WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're zoning 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:05.639 in on someone who's been, well, a key player 00:00:05.639 --> 00:00:07.919 behind the scenes in American comedy for, what, 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:10.779 over two decades now? Absolutely. A real architect, 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:13.039 you could say. We're talking about Alex Sulkin. 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:15.720 Right. Alex Sulkin. Yeah. And his influence is, 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:18.440 I mean, it's deeply woven into the fabric of 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:22.039 modern animated comedy, especially everything 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:24.219 surrounding Seth MacFarlane. That's a great way 00:00:24.219 --> 00:00:26.519 to put it. The McFarlane verse. Well, maybe you 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:28.199 don't know the name Alex Silken off the top of 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:29.879 your head when you're watching Family Guy or, 00:00:29.899 --> 00:00:32.280 you know, heading out to see big summer comedy. 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:35.280 His fingerprints are all over it. He's been a 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:39.439 core engineer of that very specific, often controversial, 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:42.939 but undeniably successful style of humor. So 00:00:42.939 --> 00:00:44.939 our mission today, looking at all this material 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:47.380 we've gathered, is to really get under the hood. 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:49.600 We want to map out his career path, understand 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.119 how he got from point A to point B. Yeah, how 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:55.159 does someone go from the pressure cooker of late 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:57.880 night writing to basically running one of the 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:00.179 biggest animated shows ever? And at the same 00:01:00.179 --> 00:01:02.780 time, translating that family guy sensibility 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:06.209 into blockbuster movies. It's quite a trajectory. 00:01:06.370 --> 00:01:08.670 It really is. And we also have to tackle this 00:01:08.670 --> 00:01:10.969 this kind of split in his public image. Exactly. 00:01:11.209 --> 00:01:13.870 That's crucial here because the sources show 00:01:13.870 --> 00:01:17.839 this massive success story. On one hand. leadership, 00:01:17.839 --> 00:01:20.319 creative influence, longevity. But on the other 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:22.739 hand. But on the other, his own public comments, 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:25.719 specifically on social media, sparked, well, 00:01:25.819 --> 00:01:28.459 a huge international controversy. So we're going 00:01:28.459 --> 00:01:30.620 to unpack all of that, the creative triumphs, 00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:33.439 the public persona, the controversies and how 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:35.500 it all fits together or maybe doesn't quite fit 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:37.180 together. Yeah. How do those things coexist? 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:39.579 And, you know, what does it tell us about his 00:01:39.579 --> 00:01:42.159 career and maybe the industry itself? OK, let's 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:44.040 dove in. Where do we start? The beginning, I 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:46.760 guess. The foundation. Makes sense. Let's start 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.500 with the basics. Alexander Matthew Sulkin, born 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:52.819 February 14th, 1973. He went to Connecticut College. 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:56.480 Okay. Standard enough background. But the real 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:58.799 launch pad, according to our sources, was his 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.579 first big writing gig. Right. The Late Late Show 00:02:02.579 --> 00:02:05.200 with Craig Kilbourne. And importantly, he was 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:06.540 there for the first three years of the show. 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:09.889 That feels significant. Why is that particular 00:02:09.889 --> 00:02:13.069 show at that particular time such a key starting 00:02:13.069 --> 00:02:14.969 point? Well, think about late night back then, 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:18.050 late 90s. It's basically comedy boot camp. Right. 