four years, the Broadway star reflects on his journey from dinner theater to the Great White Way, where he's starred in movie adaptations ('Saturday Night Fever,' 'Legally Blonde,' 'Rocky' and 'Groundhog Day') and theater phenomena ('Wicked' and 'Jersey Boys') and now is doing eight shows a week with a fully-torn ACL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 03, 2017•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 140
The Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner reflects on defying the odds and finding fame after 40, jumping between art-house fare (including two best picture Oscar winners) and blockbusters (five 'Pirates' films) and starring in National Geographic's first scripted series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 25, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 139
America's favorite astrophysicist, who splits his time between running a planetarium and hosting the first-ever TV talk show about science, shares how he learned to be media-savvy, what he makes of the anti-science Trump Administration and why he remains optimistic about the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 24, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 138
The man who ran NBC during the 'Must See TV' era of the 1990s and then became one of TV's most successful producers discusses the secrets of programming a broadcast network, why his own shows go out via cable and streaming and what the future of TV will look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 19, 2017•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 137
The pop star turned Golden Globe-nominated actress reflects on her early music (she wishes she could refund everyone who bought it), personal and professional struggles that followed (she almost quit showbiz as recently as two years ago) and the "reboot" made possible by the success of NBC's top-rated series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 13, 2017•54 min•Ep. 136
Best known for 'The Last Picture Show' and 'Paper Moon,' one of the 'New Hollywood' filmmakers at the vanguard of '70s cinema discusses rubbing shoulders with legends, the murder of his actress-girlfriend and why TV is now better than movies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 12, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 135
The 80-year-old late-night legend on his journey from the Corn Belt to ABC, why the label "intellectual" did his career no favors and which of today's talk show hosts he admires most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 11, 2017•54 min•Ep. 134
The 95-year-old actor/writer/director reflects on being a part of Sid Caesar's legendary 'Your Show of Shows' writers' room, how he and Mel Brooks created '2,000-Year-Old Man,' how a failed pilot came back to life as 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' and what keeps him writing, tweeting and laughing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 31, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 133
No person in Oscar history has received more nominations without a win than this sound mixer, whose 21 noms span 33 years, and who explains how he does what he does and why the Academy's voting process has room for improvement. (2/26/17 update: O'Connell finally won!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 21, 2017•56 min•Ep. 132
The 32-year-old, who already has directed two best picture Oscar nominees and is poised to become the youngest best director Oscar winner ever, reflects on the roots of his passion for music and movies, the Harvard pal who became his closest collaborator and the rollercoaster of a journey to realizing his dream of making an original movie musical. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 20, 2017•58 min•Ep. 131
The 37-year-old who could become the first black person ever to win the best director Oscar reflects on how his tumultuous childhood has informed his work, the film school pals who have been by his side ever since and the causes and effects of the eight-year gap between his debut feature and his taboo-busting masterpiece. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 18, 2017•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 130
The 'Meryl Streep of France,' finally an Oscar nominee at the age of 63, discusses her close collaborations with Claude Chabrol and Michael Haneke, her attraction to "perverse, manipulative, icy" characters and the controversial new film for which she's received the best notices of her career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 12, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 129
Poised to become, at 36, the youngest EGOT in history, the creator of 'Hamilton' reflects on that groundbreaking musical's origins and success, realizing his lifelong dream of writing music for a Disney movie while at the center of his show's "wonderful tsunami," the roots of his love of music and theater and the ambitions he has not yet fulfilled. (And yes, there will be a 'Hamilton' movie.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 08, 2017•54 min•Ep. 128
The 28-year-old critics' darling and fan favorite opens up about overcoming "debilitating" childhood anxiety through acting, moving to Hollywood at 15 (and changing her name and dyeing her hair), finding magical chemistry with Ryan Gosling in three films and, under the oversight of Damien Chazelle, breathing new life into the American movie musical. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 07, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 127