739 - The One with David E. Kelley

2026-06-09 · 57 min · episode 739 · 8 entities

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Asserted relationships

→ appeared on Scriptnotes Podcast podcast

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739 - The One with David E. Kelley
→ hosted by John August and Craig Mazin person

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Feed author/publisher: John August and Craig Mazin
→ hosted by John August person

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Feed author/publisher: John August
→ discusses TV & Film concept

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Feed category: TV & Film

Entities found in this episode

persons 5

mentioned David E person

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evidence rules-v5
739 - The One with David E. Kelley
mentioned John August and Craig Mazin person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: John August and Craig Mazin
mentioned John August person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: John August
hosted by John August and Craig Mazin person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: John August and Craig Mazin
hosted by John August person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: John August

concepts 2

mentioned TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
discusses TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film

podcasts 1

appeared on Scriptnotes Podcast podcast

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evidence rules-v5
739 - The One with David E. Kelley

Episode description as stored

John and Craig welcome writer and showrunner David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal) to look at his process for adapting books to TV, particularly with his latest series Margo's Got Money Troubles. They explore where to find your act breaks, crafting complicated tones, and when to trust the writer of the book. We also look at how TV has changed over David's storied career, how he runs a writers room, creating story engines, the difference between writing for broadcast TV and streaming, and the one thing a TV show should never be. In our bonus segment for premium members, David coaches John and Craig on how to survive a long running series. Links: David E. Kelley on IMDb Margo's Got Money Troubles on AppleTV Harvard Alcohol Project: Designated Driver The Painful Truth About Long Covid by Alan Levinovitz for WIRED Salmon Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member , or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore ( send us yours! ) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli . Our intern is Lauren Loesberg. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here .