00:02:18.189 --> 00:02:20.629 High pressure. Extremely high pressure. You're 00:02:20.629 --> 00:02:22.889 churning out jokes constantly. Topical stuff 00:02:22.889 --> 00:02:25.430 has to land tonight. It's relentless. You learn 00:02:25.430 --> 00:02:27.889 to be fast, versatile, and you learn to kill 00:02:27.889 --> 00:02:30.289 your darlings. You know, jokes that don't work. 00:02:30.629 --> 00:02:33.129 gone so it drills those fundamental joke writing 00:02:33.129 --> 00:02:35.830 muscles the speed the punchline focus exactly 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:38.530 skills that would be absolutely essential for 00:02:38.530 --> 00:02:41.610 the kind of rapid fire cutaway heavy style a 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:44.629 family guy he learned structure pacing just the 00:02:44.629 --> 00:02:47.430 grind of finding the laugh day in day out okay 00:02:47.430 --> 00:02:49.370 that makes a lot of sense he got that network 00:02:49.370 --> 00:02:52.189 tv grounding before jumping into animation but 00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:54.469 the sources really highlight how he got that 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:56.370 job in the first place it wasn't just applying 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:58.879 cold was it No, not at all. And this is like 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:01.099 the key connection that unlocks everything else. 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:04.199 He was recommended for the Late Late Show job 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:07.840 by Wellesley Wild. Wellesley Wild. Now, that's 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:09.939 a name people might recognize, especially if 00:03:09.939 --> 00:03:12.500 they follow a family guy or the Ted movies. They 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:14.879 absolutely should, because that recommendation, 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.039 that connection, it's the bedrock of Sulkin's 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:20.419 entire professional life, really. It's the start 00:03:20.419 --> 00:03:22.319 of this decades -long writing partnership. It 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.379 is. Wellesley Wilde became his go -to collaborator. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.139 That relationship is the engine behind so much 00:03:28.139 --> 00:03:30.960 of his success. It's a classic Hollywood example, 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.560 isn't it? Building an empire on a trusted inner 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:36.000 circle. Yeah, McFarlane clearly relied on this 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:39.000 core group. group, Sulkin and Wild, being right 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.400 at the center. Totally. They became indispensable 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:44.300 to that whole operation. And that trust, built 00:03:44.300 --> 00:03:47.000 early on, paved the way for the next big step, 00:03:47.180 --> 00:03:49.800 animation. The sources mention he worked on The 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:51.919 Cleveland Show, too, which kept him in that McFarlane 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.319 orbit. Part of the ecosystem. And then the main 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:57.939 event, joining Family Guy, officially in 2005. 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:00.580 And that's where things really take off. Right. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:02.520 Now we're getting into the heart of it. Section 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:05.389 two. His role in building the Family Guy empire. 00:04:05.629 --> 00:04:09.009 Since 2005, he's been doing, well, pretty much 00:04:09.009 --> 00:04:10.810 everything there. He wasn't just writing scripts. 00:04:11.229 --> 00:04:14.430 No, far from it. He's listed as a producer, a 00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:17.269 writer, obviously, but he even does voice acting 00:04:17.269 --> 00:04:20.069 for some recurring characters. It shows just 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:23.750 how integrated he became in the show's DNA, top 00:04:23.750 --> 00:04:26.050 to bottom. And looking at the list of episodes 00:04:26.050 --> 00:04:28.589 he's credited on. Yeah. It's not just the length 00:04:28.589 --> 00:04:30.550 of time he was there. It's the kind of episodes 00:04:30.550 --> 00:04:32.730 he seems to have been involved in some really 00:04:32.730 --> 00:04:34.990 significant ones. Yeah. Let's dig into some of 00:04:34.990 --> 00:04:36.810 those because they really illustrate his range 00:04:36.810 --> 00:04:39.290 and influence. You absolutely have to start with 00:04:39.290 --> 00:04:41.490 the Star Wars parody. He wrote the first part, 00:04:41.629 --> 00:04:44.870 Blue Harvest. Which was a huge deal at the time, 00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:47.470 right? An hour -long special. Massive. Think 00:04:47.470 --> 00:04:50.790 about it, 2007. Handing a writer the reins for 00:04:50.790 --> 00:04:53.230 an hour -long parody of Star Wars, that's enormous 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:56.129 trust from McFarlane and the studio. Both creatively 00:04:56.129 --> 00:04:58.889 and financially, I imagine. Absolutely. Blue 00:04:58.889 --> 00:05:01.470 Harvest wasn't just another episode. It needed 00:05:01.470 --> 00:05:04.949 complex writing to nail the parody and the family 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:07.050 guy humor, plus all the production coordination, 00:05:07.129 --> 00:05:09.689 the music. It was almost like making a mini -movie. 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:11.470 And it worked. It became iconic for the show. 