One problem with comedy writers is: we’re part of the Hollywood machine. We eat and sleep the “entertainment industry,†because it’s our job to do so, no different than a heart surgeon who thinks a lot about heart surgery (okay, it’s a little different). The upshot of that is we tend to want to write what we know, and what we know tends to be…entertainment which is, funny and relatable for us, but not so much outside of that. See: thousands of sketches about the nuances of auditioning or writing a script that feel…really “inside.â€
Above Average has managed to make an entertainment-centric series that is broadly relatable with its Unsung Heroes of Hollywood and, this week, we’re featuring a particularly strong installment in “The Flattener.†Directed by Tim Bierbaum and written by Zoe Schwab, what makes this piece of showbiz comedy–and the series as a whole–so inclusive is its focus on an “industry†role that’s completely made up and, thus, as graspable as heart surgery (no, that’s still wrong).
Luke is an executive producer at CollegeHumor/Big Breakfast and a watcher of many web videos. Send him yours @LKellyClyne.