rant · moment 18 of 21
LA Burnouts and the Ambitious 23-Year-Old Pitch Kid
from Searching For Bobby Fischer · #81
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minTim describes the jaded, defeated energy of longtime failed LA pilot writers versus a pragmatic 23-year-old comedian who cynically pitches identity-based content, including an absurd riff on a fake non-binary disabled romance show.
- 46:30LA attracts people who get how fucked everything is, but that awareness doesn't help them—they're trapped in darkness like they've read too much about kings.
- 47:12Failed TV pilots have left some LA comedians perpetually on the edge, starting every sentence with a nervous laugh and smile.
- 47:38Tim had dinner with a 23-year-old comedian who's pragmatically willing to write a show about an Arab guy since networks won't make one about a white guy.
- 48:27The kid's pitch: people mad they can't get shows should stop complaining and just write what networks want instead of waiting.
- 48:48Describing the kid's actual TV pitch: two non-binary, mixed-race characters, one with a clubfoot and one in a wheelchair, falling in love.
- 49:32The show then pivots to the couple researching dark conspiracy material like Nick Bryant stuff, discovering the world isn't sunshine.
- 49:48The comedy premise is fucked-up people finding even worse shit—like someone with six months to live choosing to investigate pedophile cults instead of watching sunsets.
- 50:02Tim explains everything depends on execution: you can make a movie about trans people if you do it right, and that's what the kid understood.
- 50:33The kid's edge is being emotionally detached enough to see how things actually get done in the industry.