Welcome to the Deep Dive. We sift through the
noise articles, interviews, analysis to give
you the focused insight you need. Today, we're
looking at someone whose fingerprints are all
over modern TV comedy, even if your name isn't
always the first one you think of. Exactly. We're
talking about Jen Statsky, American television
writer, comedian. Just a powerhouse, really.
And our mission today, well, it's pretty clear.
We want to trace her journey. It's quite remarkable.
It really is. From doing stand -up, working in
coffee shops, all the way to co -creating and
co -show running Hacks. You know, one of the
most critically adored comedies out there right
now. And the awards back that up. We're talking
multiple Emmys, three primetime Emmys, a Peabody,
three WGA awards. Mostly for Hacks, but that's
just the peak so far. So this deep dive is for
you if you've ever watched shows like The Good
Place or Parks and Rec or Broad City and wondered,
how does someone get involved in all of these?
Right. It's not just about the credits list.
It's about the how. How do you build that kind
of career? How do you navigate different comedic
styles, different roles in the writer's room?
That's what we're going to unpack. Analytically,
you know. Yeah. How did she become such a key
player shaping so many major comedies over the
last, what, 15 years? OK, let's dig in. Where
does it all start? The foundation. Right. So
Jen Stasky, born November 19th, 1985, grew up
outside Boston in Milton, Massachusetts. But
like so many people aiming for entertainment,
the pull of New York City was strong. Absolutely.
She heads to NYC for college, ends up at NYU.
And not just NYU, but Tisch, the School of the
Arts. Yeah, Tisch is significant. studied film
and television there. And Tish, well, it drills
you on the craft, doesn't it? Structure, visual
storytelling. It's less about literary analysis
and more about, you know, the mechanics of making
film and TV. That structural grounding feels
important, looking at her later work. But let's
add a couple of humanizing details first. She's
married to Travis Helwig. That's right. Also
an Emmy -winning writer. You might know him from
his time at Crooked Media. That's fascinating.
A real powerhouse couple in the writing world,
straddling comedy and, well... political commentary.
Yeah, imagine those dinner table conversations.
And another little detail, maybe telling, maybe
not, she's a huge Los Angeles Clippers fan. Like,
die hard. Okay. Why bring that up? Is there a
connection? Well, maybe. Hear me out. The Clippers,
historically, they're the underdog in L .A. Yeah.
Right? Always fighting for respect against the
Lakers. True. Perpetual scrappers. Exactly. Yeah.
And maybe, just maybe, that kind of reflects
a certain interest in characters who are striving,
who are Maybe a bit flawed, but fighting for
their place. Think about hacks. That dynamic
feels very present, doesn't it? Huh. That's actually
a really interesting thought, the narrative preference
showing through. Okay, so she graduates NYU in
2008. What happens next? The glamorous post -grad
life. Huh. Yeah, exactly. The grind. Pure and
simple. You've got the degree, but now you're
working at a coffee shop, paying the bills. And
doing stand -up at night. Yep. That's the other
half of the equation. From roughly 2008 to 2010.
juggling the day job with hitting open mics.
Why is that period so important, more than Tish
even? I think so, yeah, because stand -up is
just, it's a crucible. You're up there alone,
you have maybe three, five minutes. Instant feedback
or instant silence. Right, brutal efficiency.
Every single word has to count. You learn timing,
rhythm, how to structure a joke for maximum impact,
economy of language, skills that translate everywhere
in comedy writing. And the coffee shot, just
a paycheck. Well, yes, but it also gives you
time. Time to think. Time to write between rushes.
It fuels the need to keep creating, keep practicing.
And while she's doing all this, she's also racking
up some seriously impressive internships. Oh,
yeah. It's just like a dream list for any comedy
hopeful. Yeah. Between 2008 and 2010, she interned
at Saturday Night Live. Wow. Late Night with
Conan O 'Brien. Okay. And The Onion. Jeez. That's
like three different pillars of modern American
comedy right there. Exactly. SNL live sketch,
fast turnarounds, copicality, Conan classic late
night structure, monologue jokes, desk pieces,
different rhythm entirely. And the onion, satire.