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:14.129 It totally did. It proved Vanley Guy could pull 00:05:14.129 --> 00:05:17.149 off these huge, ambitious, high -concept swings. 00:05:17.449 --> 00:05:20.620 It showed Sulkin could handle that scale. But 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:22.839 he wasn't just doing the big event episodes. 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:26.139 His name is also on episodes that feel like classic 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:29.000 Family Guy absurdity, like chick cancer or steroids. 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:32.779 Right. And those show his mastery of the show's 00:05:32.779 --> 00:05:35.319 bread and butter. Take a kind of outlandish premise, 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:38.240 Stewie on steroids, Lois getting cancer, which 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.899 sounds dark, but they spin it for comedy, and 00:05:40.899 --> 00:05:43.680 build a typically irreverent half hour around 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:46.899 it. So he could do the core show formula just 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:48.980 as well as the big specials. Exactly. But then 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:51.800 you also see things like Stu and Stewie's Excellent 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:54.160 Adventure, which gets into time travel, more 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:56.300 complex plotting. He showed versatility there, 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:58.259 too. Interesting. And then there's an episode 00:05:58.259 --> 00:06:00.459 that, well, it definitely sparked some debate. 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:04.160 Screams of Silence, the story of Brenda Q. Ah, 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:07.439 yes. that one's fascinating tackling domestic 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:09.899 violence focusing on quagmire's sister brenda 00:06:09.899 --> 00:06:12.100 that feels like a huge tonal shift for family 00:06:12.100 --> 00:06:14.920 guy yeah it absolutely was for a show built on 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:18.060 shock value and let's be honest often making 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:20.959 light of serious topics to suddenly pivot to 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:24.459 something so heavy so grounded it was a massive 00:06:24.459 --> 00:06:26.949 risk What does him writing that tell us? It tells 00:06:26.949 --> 00:06:29.250 us he was willing or maybe the show running team 00:06:29.250 --> 00:06:31.649 at the time was willing to push the show into 00:06:31.649 --> 00:06:35.250 really unexpected territory using that huge platform 00:06:35.250 --> 00:06:37.290 for something dramatic, almost like a totally 00:06:37.290 --> 00:06:39.490 different kind of show. How did people react 00:06:39.490 --> 00:06:41.750 to that episode? Was it seen as a successful 00:06:41.750 --> 00:06:45.230 experiment? It was really divisive. Some critics 00:06:45.230 --> 00:06:47.889 and fans praised the attempt to address a serious 00:06:47.889 --> 00:06:50.629 issue. Others felt it was jarring, like it betrayed 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:52.730 what Family Guy was supposed to be. Right, that 00:06:52.730 --> 00:06:55.569 tonal whiplash. Exactly. But whether you liked 00:06:55.569 --> 00:06:57.569 it or not, it shows Sulkin was part of making 00:06:57.569 --> 00:07:00.430 bold, maybe even controversial creative choices 00:07:00.430 --> 00:07:03.069 within the show itself, not just, you know, writing 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:05.269 standard jokes. He wasn't afraid to experiment 00:07:05.269 --> 00:07:07.870 with the format. And that experimentation extends 00:07:07.870 --> 00:07:09.689 to things like the Viewer Mail episodes too, 00:07:09.769 --> 00:07:12.100 right? Yeah. He co -wrote the second one. Yeah, 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:14.420 those anthology episodes require a different 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:16.860 skill set, juggling multiple stories, different 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:19.339 tones, all within 22 minutes. He could handle 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:21.839 that, too. The sources also list episodes like 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.779 Into Fat Air, kind of an adventure parody, Grim 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:28.279 Job, Doing Fairy Tales, Three Acts of God. It's 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:31.180 just a remarkably consistent output over such 00:07:31.180 --> 00:07:33.620 a long stretch. Consistency and versatility. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:35.759 That's the takeaway. He wasn't just a one trick 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.079 pony. He could handle parody, adventure, character 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.639 stories, even heavy drama, all within the family 00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:44.639 guy voice for over a decade. Which leads us to 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.500 the big so what moment in his animation career. 