” over the last couple of years, i’ve done more and more work off camera, and i’ve learned a lot about how shows come together and develop in the writer’s room and the editing bay.
It’s sort of like talk soup for geeks, with a heavy focus on those hilariously bad paranormal reality shows (in fact, that’s where the whole thing started a year ago, but as we worked on the show more and more, we discovered that there were lots of scripted paranormal shows that provided a ton of comedic material.
) the official network announcement will be coming out a little later this morning, but i’ll put a little bit of it here, because i can: syfy has greenlit the 12-episode summer series, the wil wheaton project (working title), a weekly topical comedy show hosted by actor and champion of geek culture wil wheaton. Days and then weeks go by on a superimposed page-a-day calendar.
About a year ago, i had a meeting with a production company, who wanted me to host a show for them.
Then, about three weeks before we were going to shoot our pilot, disaster struck: the network executive who green lit the project was out, and our show was probably gone with him. “of course,” the head of the company said to me, like i’d just told him that i’d need to breathe air during production. We talk about what worked and what didn’t work in the pilot, discover that we all agree on those points (a huge bonus for all of us, because it means we see the show the same way), and by the time we’re finished we’re all excited to get the show on the air.
Add in vegetable stock, water, and v8.
After cooking time is up, add in red kidney beans, cannellii beans, zucchini, green beans and pasta , and cook on high heat for an additional 10-15 minutes until pasta is tender.
As the creative team — now my creative team — and i walked out of the building, one of them said to me, “that’s the best pitch meeting i’ve ever been part of. ” we wait for him to continue, and he does, “but this is the funniest pilot in this genre that i’ve ever seen.
On my way to my dressing room, one of the network executives who had come to the set to watch stopped me. We shot hours of stuff, knowing that it would get cut down to just 21 minutes, and by the end of the day i was creatively, emotionally, and physically exhausted.
Add in vegetable stock, water, and v8.
The camera cuts to a time lapse shot, high over hollywood, as the sun tracks across the sky, the traffic ebbs and flows, and city comes alive at night. I love being an actor on camera, but it feels very much like i’m doing a small part of the overall production.
“i have to say, this is the strangest way i’ve ever found out that something i did got picked up by the network. Imagine that the camera dollies across a room filled with network people, their faces illuminated by the flicker of a television that we can’t see.You take your creative team to their offices, and then you sit across from a bunch of executives and tell them why they should buy your show.
The reasoning goes that the new person who takes over won’t want to keep any of the old person’s projects, because they don’t want the old person to get any credit for anything. The wil wheaton project is a weekly roundup of the things i love on television and on the internet, with commentary and jokes, and the occasional visit from interesting people who make those things happen.
“they picked us up for 12 episodes. Lots of really great projects have died this way over the years, and i was pretty sure that my show would join them.
Now that fall is here, i have soup on the mind non-stop. 5 cups celery, chopped 1 white onion, diced 3-4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon italian seasoning 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 bay leaves 4 cups vegetable stock ( i prefer low sodium broth) 2 cups water 3 cups v8 ( or tomato juice) 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 can (15 oz) cannellii beans, drained and rinsed 1½ cups zucchini, diced 1 cups tubular (ditalini) pasta 1 can (15 oz) green beans, drained directions: 1. That shot has nothing at all to do with the narrative, really, i just think it looks cool. We spend about an hour with him and the rest of his team, making sure we all know exactly what the show is going to be.
) i hung up my phone, and then it hit me. For at least twelve weeks this summer, i’d be hosting a weekly show on television, and i’d get to help write and produce it.
We agreed on the general idea, and spent the next several months working out the specific details of the show.
“thank you,” i said, unsure how much salt i should be using to season the effusive praise, “i had a lot of fun, and i’m really glad you liked it. Unlike auditions, where i often feel like the other people in the room are sitting back and just waiting for me to leave, the network executives i met with that day last year were engaged, enthusiastic, interested, and seemed genuinely excited about the show.
Imagine a montage here, of editing and more editing and even more editing. “we’d much prefer to make something that doesn’t have to go on the air,” i said, “so we can show you all the different concepts and pieces.
Pitching a show to a network is weird. Place your diced tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, celery, white onion, garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, bay leaves into your crockpot.
It spoke volumes about the new guy’s character and confidence, and it said something pretty good about our idea, too. “we want to do this together.
What can i say, i’m a set-it and forget-it kinda gal what makes this the best crockpot minestrone soup? the flavor is spot-on and check out the obscene amount of veggies packed into this bad boy. The montage ends as i pick up my phone to make one more call. The series premieres tuesday, may 27 at 10pm et/pt on syfy. The show will be on the network formerly known as sci-fi, and it is called the wil wheaton project. We hired some great writers and segment producers, and spent lots of time making each other laugh, finding out what bits worked and didn’t, and trying to come up with a name for the show (that turned out to be the hardest part of the whole process).
I want to write for it, and i need to be a producer.“did you want to make a pilot that we could air, or would you prefer to do a non-airable pilot?” the head guy asked us. Wil is on his feet for the rapid-fire half hour, delivering sharp, straight-to-camera commentary as he riffs his way through content clips.
