Children of Tendu
Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Jose Molina are television writer/producers with over forty years of combined experience on shows including "Lost," "Firefly," "Sleepy Hollow" and "Helix"... and they are giving away all their knowledge for free! Find us on Twitter @childrenoftendu!

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March 2014
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Syndication

What is it like to face the dread of the empty page... when you are doing it for pay and as part of the writing staff of a television series for the first time? In this thrill-packed episode, Jose and javi share the stories of their first episodic assignments on staff (on Dark Angel and seaQuest, respectively), and give you a blow-by-blow of the process so that you do NOT make the same mistakes they did!

Direct download: 5._Your_First_Script_On_Staff_-_Surrender_Your_Ego.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

The great unspoken truth of television writing is that - by and large - writers spend most of their time not at the keyboard, but in a conference room collaborating on stories with other writers. In this super-sized episode, Jose and Javi use case studies from their work on "Lost" and "The Vampire Diaries" to discuss how the writers room works, how stories are created in most television shows, but also the procedures and etiquette of this most misunderstood part of the TV writing process.

Direct download: 4._The_Writers_Room-_How_Do_I_Work_This.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Episode 3 - Staffing Season

Once a year, every writer - and aspiring writer - in television takes part in what amounts to nothing less than a (metaphorical) all-city job fair... the period after the networks have picked up their new pilots, renewed their returning shows, and every one in town with a spec and a dream tries to get a job on a writing staff... but what really is staffing season? How do you get in it? How do you survive it?n In this episode, Jose (Firefly, Sleepy Hollow) Molina and Javier (Lost, The Middleman) Grillo-Marxuach break down this mystifying Hollywood ritual, and share their successes and failures in the hopes that you will not make the mistakes they made!

Direct download: 3._Staffing_season_-_am_I_doing_it_right.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Episode 2 - Agents - Who? Why? And How?

Javi and Jose demistify one of the most misunderstood components of the entertainment business: agents. what they do and why they are crucial for a successful career in television is a little undertstood face of our work as television writer/producer... not anymore!

Direct download: 2._Agents_-_who_why_and_how.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Episode 1 - Your first step into a much larger world

In this inaugural edition of the Children of Tendu Podcast, veteran television writer/producers Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, The Middleman, Helix, Medium) and Jose Molina (Sleepy Hollow, Firefly, Haven, Castle, Dark Angel) begin at the beginning: explaining how they started their careers in television, and how someone at the ground floor might navigate the early stages of the urban jungle that is the business of writing for the tube!

they also explain the strange name of the podcast, briefly discuss "mangut" and engage in a lively discussion of how a chance meeting in a Puerto Rican Supermarket sparked a lifelong friendship.

javier Grillo-Marxuach and Jose Molina have over forty combined years of experience as writer/producers in television - the Children of Tendu Podcast is their attempt to give away their experience in the entertainment business for free in the hopes that others will not make the same mistakes they did!

Questions for the Children of Tendu Podcast? Find us on Twitter at @childrenoftendu.

Direct download: 1._Your_first_step_into_a_much_larger_world.m4a
Category:podcast -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Welcome to the Children of Tendu podcast, featuring Jose Molina - writer and producer on shows including Firefly, Sleepy Hollow, Castle, Dark Angel, Terra Nova, Without a Trace, and Law & Order SVU - and Javier Grillo-Marxuach - writer and producer on Lost, Helix, Medium, Boomtown, Charmed, The Pretender, and creator of The Middleman

Children of Tendu is - without a doubt - the best podcast on television writing, the business of television, and getting started in television, ever to be named after a misheard song lyric from the 1990's!

If you are considering a career as a television writer, or are already on your way, Jose and Javi will share their war stories and give straight-shooting practical advice on how to make your way through the jungle that is television... all while giving an uncensored, unexpurgated look at their own award-winning careers!

And if you ever wanted to ask questions to not one but TWO working television writer producers, follow us on Twitter at @childrenoftendu - the next question we answer may be yours!

Category:general -- posted at: 3:48pm PDT

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