High concept, premise driven humor, that commitment
to the bit. She wasn't just getting coffee. She
was inside these machines, seeing how they worked.
Absorbing three distinct, high pressure, professional
ways of making comedy. Okay, now this next part.
This feels pivotal. The digital angle. Ah, yes.
Twitter. This is where things get really interesting
and very of that specific moment in time. She
joins Twitter in 2009, but not just to, like,
share breakfast photos? No. No, she treated it
like a writing tool. A public notebook, almost.
A place to constantly write and workshop jokes.
Though 140 -character limit, it forces that same
economy stand -up does. Precisely. Short, sharp.
She's just cranking out jokes day after day.
And because it's public, she starts building
a following. People notice she's consistently
funny. This is the key, isn't it? It becomes
a living portfolio. You don't need to tell people
you're funny. You can just show them constantly.
And some important notice. This is the breakthrough
moment. 2011, A .D. Miles, who was the head writer
over at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Okay. He
sees her stuff on Twitter. He's obviously impressed
by the consistency, the voice. Yeah. And he just
messages her. Just slides into the DMs, basically.
Pretty much. Says, hey, we have a writing position
open. You should apply. That's incredible. It
completely bypasses the old gatekeepers, doesn't
it? No agent needed, no formal submission packet
in that initial contact. Just talent recognizing
talent online. It was huge. Her manager confirmed
the hiring in March 2011. Think about that leap.
One minute, you're... pouring coffee and hitting
open mics. The next year, a staff writer on a
major network late night show. All because she
treated Twitter like a job before it was her
job. It perfectly captures that transition. Using
a modern digital tool to break into a legacy
media institution, it proved the power of just
consistently doing the work out loud. So 2011,
she lands at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. That's
the official entry into TV writing. She's there
until 2013. Right. And Late Night, that's like
boot camp, isn't it? The pace is relentless,
daily deadlines, topical jokes, you learn speed.
But she didn't just stay in that lane. What's
striking is how quickly she started showing range.
Yeah, almost immediately, even while at Fallon
or just before. She had a credit on Onion Sports
Dome in 2011 as an associate producer, but still.
writing adjacent on a very specific high concept
parody. And then Hello Ladies in 2013. That's
HBO, single camera, scripted comedy, totally
different feel from Fallon. Exactly. So already
in those first couple of years, she's demonstrated
she can handle sketch, parody, and character
-driven sitcom writing. She wasn't getting pigeonholed.
Which leads us into this next phase. Let's call
it the peak sitcom era for her. Maybe 2014 to
2020. This is where she really becomes embedded
in some iconic shows. Yeah, and working on several,
sometimes concurrently, climbing the ladder the
whole time. The range here is just, wow. Let's
start with the big one. Parks and Recreation,
2014 -2015. Right. Wrote two episodes, which
is great. But look at the other roles. Story
editor, then executive story editor. Okay, let's
pause there. Because those titles sound important,
but what do they actually mean in the right order?
from story editor a story editor is deep in the
trenches of the season's narrative you're not
just focused on your own script you're in the
room every day helping break all the stories
making sure character arcs track that the tone
is consistent you're kind of like a guardian
of the season's overall structure okay so overseeing
the story logic and executive story editor That's
the next step up. Yeah. More responsibility.
It signals the showrunners really trust your
judgment on the story, on the voice of the show.
You're helping manage the flow of scripts, maybe
doing some polishing work. It's a key middle
management role, essentially. So in Parks and
Rec, known for its, like, warmth and ensemble
comedy, she's already in a position managing
the story architecture, applying that to structure
training, maybe. You have to assume so, yeah.
But then look where she goes next, or overlaps
with. Broad City. 2015 to 2019. Talk about tonal
whiplash. From Pawnee, Indiana to, well, the
chaotic, hilarious world of Abby and Alana. Completely
different comedic energy. Parks is network -friendly
optimism. Broad City is cable -edgy, character
-specific, sometimes surreal, often raunchy.
And her roles there reflect another step up.