00:07:47.740 --> 00:07:50.759 The power shift. Precisely. All that work, all 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.040 that demonstrated expertise, it culminated in 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:56.470 a major promotion. Starting with season 16, Alex 00:07:56.470 --> 00:07:58.790 Sulkin, along with Richard Apple, became the 00:07:58.790 --> 00:08:01.129 new showrunners for Family Guy. And showrunner 00:08:01.129 --> 00:08:03.790 isn't just a fancy title, is it? It's a fundamental 00:08:03.790 --> 00:08:06.269 shift in responsibility. Oh, it's huge. We need 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:08.529 to be clear what that means. A showrunner, especially 00:08:08.529 --> 00:08:11.550 on a long -running hit like Family Guy, is basically 00:08:11.550 --> 00:08:14.389 the CEO of that show. You're overseeing everything, 00:08:14.750 --> 00:08:16.529 the writer's room, the animation pipeline, the 00:08:16.529 --> 00:08:19.009 budgets, the actors, keeping the brand consistent, 00:08:19.189 --> 00:08:21.250 keeping it funny after, what, nearly 20 years 00:08:21.250 --> 00:08:24.250 on air by that point? It's an immense job. So 00:08:24.250 --> 00:08:26.649 MacFarlane essentially trusted him, along with 00:08:26.649 --> 00:08:29.689 Appel, to steer the ship. To run this incredibly 00:08:29.689 --> 00:08:32.190 valuable property. Exactly. It's the ultimate 00:08:32.190 --> 00:08:34.610 vote of confidence. He went from being a key 00:08:34.610 --> 00:08:37.669 writer and producer to being one of the top executives 00:08:37.669 --> 00:08:39.909 responsible for the entire creative direction 00:08:39.909 --> 00:08:42.750 and, frankly, the continued profitability of 00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:45.909 a flagship show for Fox, now Disney. A massive 00:08:45.909 --> 00:08:48.269 transition. But his story wasn't just contained 00:08:48.269 --> 00:08:50.690 within Quahog, was it? While he was building 00:08:50.690 --> 00:08:53.049 this empire in animation, he was also making 00:08:53.049 --> 00:08:55.500 significant moves elsewhere. That's right. Section 00:08:55.500 --> 00:08:58.500 three, expanding beyond animation. And this brings 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:01.059 us back to that crucial partnership with Wellesley 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:03.980 Wild. Because their success on Family Guy opened 00:09:03.980 --> 00:09:06.960 other doors, big doors. Very big doors. Their 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:09.399 collaboration was so effective that studios started 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:12.340 investing in them as a team. In August 2010, 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.379 Sulkin and Wild signed a big three -year overall 00:09:15.379 --> 00:09:18.600 deal with 20th Century Fox TV. OK, break down 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:21.019 what an overall pact means for listeners who 00:09:21.019 --> 00:09:23.409 might not know the industry jargon. Sure. An 00:09:23.409 --> 00:09:25.850 overall deal is basically the studio saying, 00:09:26.049 --> 00:09:28.429 we believe in you guys so much, we're going to 00:09:28.429 --> 00:09:30.669 pay you a hefty salary for the next few years, 00:09:30.769 --> 00:09:33.750 and in return, we get the first look at anything 00:09:33.750 --> 00:09:36.309 you create. So the studio is betting on their 00:09:36.309 --> 00:09:39.190 future outbound. Exactly. They're betting millions 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:42.350 that this duo, Sulcan and Wild, can generate 00:09:42.350 --> 00:09:45.450 new hits, potentially beyond animation. It's 00:09:45.450 --> 00:09:47.470 a signal that they've moved up from being staff 00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:50.669 writers to being seen as major creative players, 00:09:50.769 --> 00:09:52.629 potential show creators. in their own right. 00:09:52.730 --> 00:09:55.190 And that bet paid off pretty quickly and pretty 00:09:55.190 --> 00:09:57.809 spectacularly with the move into feature films. 00:09:57.970 --> 00:10:00.149 It sure did. The big one, of course, was Ted 00:10:00.149 --> 00:10:03.750 in 2012. Salkin co -wrote the script with McFarlane 00:10:03.750 --> 00:10:06.350 and Wilde. And Ted was huge. Not just financially, 00:10:06.490 --> 00:10:08.909 but it felt like a moment. It absolutely was. 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:11.429 It proved that the specific comedic sensibility 00:10:11.429 --> 00:10:14.450 that honed on Family Guy, that edgy pop culture 00:10:14.450 --> 00:10:17.549 savvy kind of juvenile boundary pushing humor 00:10:17.549 --> 00:10:20.230 could translate to a live action movie and find 00:10:20.230 --> 00:10:22.429 a massive mainstream audience. It showed the 00:10:22.429 --> 00:10:24.549 McFarlane verse wasn't just an animation thing. 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:27.980 Precisely. It cemented McFarlane, Wilde, and 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:31.480 Sulkin as a bankable movie writing team. And 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:33.399 naturally, they followed it up by co -writing 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:36.340 the sequel, Ted 2, in 2015. They didn't just 00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:38.039 stick to talking teddy bears, though. They tried 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:40.399 other genres, too, right? Like the Western? Yeah. 00:10:40.539 --> 00:10:43.240 A Million Ways to Die in the West in 2014. Same 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:46.100 writing team, McFarlane, Wilde, and Sulkin. Applying 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:49.039 that same comedic lens to a very different genre. 