Peek inside the writers’ room as Rainn Wilson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and more help three comedians create and read a pilot script on ‘Let’s Make a Sci-Fi’
How hard could writing a sci-fi television show be? You literally have the entire universe at your disposal, and you’re not even limited to just that! Well, Ryan Beil, Maddy Kelly, and Mark Chavez are finding out just how hard it can be. It doesn’t help that they are three comedians who have only ever written comedy shows and can’t seem to stop pitching ideas about German Shepherd-sized crabs and destroying the moon (how very Despicable Me of them).
But by the end of “Let’s Make A Sci-Fi,” they will have a fully realized, fully serious, and seriously nerdy sci-fi TV pilot script for us to enjoy.
“Let’s Make A Sci-Fi” is a CBC podcast featuring a wide array of science fiction experts. “Science fiction experts?” you ask. You will see who is being deemed a science-fiction expert in just a moment. This podcast is just eight episodes long – the eighth being a serious table read of their pilot episode. Episodes are a short and sweet 30 minutes and touch on the seven pinnacles of sci-fi television.
Maybe they aren’t an official seven pinnacles, but over the course of the primary seven episodes, they speak to experts about identifying a great idea, world-building, creating characters, science (duh), social commentary, comedy, and the scary executives you have to pitch this all to before you get on TV. For aspiring writers, sci-fi fanatics, or simply anyone looking for a way to fill four hours of their time with delightful entertainment, “Let’s Make A Sci-Fi” is perfect.
Obviously, as podcasters and new TV writers, they’re in need of some expert guests who will give their pilot its best shot at becoming a real show. So, they get some TV and sci-fi royalty on the phone. They start by speaking with Star Wars: The Clone Wars producer Catherine Winder and Vagrant Queen director Jem Garrard about knowing when a story is great before they try their hand at pitching concepts.
They talk about creating an engrossing (but not overly complicated) fictional world with District 9 director Neill Blomkamp and Vox critic Emily VanDerWerff. With Continuum showrunner Simon Barry and screenwriting professor Kat Montagu, the trio finds out that they actually have no characters in their story yet, so they finally concoct a protagonist.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is their science guy. Well, him and popular astronomer Phil Plaitt (aka The Bad Astronomer) and Sharknado‘s science advisor Mika McKinnon. Together, they find out if there’s enough actual science in their fiction to be believable and even have their guests of honor devise some of their own science to be a part of their show.
When our three brave comedians fear that they’ve strayed too far from the genre, Rainn Wilson steps in to help them find balance between the tried-way-too-hard-and-now-it’s-funny Battlefield Earth and the immensely serious Dune. While Rainn is obviously known for his comedic chops, showcased on a little show called The Office, he’s also sci-fi legacy — his father was actually a science fiction writer. Rainn himself has also acted in a number of sci-fi projects like Galaxy Quest, Star Trek: Discovery, Monsters vs. Aliens, and The Meg.
While this podcast is obviously comedic, it gives a fascinating look into the writers’ room. This podcast hits every single mark a podcast should: it’s informative, laugh out loud funny, filled with terrific banter, and based in a completely ridiculous premise. Truly what more could we ask for?
Ryan, Maddy, and Mark are charismatic, hilarious, and not afraid to get a little vulnerable as they step outside their comfort zones. They pitch hilarious ideas that are inevitably changed into more serious plot points and character arcs all with the help of their star-studded guest list. “Let’s Make A Sci-Fi” will blow you away. Be sure to catch up before their final episode is released on April 12.
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