Four episodes written. And consultant, co -executive
producer. Okay, consultant. That often means
you're brought in for your specific expertise,
maybe on jokes, maybe on story, offering high
-level feedback. It's a respected outside voice
role. But co -executive producer, co -EP, that
sounds significant. It is. That's upper management
in the writer's room. You're likely running the
room some days. You're dealing with notes from
the network or studio. You might be involved
in staffing decisions, maybe even some budget
stuff. You're moving from just writing to actually
managing the creative process. So she's mastering
both the warm network comedy structure and the
edgy cable comedy management. And it doesn't
stop there. Not at all. She also dives into the
wonderfully weird world of Lady Dynamite. 2016,
2017. Maria Bamford show. Very meta, surreal.
Super meta. Breaks the fourth wall constantly.
Plays with timelines. Another totally different
comedic muscle needed. And again, look at the
roles. Two episodes written, but also story editor
and executive story editor. She's flexing that
structural muscle again, but in a much more experimental
context. And she even wrote an episode for another
period in 2016, the historical satire. Up Tubman.
just casually dropping into a period comedy.
It's like she was deliberately trying every flavor
of sitcom available. A true chameleon. Then there's
Forever in 2018. The Amazon show with Fred Armisen
and Maya Rudolph, supervising producer credit
there, story credit on an episode. Supervising
producer is another step up that ladder, often
sitting between exec story editor and co -EP.
More oversight, more responsibility for guiding
scripts through the process. This constant progression
through producer titles, it's not just about
billing, is it? Not at all. This is the training
ground for becoming a showrunner. Each step adds
a new layer of understanding, script level, season
level. Production level, management level. She's
systematically mastering every single aspect
of how a TV comedy gets made. Which brings us
to arguably her biggest gig before creating her
own show, The Good Place. Ah, The Good Place.
2016 to 2020, what a show. And her involvement
was substantial. Seven episodes written, that's
a lot for a show that dense. It really is. And
think about what writing for The Good Place demanded.
You had to be incredibly funny, yes. But you
also had to juggle complex philosophical concepts,
maintain really strict world -building rules,
and land massive season -ending twists. The writing
had to be airtight. And her producer journey
continued there, too. Oh, yeah. She moved through
co -producer, supervising producer, and finally
co -executive producer on that show. Her highest
title before Hacks. And this is where the industry
recognition really starts to solidify for her
personally, right? Not just the show, but her
role in it. Definitely. While she was supervising
producer and then co - OEP, The Good Place racked
up Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
So in 2019 and 2020, she's personally named on
those major nominations. That's the industry
saying, OK, she's not just a great writer anymore.
She's a proven creative leader on a top tier
show. So we've seen her climb the ranks inside
the writers room, but her influence started extending
beyond just the creative side. We need to talk
about her role in the wider industry. OK, like
what? Business deals? Advocacy. Both, actually.
Let's start with something really significant
that happened in 2019. The WGA versus the ATA.
The writers versus the agents. Right. The dispute
over packaging fees. This was a huge deal. Can
you break down what that was about, simply? Sure.
So traditionally, big talent agencies would package
a show for a studio, bring together the writer,
maybe a star, a director. Instead of just taking
their 10 % commission from the clients, the agency
got a large fee directly from the studio for
delivering this package. Okay, sounds efficient,
maybe. What was the problem? Massive conflict
of interest. If your agent is getting paid by
the studio, are they really fighting for the
absolute best deal for you, the writer? Or are
they... may be incentivized to keep the studio
happy to ensure future packaging deals. The WGA
argued it depressed writer salaries and created
divided loyalties. So how did Statsky get involved?
She was one of the thousands of WGA members who
took a really bold collective action. They essentially
fired their agents en masse until the agencies
agreed to phase out packaging fees. Wow, that
takes guts. You're potentially blowing up your
representation, your career structure midstream.
Exactly. Especially for someone at her level
working on major shows, it was a serious professional
risk taken to fight for fairer practices for
all writers, especially those coming up. It showed
real commitment to the guild and the principle
of the thing. Puts her right in the middle of
a crucial industry labor fight. And did that
stance hurt her career? Seems like the opposite
happened. Well, two years later, in 2021, she
signs an overall deal with Universal Television.