00:10:49.179 --> 00:10:52.559 Right. Trying to do for the Western what Ted 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:55.659 did for, I guess, the buddy. It wasn't as big 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:57.960 a hit as Ted, critically or commercially. But 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.179 the fact that the studio gave them the resources 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:02.460 to make a Western comedy shows just how much 00:11:02.460 --> 00:11:05.259 faith they had in that team's brand at the time. 00:11:05.340 --> 00:11:07.159 But it wasn't all smooth sailing in the live 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:10.200 action world. There was also the sitcom attempt. 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:14.860 Ah, yes. Dads. This is an important counterpoint 00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:18.259 to the Ted success story. This was 2013. Salkin 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:20.620 and Wilde produced it. McFarling was an executive 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:22.799 producer. It seemed like it had all the right 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:25.600 ingredients. On paper, yes. The core creative 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:28.379 team behind Family Guy and Ted doing a traditional 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:31.000 multi -camera sitcom for Fox. You'd think it 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.840 would be a slam dunk. But it wasn't. No, it was 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.529 canceled after just one season. what does that 00:11:36.529 --> 00:11:39.269 tell us well it's a really stark reminder that 00:11:39.269 --> 00:11:42.350 success in one medium doesn't automatically transfer 00:11:42.350 --> 00:11:45.639 to another Animation is different from film, 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:48.620 and both are very different from network sitcoms. 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:50.419 Different rhythms, different audience expectations. 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:53.159 Totally different. And the broadcast network 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:56.600 environment is notoriously tough. Maybe their 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:59.679 specific style, which works so well in animation 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:02.360 and R -rated films, just didn't quite fit the 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:04.759 constraints or demands of a primetime network 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.779 sitcom. It shows even this powerhouse team wasn't 00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:10.620 immune to failure. A good reality check. Okay, 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:12.620 one more feather in their collective cap before 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:16.080 we move on. The Oscars. Right. When Seth MacFarlane 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:18.820 hosted the 85th Academy Awards, who did he bring 00:12:18.820 --> 00:12:21.940 along to help write jokes? Let me guess. Sulkin. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:24.899 Sulkin, indeed. Along with Wellesley Wilde and 00:12:24.899 --> 00:12:27.159 a bunch of other Family Guy stalwarts, Julia 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:29.659 Sharp, Danny Smith, John Viener, Patrick Mayen. 00:12:29.820 --> 00:12:31.779 Writing for the Oscars. Yeah. That's a pretty 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:34.879 big stage. It's about as big as it gets in terms 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:38.159 of televised events. Being tapped for that means 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:41.659 the industry sees you as a reliable, high level 00:12:41.659 --> 00:12:45.240 joke writer who can deliver under immense scrutiny. 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:47.659 It's sort of like the ultimate validation of 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:49.659 their comedic skills recognized by the mainstream 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:52.259 industry. Absolutely. It shows that the family 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:54.440 guy's sensibility, or at least the writers behind 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:57.200 it, had achieved a certain level of institutional 00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:00.169 acceptance, even respect. At the highest levels. 00:13:00.470 --> 00:13:02.490 OK, so we've tracked this incredible professional 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:06.070 rise, late night, animation domination, blockbuster 00:13:06.070 --> 00:13:09.669 films, Oscar recognition. It's a remarkable trajectory. 