Advertise on podcast: Children of Tendu

Hi there! Javi here, and no, I don't have a new episode of Children of Tendu - Jose and I are still figuring out the state of the business post pandemic, post strike, post streaming - but in the meantime, why not sample my latest endeavor: Multiplex Overthruster! In this cinematic odyssey, I join Paul Alvarado Dykstra ( co-founder of Fantastic Fest) and the heroic and stalwart Producer Brad in revisiting the summer movies of our teenage years! We started with the summer of '82 - the year of E.T., Star Trek 2, The Thing, Poltergeist, and Blade Runner - and are now on our second season, the summer of '83! Kicking things off is a little independent film called "Return of the Jedi"... here's part one, listen, enjoy, subscribe - spread the word! Multiplex Overthruster - available wherever fine podcasts are... uh... available!

A few days before the WGA made its historic deal with the AMPTP, Jose and Javi made one last trip to the line, this time at Universal Studios, to interview our sisters, brothers, and others in the guild who bravely walked the lines to the triumphant end. Featuring interviews with established writers like Marc Bernardin, Julie and Shawna Benson, as well as our union representatives (who dropped amazing information on the organization of the strike... down to the black SUVs and secret WGA phones!) this is an amazing snapshot of the last days of a labor action that resulted in amazing gains for writers everywhere! SOLIDARITY!

On a hot and noisy day, Jose and Javi set up shop on the strike line at CBS Radford and talk to WGA luminaries ranging from showrunners Julie Plec and Craig Silverstein to show creator Evan Bleiweiss and the strike captains who keep out labor action safe and coordinated! If you are curious about how we organize, where the signs come from... or how to humanely run a writers room, you won't mind the horns blaring in the background!

Taking their cues from Lucy Van Pelt, the Children of Tendu set up a booth on the strike line and took questions, gave advice, and even quizzed their betters about their methods and madness. Featuring interviews with producers of "Elementary", the showrunner of "Queen of the South" as well as several amazing up and comers from shows including "Superman and Lois" and "Law & Order: SVU" this is a raw look at what's going on in the frontlines of the WGA strike, and a stark reminder of how much the craft of writing has changed, and why the strike matters!

In this extra special episode of the podcast, Jose and Javi take a deep, show-by-show dive into Javi's career, dissecting his experiences and distilling the lessons he has learned over the course of his decades-spanning adventures in TV!

In this extra special episode of the podcast, Jose and Javi take a deep, show-by-show dive into Jose's career, dissecting his experiences and distilling the lessons he has learned over the course of his decades-spanning career!

As veterans of the WGA strike of 2007 picketing in the strike of 2023, Jose and Javi break down the differences between the two labor actions. From the role of social media in the Guild's messaging, to the differences in the message itself, the rise of the #prewga cohort, and the decline of the auteur showrunner, Jose and Javi don't just break it down, but also use the differences in the two labor actions to explain how vital the current struggle is to the art and business of writing for media.

Being Latino/a/e/x in Trump's America is an increasingly precarious business. As white Puerto Ricans whith careers spanning over a quarter century, Javi and Jose have seen, heard, and experienced the pervasive racism of the industry in many of its forms, while also benefitting from their own white privilege. In this unusually revealing episode, Jose and Javi dig deep into their lives and upbringing as colonial subjects of the United States to explore not just what it is like to be latino/a/e/x in Hollywood, but more specifically, what it means to be Puerto Rican and the many issues of race, class, and colonialism that entails.

Jose and Javi are back and older than ever! As the Writers Guild strikes for higher pay, job security, and reform in how writers are employed and compensated, Jose and Javi aren't just walking the picket line but also breaking down the many changes in the industry that have lead to the current labor action. In the fifteen years since the dawn of the streaming age, the way television is made and consumed has changed enormously, and Jose and Javi have experienced those changes in real time... this is not the same business Jose and Javi came into at the start of their careers, and it isn't the same as when they began recording the Children of Tendu podcast... it's a new era, and Jose and Javi are here to tell you all about it!

Remember when we said our previous episode would be our series finale? WE LIED. And we are back to prove it with a super sized episode where we answer YOUR questions about OUR process. How do we write? Why do we write? Where do we write? (and it's not in the bathtub like Dalton Trumbo) All these questions and more! Answered right here! With our usual career-endangering candor!

Seven years ago, veteran television writer/producers Jose Molina and Javier Grillo-Marxuach set out to consign all their experience to a podcast and to give it away for free. One Golden Age of television, a pandemic, and several complete disruptions in the industry later, Jose and Javi look to the future and ponder the fate of the Children of Tendu Podcast... and more importantly, their own transition from wizened veterans to fellow travelers with newcomers in a rapidly changing world!

Most writers have very little idea of what goes on in an edit bay, and how to best manage the collaborative relationship between a TV writer/producer and the show's editor. To remedy this situation, Javi and Jose have brought in one of the most prolific and acclaimed editors working today - Shawn Paper, whose credits include Parks and Rec, Veep, What We Do In The Shadows, Flight of the Conchords, and countless others - to discuss how writers and editors can, and should, be best friends! 

In this super-sized deep-dive, Jose and Javi interview Jeremiah Chechik - director not just of the pilot episode of Javi's show "The Middleman" but also TV shows including "Chuck", "Gossip Girl", "Shadowhunters", "Helix", "The Bronx is Burning", "Burn Notice" - and, oh yeah, a couple of classic feature films including "Benny and Joon" and "Christmas Vacation".  Though the discussion is wide-ranging, the focus is on the relationship between the writer and director both in TV and features: how we collaborate, how we interact on and off the set, and how do we stay true to each our vision without trampling on the other's! This one's a must for all TV writers - because our work doesn't end at the keyboard, and directors can, and should, be our best friends!

The Writers Guild is currently engaged in a landmark labor action which has already changed the face of the entertainment industry. In this special episode, Jose and Javi have a lengthy and candid conversation with WGA President David A. Goodman about the how's and why's of the guild's goals and strategy as it seeks to redefine the role of agents and agencies in the business of representing writers.

As part of their "Living in the Middle" sessions at the WGA, Javi and Jose host a talk about the writers room - what sort of personalities thrive in the collaborative creative environment that fuels the creation of TV narratives, and how does a writer find his or her voice among the talented many who make up a staff!