Okay, explain what an overall deal signifies.
That's a big step, right? It's huge. It's basically
the studio saying, we believe in you so much,
we want to bankroll your creativity for the next
few years. They pay you a hefty salary, give
you resources, office space maybe, and in return
you develop all your new TV projects exclusively
for them. So it locks her in as a major creator,
not just a writer for hire, but someone expected
to generate and run her own shows. Precisely.
It's the ultimate vote of confidence. Universal
is betting on her as a showrunner, as a source
of future hits. It's her creative home base now.
It's interesting, though, that even with all
this TV success, she didn't completely abandon
other forms of writing. No, and that's telling,
too. Shows her range isn't just across TV genres,
but across media. For instance, way back in 2012,
she contributed to the McSweeney's book of politics
and musicals. McSweeney's, that's known for pre
-highbrow literary humor, right? Very much so.
Smart, often quirky, sophisticated stuff. And
then more recently, she was part of that big
anthology, Notes from the Bathroom Line. Humor,
art, and low -grade panic from 150 of the funniest
women in comedy. Why is it significant that she's
doing these print pieces alongside her TV work?
I think it shows she still values that direct...
individual comedic voice tv writing is intensely
collaborative writing an essay or a short humor
piece that's usually just you and the page it's
flexing a different muscle maybe closer to her
stand -up roots she can manage a team and still
deliver a solo punchline and speaking of roots
she also seems to be giving back to the stand
-up community yeah check this out she's credited
as an executive producer on chris fleming's 2023
comedy special hell Ah, interesting. So using
her producer clout to help another comedian get
their special made. Exactly. Kind of brings things
full circle, doesn't it? Started in stand -up,
becomes a top TV producer, then uses that position
to champion another stand -up. It shows she's
engaged across the whole comedy ecosystem, scripted
TV specials, print humor. Okay, this all leads
us to the current peak. The show that really
defines her current status. Hacks. Premiering
in 2021 on HBO Max. Now Max. Hacks. This feels
like the synthesis of everything she'd done before.
The sharp joke writing, the complex character
dynamics, the structural integrity, the management
skills. It all comes together here. And crucially,
she's not just a writer or producer here. She's
co -creator and co -showrunner. Right. Sharing
that top credit with Lucia Anne Yellow and Paul
W. Downs. That partnership itself seems incredibly
fruitful. They'll work together on Broad City
too, right? They did. So there's history there.
And on Hacks, she's not just contributing to
a vision. She is the vision along with them.
She's written, what, 13 episodes herself? Plus
running the whole show as an EP. This is where
all that climbing the ladder pays off. She has
the experience, the authority, the skills to
build this world from the ground up. And the
reception. Well, it was immediate and massive.
The awards are just staggering. It wasn't a slow
burn. It hit hard right out of the gate. Let's
just list some of the big ones because it demonstrates
the consensus. Season 1, 2021. She and Yellow
and Downs win the primetime Emmy for outstanding
writing for a comedy series. For the pilot, there
is no line. Winning for the pilot is huge. It
means the core concept, the voice, it landed
perfectly from episode one. Totally. And then,
flash forward to 2024, they win the exact same
Emmy again. For the episode Bulletproof. That's
incredible. Winning twice for writing on the
same show, years apart. That speaks volumes about
sustained quality. It really does. And it wasn't
just writing. 2024, she also wins the big one,
the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. As an
executive producer, the show itself is crowned
the best. Plus, there's the Peabody Award back
in 2021. Which is huge. Peabody's recognized
storytelling that matters, that has cultural
resonance beyond just laughs. elevates the show
and then the industry awards golden globes for
best musical or comedy series in 2021 afi television
program of the year two years running 2021 and
2022. the afi recognition is significant too
because that's about preserving works of cultural
importance and the wga her own guild the one
she fought alongside they showered it with awards
too right 2021 wins for both comedy series and
new series. Then 2022, an episodic comedy win
for the one, the only again shared with any on
and downs. It's this consistent recognition across
the board, best show, best writing from critics,
from the industry, from her peers that really
cements hacks and by extension, her role in it.