00:13:09.710 --> 00:13:12.309 It really is. Consistent success across multiple 00:13:12.309 --> 00:13:14.929 platforms driven by that core partnership. But 00:13:14.929 --> 00:13:17.129 now we have to shift gears because alongside 00:13:17.129 --> 00:13:19.409 all this professional success, there's the other 00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:22.610 side of the coin, the public persona and specifically 00:13:22.610 --> 00:13:25.289 the controversy. Section four. Right. And this 00:13:25.289 --> 00:13:27.289 is where the modern reality of being a creative 00:13:27.289 --> 00:13:29.799 really comes into play. The sources note that 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:31.759 Sulkin built up a pretty significant following 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:33.700 on Twitter. Which many writers and producers 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:35.840 do now. It's a way to connect with fans, share 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:39.200 thoughts. Exactly. But it also means your personal, 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:42.500 maybe unfiltered thoughts are broadcast instantly 00:13:42.500 --> 00:13:45.720 to potentially millions of people. The line between 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:47.620 the writer's room and the public square completely 00:13:47.620 --> 00:13:51.379 dissolves. And for Sulkin, that led to a major 00:13:51.379 --> 00:13:54.549 incident in March 2011. We need to carefully 00:13:54.549 --> 00:13:57.210 unpack what happened with a tweet about the Tuchoku 00:13:57.210 --> 00:14:00.059 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Yeah, this is 00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:03.279 obviously sensitive territory. First, the context 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:06.799 is vital. The 2011 Chukwu event wasn't just an 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.539 earthquake. It was a triple disaster, massive 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:12.559 quake, devastating tsunami, and the Fukushima 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:15.059 nuclear crisis. The scale was just horrific. 00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:18.259 Unbelievable. Over 15 ,000 people confirmed dead, 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:20.879 hundreds of thousands displaced. It was a moment 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:23.759 of profound global shock and mourning. Rescue 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:25.700 efforts were ongoing. The world was watching 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:27.960 in horror. And the timing of Sulkin's tweet. 00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:30.570 Yeah. When did it happen relative to the disaster? 00:14:30.889 --> 00:14:32.789 According to the sources, it was posted just 00:14:32.789 --> 00:14:34.710 one day after the earthquake and tsunami hit, 00:14:34.809 --> 00:14:36.830 literally while the crisis was still unfolding 00:14:36.830 --> 00:14:39.210 in real time. Okay. And the tweet itself read, 00:14:39.370 --> 00:14:41.429 If you want to feel better about this earthquake 00:14:41.429 --> 00:14:44.409 in Japan, Google Pearl Harbor death toll. Yeah. 00:14:45.230 --> 00:14:48.169 The intent seems to have been some kind of dark, 00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:51.110 historical, maybe politically charged humor. 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:54.700 Trying to contextualize or diminish the tragedy 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:57.840 through a historical comparison. But the delivery. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:00.740 The delivery connecting an immediate, catastrophic, 00:15:00.860 --> 00:15:03.940 ongoing natural disaster where thousands were 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:07.120 dying to a historical military attack like Pearl 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:10.860 Harbor and doing it just 24 hours after the quake, 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:14.080 it landed disastrously. An incredible lapse in 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.870 judgment regarding timing and sensitivity. To 00:15:16.870 --> 00:15:19.230 say the least, especially given the sheer scale 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:21.169 of the human suffering happening at that exact 00:15:21.169 --> 00:15:23.250 moment. It just hit all the wrong notes immediately. 00:15:23.549 --> 00:15:25.450 What happened right after he posted it? What 00:15:25.450 --> 00:15:27.250 was the immediate fallout? Well, the backlash 00:15:27.250 --> 00:15:29.850 was swift and severe, global, really. The next 00:15:29.850 --> 00:15:32.289 day he deleted the tweet. And he issued an apology. 00:15:32.629 --> 00:15:34.809 Yes, he issued an apology stating the post was 00:15:34.809 --> 00:15:36.990 insensitive and that he hadn't, quote, realized 00:15:36.990 --> 00:15:39.590 the extent and severity of the disaster. But 00:15:39.590 --> 00:15:42.279 the damage was done. Why did this particular 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:44.940 tweet cause such an uproar compared to, you know, 00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:47.139 other edgy online jokes we see all the time? 