McCollom: PK Simonds

Very happy to sit down with family on Wednesday. P.K. spoke about his experiences in the TV industry with enthusiasm and candor. Our group seems to have a particular interest in TV (not necessarily in the lazy, couch-sitting, frightening Amrican obesity kind of way, but in the drawn to story lines and characters kind of way), and many were happy to share their favorites (Why don't the survivors in Walking Dead just get on a boat!?). We learned about the infamous Hollywood networking process, and the value of patience/stubbornness/passion in any career, and one in writing in particular. I was struck by how thick-skinned a TV writer needs to be thanks to such a high rate of failure. Reminded me of baseball in that sense. "Failure" is part of the job and a chance to learn, not the end of the road. But of course, one still feels that pressure and anxiety with every new creation.

I was also interested in hearring about the effect Netflix and Hulu and similar sites have had on the TV writer's life, expecting the news to be negative. In fact, while those services have been tough on networks, the impact on writers is more neutral, or even positive.

Lastly, after hearing about Melville's solitary existence creating Moby Dick in the Berkshires, the collaborative process of TV writing struck me as quite a contrast. I wonder about the battles for creative control that must emerge...