'Yellowjackets' creators on collaborating to make their hit Showtime series

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“We definitely use the phrase, time to shut it down, but I will not claim that's always successful,” says Ashley Lyle. “Your brain is always writing, and more often than not, I feel like the breakthroughs will come as you're falling asleep, or when you're in the shower, or just some random time of the day.” Lyle and Bart Nickerson arrive at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards held at The Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, on March 13, 2022.

“We definitely use the phrase, time to shut it down, but I will not claim that's always successful,” says Ashley Lyle. “Your brain is always writing, and more often than not, I feel like the breakthroughs will come as you're falling asleep, or when you're in the shower, or just some random time of the day.” Lyle and Bart Nickerson arrive at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards held at The Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, on March 13, 2022. Photo By Sthanlee B. Mirador/REUTERS.

Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson are co-creators and co-executive producers of the series “Yellowjackets” on Showtime. The married team say they bonded over a revision class and have been collaborating ever since, but they write the series from the retreat of their own spaces. “We definitely cannot be in the same room when we're working,” Lyle quips. 

Writing this complex show is a joint effort where they pick a different starting point, and repeatedly review each other’s work. But their thinking is not always fully aligned, so Nickerson explains that with the back and forth process, “we kind of find a shared point of view.” 

With Yellowjackets’ seven Emmys nominators, the duo is now working on season two of the hit series. They join The Business to discuss the show’s conceptualization, their hit-and-miss pitches, and how Showtime proved to be the right home for their vision.  

First, Kim Masters and Matt Belloni, founding partner of Puck News, delve into the latest decisions Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Zaslav has made, and how the industry is responding. 

From this Episode:

Credits

Host:

Kim Masters

Producer:

Joshua Farnham