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:49.620 I think there are a few reasons. One, as we said, 00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:51.960 the sheer humanitarian scale of the Chiku disaster 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:55.679 made sensitivities incredibly high. Two, remember 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:59.120 2011. Twitter was really hitting its stride as 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.600 a global news and commentary platform. Right. 00:16:01.659 --> 00:16:04.000 Things could go viral very quickly, maybe before 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.500 people fully grasp the implications. Exactly. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.879 And public figures, companies, they were still 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:11.899 figuring out the rules of engagement online. 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:15.120 How do you balance personal voice with professional 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.240 responsibility? The response here was intense, 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:21.480 sustained, and got picked up by major news outlets 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:24.220 worldwide. It really highlights this modern dilemma 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:26.659 for creatives, doesn't it? Uh -huh. In the past, 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:28.960 a writer's edgy joke might get filtered out in 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.600 the writer's room or by network standards. Now, 00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:33.679 a late night tweet is instantly linked to your 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.080 professional identity. Absolutely. Sulkin was 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.659 already a known producer on Family Guy. Suddenly, 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:41.120 Alex Sulkin, private citizen on Twitter, and 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:43.600 Alex Sulkin, key creative for a major Fox Disney 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.320 show, were inseparable. And the network, the 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:48.080 studio, they have to deal with that fallout. 00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:50.049 They do. They have to weigh the public relations 00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:52.370 damage against the value of the creative talent. 00:16:52.470 --> 00:16:55.409 It forced a very public reckoning with the consequences 00:16:55.409 --> 00:16:58.090 of a joke that, you know, probably never would 00:16:58.090 --> 00:17:01.429 have made it onto the actual show. And yet, and 00:17:01.429 --> 00:17:03.509 this is maybe the most surprising part of this 00:17:03.509 --> 00:17:06.650 section, despite this huge public controversy, 00:17:06.990 --> 00:17:10.869 his career didn't stall. In fact, it accelerated 00:17:10.869 --> 00:17:14.170 in the years after 2011. That's the really striking 00:17:14.170 --> 00:17:16.829 thing the sources reveal. He weathered that storm, 00:17:16.970 --> 00:17:19.769 kept working on Family Guy, co -wrote massive 00:17:19.769 --> 00:17:21.650 hit movies like Ted, which came out the next 00:17:21.650 --> 00:17:24.569 year, and eventually, years later, was promoted 00:17:24.569 --> 00:17:27.529 to showrunner. Which says something. Yeah. About 00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:29.230 how these things are weighed in the industry. 00:17:29.450 --> 00:17:31.390 It certainly raises questions about accountability, 00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:34.390 forgiveness, and the perceived value of proven 00:17:34.390 --> 00:17:37.849 talent versus public perception. Okay, let's 00:17:37.849 --> 00:17:39.630 round things out before we get to our final thoughts. 00:17:39.750 --> 00:17:42.309 Yeah. Section 5. Just a few personal details 00:17:42.309 --> 00:17:44.309 and the overall synthesis. Sure. Just to add 00:17:44.309 --> 00:17:46.529 a bit more dimension. The sources mentioned he's 00:17:46.529 --> 00:17:48.950 Jewish, which, you know, might inform some of 00:17:48.950 --> 00:17:50.950 his comedic perspective, given how Family Guy 00:17:50.950 --> 00:17:53.829 often plays with cultural references. He's married 00:17:53.829 --> 00:17:56.890 to Tal Rabinowitz. They have one child. And an 00:17:56.890 --> 00:17:59.349 interesting little tidbit connecting him to the 00:17:59.349 --> 00:18:02.150 wider comedy world. He apparently dated Sarah 00:18:02.150 --> 00:18:04.460 Silverman at one point. Oh, interesting. Yeah, 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:06.319 she's obviously another comedian known for pushing 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.920 boundaries. Right. It just helps paint a picture 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:11.599 of someone embedded in that specific comedy scene 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:13.920 for a long time. Okay, so let's pull it all together. