11. What's a Comedy Researcher?

Bethy Squires is a researcher for fact-based comedy shows, meaning she's responsible for making sure every d*ck joke on Drunk History is a historically accurate d*ck joke. She shares her journey from a bagel shop to the writers room, and also teaches us all how they finessed the first space toilet (content warning: that story involves all the bodily functions you think it does). 

Rasheea Hall is VP of Standards & Practices for the Fox Broadcasting Company, and she's here to teach us that S&P is about WAY more than bleeping curse words (although there's definitely plenty of that, too).

Tyler Rhoads has made a career for himself as a director and script adaptor for dubbing international projects into English. He talks through what exactly that means, shares which languages are the hardest to dub for, and even gets into the contentious topic of subs vs. dubs. Tyler's credits include "Babylon Berlin" and "Flavors of Youth."

Jillian is back on the hot seat in the first episode recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic. She talks about her experience working on the quarantine episode of Apple TV's "Mythic Quest," which was filmed 100% remotely. The show's First AD Emily Hogan also joins to talk about her job and how the remote production worked from her point of view. And at the end of the episode Annie and Jillian reflect on the state of the industry and some potential paths forward.

Natalie O'Brien is a talented costume designer who’s been making her mark on the independent film world. Natalie talks about her early days hustling on low budget projects, creative hurdles she’s had to jump on set with her costume choices, and the research and collaborative aspects of her job as a costume designer. Natalie’s impressive credits include “Honey Boy,” “The Little Hours,” “Ingrid Goes West,” and the upcoming film “I’m Your Woman” starring Rachel Brosnahan.

Kristin Carroll is a Story Producer for reality television. Yes, we thought the concept of “frankenbiting" was pretty interesting too. Kristin talks about her career as a Story Producer, utilizing Facebook to find career opportunities, and we have a very honest discussion about working in the entertainment industry. Her credits include "Deadliest Catch" and "Floribama Shore," two very different shows.

Sandra Leviton is an independent film producer and one of the most driven people we've ever met. She walks us through her professional path -- which, like so many in the industry, is winding -- and shares how she navigated some major career changes with grace and grit. She also talks about her time in Current Programming at FX, where she worked on some of their most iconic shows including "Sons of Anarchy," "American Horror Story," and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." 

Script Supervisor is one of the most important and misunderstood jobs in the film business. Often mistaken for other departments with “script” in their title, Script Supervisors work on set and are an integral part of the filmmaking process. Our lovely cohost Jillian hops to the other side of the booth along with Carly Romberg, and they map out their myriad responsibilities. Jillian’s credits include “Mythic Quest” and “The Mick,” and Carly’s credits include “New Girl" and “Bless This Mess.”

Alyssa Hill is an Art Director who has worked on some of our favorite series. From "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" to "I'm Dying Up Here" to the upcoming "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels," she's worked on a wide variety of shows. She walked us through the hierarchy of the art department on sets, her path working her way up from the bottom, and how the Art Director fits in and keeps everything moving. She also answered one of our most burning questions -- what's a Lead Man??

Lacey Joy works as a film loader and 2nd camera assistant. She talks passionately about how her first love, photography, led her to the camera department, gets into her first job in the film industry, and shares some excellent advice for on-set newcomers and camera department hopefuls. Her credits include “August Osage County,” “American Horror Story,” and re-shoots for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”