So let's talk about that historical significance.
You mentioned winning the writing Emmy twice.
How rare is that? Where does that place her?
It puts her in seriously rarefied air. You have
to understand the history of that specific award.
Outstanding writing for a comedy series. Okay.
Lay it out for us. Well, think about the legends.
Carl Reiner won it multiple times for the Dick
Van Dyke Show back in the 60s. You had winners
from MBAH, James L. Brooks for Mary Tyler Moore.
Later, maybe most famously, Larry David won for
the contest episode of Seinfeld. Wow. Okay, those
are giants. Absolute giants. More recently, Tina
Fey won multiple times for 30 Rock. Dan Levy
for Schitt's Creek. Winning it once puts you
in elite company. Winning it twice for the same
show. Especially once for the pilot, establishing
the promise, and again years later for Bulletproof,
proving you delivered on that promise and sustained
it. It places her and her collaborators firmly
in that historical lineage. It's not just a currently
popular show. It's being recognized repeatedly
as possessing writing quality on par with some
of the most foundational and beloved comedies
in television history. It signifies a level of
craft that endures. So Hacks isn't just a hit.
It's being judged by the industry consistently
as genuinely landmark television writing for
this era. Demonstrably so. The awards aren't
everything, but that level of consensus from
Emmys, WGA, Peabody, AFI, it's undeniable. So
let's try and bring this all together. We've
tracked this path from, you know, using Twitter
almost like a public joke diary back in 2009.
Which incredibly lands her a job on Fallon, a
direct leap. Then a really focused decade spent
inside the system, moving between shows with
wildly different tones. Parks, Broad City, Good
Place. And not just writing, but actively learning
the whole machine by climbing those producer
ranks. Story editor, exec story editor, supervising
producer, co -EP, mastering the craft and the
management. Until finally, she reaches the point
where she's co -creating and co -show running
her own series, Hacks, which becomes this critical,
darling, sweeping awards. And securing that overall
deal with Universal, which basically says, OK,
keep doing that. We want more of whatever you're
creating. So what's the big takeaway here? What
does her career tell us? I think it's a masterclass
in building a career through versatility and
strategic growth. She used stand up for timing,
late night for speed, sitcoms for structure,
producing for leadership. She touched all the
bases. And wasn't afraid to move between like
very different comedic worlds, network warmth
to cable edge to philosophical high concept.
Right. She developed a voice strong enough and
skills broad enough that the industry eventually
said, OK, you're ready. Build your own universe.
And she did brilliantly. And it's also a story
about resilience, isn't it? The early grind,
the stand up, the coffee shop. And then later,
taking a stand with the WGA, showing that professional
integrity. Absolutely. It's not just about talent.
It's about perseverance, strategic learning,
and, well, being really, really good at writing
jokes and structuring stories. It's quite the
blueprint. Okay, so as we wrap up, we always
like to leave our listeners with something to
chew on, a final thought based on everything
we've discussed. Right. So think about this.
Jen Statsky spent a huge chunk of her career
becoming exceptional at working within established
worlds, taking shows like Parks and Rec or The
Good Place, which already had strong voices and
beloved characters, and elevating them, keeping
them great. She was a key player in maintaining
and enhancing those existing universes, a vital
role. Definitely. But her biggest success, Hacks,
involves starting from a blank page, co -creating
the entire world, the characters, the tone, the
rules, everything. So here's a question for you
to consider. What's the difference in the creative
challenge? What different muscles do you need
to be brilliant at sustaining and refining an
existing hit versus the challenge of inventing
a completely new, acclaimed comedy universe from
the ground up? Yeah. Think about that shift in
responsibility from being a crucial part of a
great machine to being one of the architects
designing the entire machine. It's a fascinating
leap. Something to keep in mind as you watch
whatever Jen Statsky and her collaborators create
next under that universal deal. For sure. It'll
be exciting to see. Thanks for diving deep with
us today. We'll catch you on the next one.