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:17.299 What's the big takeaway for someone trying to 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:20.299 understand Alex Sulkin's career? based on these 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:24.119 sources i think sulcan really embodies this modern 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:27.640 pathway for a successful comedy writer you start 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:29.960 in the trenches like late night prove your joke 00:18:29.960 --> 00:18:32.299 writing chops right build that foundation then 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:34.980 leverage connections and talent to get into a 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:38.019 hit show like family guy you demonstrate versatility 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:40.720 and reliability over years maybe decades and 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:43.680 then if you navigate it right that leads to creative 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.039 leadership like becoming a showrunner and crucially 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.779 while doing all that you're also trying to branch 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:51.490 out in his case, very successfully into feature 00:18:51.490 --> 00:18:54.809 films. Exactly. And the constant factor, the 00:18:54.809 --> 00:18:57.069 engine behind so much of that upward mobility 00:18:57.069 --> 00:18:59.950 seems to be that core partnership with Wellesley 00:18:59.950 --> 00:19:02.589 Wild, operating under the broader umbrella of 00:19:02.589 --> 00:19:04.769 Seth MacFarlane's production world. He found 00:19:04.769 --> 00:19:07.170 his creative home, proved his worth within that 00:19:07.170 --> 00:19:10.069 system, and was rewarded with immense trust and 00:19:10.069 --> 00:19:12.990 responsibility. across different mediums. Yeah, 00:19:13.109 --> 00:19:15.890 it highlights how valuable consistency and adaptability 00:19:15.890 --> 00:19:18.970 are, but it also shows the power of loyalty and 00:19:18.970 --> 00:19:21.309 established relationships within these successful 00:19:21.309 --> 00:19:23.930 creative teams, perhaps even insulating them 00:19:23.930 --> 00:19:26.819 to some extent from external criticism. All right. 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:28.539 That seems like a good place to wrap up our deep 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:30.859 dive on Alex Sulkin. We've covered the grind, 00:19:30.980 --> 00:19:33.759 the creative output, the huge successes in animation 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:36.640 and film, and also the very real complexities 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:39.220 and consequences of being a public figure in 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:41.759 the Internet age. Yeah. The material really tells 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:44.119 a picture of just how demanding the comedy industry 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:46.039 is now. You need to be able to write a quick 00:19:46.039 --> 00:19:49.140 gag for TV, craft a story for a movie, manage 00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:51.140 a huge production. It's not just about being 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:53.500 funny anymore. You need to be a writer, a manager, 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:57.589 an innovator. Kind of all at once. It's impressive 00:19:57.589 --> 00:19:59.490 he managed to climb to the top of Family Guy 00:19:59.490 --> 00:20:02.029 while also co -writing blockbuster movies. That's 00:20:02.029 --> 00:20:04.869 a rare balancing act. It truly is. But that brings 00:20:04.869 --> 00:20:07.029 us to our final provocative thought for you, 00:20:07.069 --> 00:20:10.339 the listener, to chew on. We discussed the intense 00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:13.880 global backlash to that 2011 tweet, criticism 00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:16.599 from major organizations, media outlets worldwide, 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:20.299 a serious public relations crisis. Right. Yet 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:22.259 in the years that followed, Alex Sulkin wasn't 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:24.819 sidelined. He continued to work. His film career 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:27.619 exploded with KED. And ultimately, he was promoted 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:30.240 to the very top creative position showrunner 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.859 at the company that faced that backlash. So the 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:35.359 question is. What does that outcome tell us about 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:37.079 accountability in the entertainment industry 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:40.150 today? How does a corporation weigh proven creative 00:20:40.150 --> 00:20:42.970 and commercial success against past public controversies? 00:20:43.230 --> 00:20:45.710 Where is that line drawn? And does achieving 00:20:45.710 --> 00:20:48.069 a certain level of success change where that 00:20:48.069 --> 00:20:50.750 line sits? A really interesting question to ponder. 00:20:51.390 --> 00:20:54.630 Does consistent delivery, does making the company 00:20:54.630 --> 00:20:57.210 money, ultimately outweigh a public offense in 00:20:57.210 --> 00:20:59.109 the long run? That's a calculation happening 00:20:59.109 --> 00:21:01.730 all the time in Hollywood. Okay, that's all the 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:03.549 time we have for this deep dive. Thanks for joining 00:21:03.549 --> 00:21:04.750 us. Until next time.