” i couldn’t believe how well, easy the whole thing was. In the entertainment industry, it’s not uncommon for executives to move around, but when that happens, any projects they had approved are always killed. After cooking time is up, add in red kidney beans, cannellii beans, zucchini, green beans and pasta , and cook on high heat for an additional 10-15 minutes until pasta is tender. Would they like the show as much as we did? would they laugh at our jokes? what would i do if they didn’t? in the fifty or so steps it took me to get from the stage door to my mark, the magnitude of what we were doing — the culmination of months of hard work — and what was at stake for us threatened to paralyze me.
Do you remember the day photoshopwilwheaton. ” i couldn’t believe it.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or 3-4 hours on high. “i’ve been producing tabletop for two seasons, and if i’m going to be the public face of a show, i need to have a hand in its creative direction.
I looked up at the camera and said, “hi, i’m wil wheaton, and this is the wil wheaton project. We’re not going to do another montage, because i have to publish this in fifteen minutes and i don’t have time.
We get the impression that they like what they see. Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.
“the last i heard was that they liked it, but i thought that they hadn’t given us the official pick up. I wanted to help make the show. It felt so weird to feel a mixture of excitement and nervousness as i walked into the stage and met the crew. ” “i guess it’s easy when you really believe in something and are excited about it, huh? ” “i guess it is !” another few months went by, and we continued to work on the show, refining it and pitching ideas to each other. I feel so comfortable with my tabletop crew, and i know the crew at the big bang theory so well, to meet and work with a crew i would probably only see for one day was a new experience for me. It’s one of my family’s go to comfort foods.
Let’s just do a simple time cut to me, sitting in my office wearing my captain kirk pajamas, writing this out.
If i was going to host a show, and if i was going to be the face of that show, i needed to do more than just stand in front of the camera and read lines.
The result is a fun appreciation for all things science fiction. They love you !” i felt this strange mixture of excitement and embarrassment, wrapped up in a blanket of silly. Each week, wil provides his insider point-of-view, sense of humor and expertise as he dissects the week’s most popular and trending topics across sci-fi film, television and pop culture, as well as video games, viral videos and news. I didn’t think about all the risks and all the ways i could screw up. I told the familiar voices of self doubt and you really suck, wheaton, to shut up and let me do my work.
“i have to tell you,” the new guy says to us, “that a lot of people have tried to crack this particular nut, and nobody has ever been able to make the show you brought us work. What? ” “nobody told you? ” i recalled the last conversation i’d had with the head of the company, a week before. Yum ! the best crockpot minestrone soup ingredients: 1 can (14. This is the part where i finally stop describing the process of creating this show and bringing it to life, and actually tell you what it is, and where and when you can see it. I whooped and hollered and ran around my house, while my dogs tried to figure out why i had the zoomies hours before they usually got them at 5:30pm every day. Probably include another one of those time lapse shots of a city at night that i think are so cool, but this time a couple of thunderstorms blow over, because those look really neat in time lapse. About six months later, we went to the network to pitch it.
You guys did a great job !” i exhale, and thank him. 5 oz) diced tomatoes 2 cups carrots, chopped 2 cups potatoes, chopped 1. It premieres on may 27th at 10pm. Serve with your favorite crackers, salad or warm bread ! need even more crockpot soups? make sure to check out my 25 comfortingcrockpot soups and stews here ! do you love family fresh meals? never miss out on fun new meals or easy lunchbox ideas for thefamily andsign upto have my posts sent right to your inbox! it’s easy peasy! justclick hereand enter your email ! xo corey, darryl, big d & little d instructions place your diced tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, celery, white onion, garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, bay leaves into your crockpot.
The 30-minute show will offer a funny, fast-paced exploration and celebration of science fiction and genre entertainment. Now we cut to me doing various things, like walking my dogs, homebrewing beer, doing some rocky-like training for some reason. I called the production company, and asked if we were finished before we had even really started. Imagine another montage that serves to pass some more time, and ends with us having a meeting with the new guy at the network. ” she said it with so much kindness and sincerity, i put my mental salt shaker away without using a single grain. When i got to my mark, i took a deep breath and reminded myself that a lot of smart and funny people had helped get me to that very moment. ” “really?” i said. “so, it’s been a long time and we haven’t heard anything,” i say to my executive producer, “should i just assume that it didn’t work out? ” “what do you mean?” he says. She told me how much she loved it, how funny she thought it was, how much she liked me as the host, and that she wanted to get it on the air right away.As you know, my favorite way to make soup is in the crockpot.
” i laughed, and we made plans to meet so we could discuss the writers and producers we’d bring on for the full three month production process (and hopefully years more, if the network likes us enough to keep us going.
I believed in the concept of the show, and i knew that it could be really cool if the network would trust our ideas and let us make it. The concept was simple, i thought it had the potential to be incredibly funny, and i really liked the people i met with. ” “well i loved it, and i hope that we get to do this together for years.
” “okay,” he said, “go and make your best pilot, and we won’t worry about putting it on the air.
Some of them are laughing, others are stoic, most of them are smiling. I just had fun doing the work we’d written. ” just like that, all the nerves and doubts went away.