538 - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER DANIEL PEARLE

538 - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER DANIEL PEARLE

Author: Hilliard Guess November 13, 2025 Duration: 1:54:12

In this episode Hilliard and guest co-host writer/director Gregg Simon sat down for almost two hours with DANIEL PEARLE Executive Producer of Netflix's number one thriller called THE BEAST IN ME starring Claire Daines and Matthew Rhys.

Daniel Pearle is an American playwright and screenwriter. His plays have been produced and developed at Lincoln Center Theater, London’s Old Vic, The Vineyard, Ars Nova, and at regional theaters around the country. His play A Kid Like Jake premiered in a sold-out run at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater (NY Times Critic’s Pick). The play won the 2013 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award and was also awarded the prestigious Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation’s Theatre Visions Grant.

Daniel’s feature film adaptation of A Kid Like Jake premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film is directed by Silas Howard and stars Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Amy Landecker, and Ann Dowd. IFC Films acquired domestic rights for the film, which opened in theaters June 1, 2018. He is currently writing an original feature film for Warner Bros.

His other plays include Freefall (finalist, 2017 O’Neill Playwrights Conference), Remote Viewing (semi-finalist, 2015 O’Neill Playwrights Conference), The Prodigies (semi-finalist, 2013 O’Neill Playwrights Conference), and Plunder (winner, 2008 Loeb Drama Center’s Phyllis Anderson Prize). His short play The Truth About Christmas was a winner of the 2011 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival.

Daniel was a recipient of the 2018 Humanitas New Voices Grant for emerging writers in television. He received a WGA Award Nomination for his work on FX’s Impeachment: American Crime Story. Other TV credits include One of Us Is Lying (Peacock) and Accused (Fox). He is an alum of Ars Nova’s Play Group and a MacDowell Fellow. He earned his BA from Harvard University and his MFA from The New School for Drama.

💥SUBSCRIBE💥 if you’re serious about writing for TV/Film, leveling up your craft, and staying tapped into real game from working industry pros who KEEP IT GAME ALL DAY.


Our Motto: “Keep it GAME all day!"


MERCH (NEW T-SHIRTS/HOODIES), and all things Rant Room!

⁠https://screenwriters-rant-room.printify.me/products⁠


YouTube Shorts, Videos & BONUS CLIPS!

⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCua83eFRxVA1-r3ry5c0-fQ⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

@Hilliard Guess on all social media 

@Hilliardguess.bsky.social

IG: @ScreenwritersRantRoom


Guests:

@danielpearle

@gregglsimon


WE ARE NOW OPEN TO SPONSORSHIP AND BRANDING OPPORTUNITIES⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ : 

Screenwritersrantroom@gmail.com


Step inside a space where the polished veneer of Hollywood gets stripped away, replaced by the raw, unfiltered conversations happening behind the scenes. Screenwriters' Rant Room is guided by Hilliard Guess, a working WGA writer, director, and producer whose own path includes a role as Director of Development and now executive producing an Amazon series. He brings that grounded, insider perspective to every episode. Rather than rehearsed interviews, you’ll hear the kind of frank talk that happens after a long day on set or in a writers’ room. Hilliard sits down with guests or engages with rotating co-hosts, and together they drop what he aptly calls "industry bombs"-those unvarnished truths, frustrating anecdotes, and hard-won insights about writing, producing, and surviving in TV and film. The tone is as hilarious as it is candid, making the complex machinery of entertainment feel human and relatable. This isn't a lecture on structure; it's a living, breathing, and often laughing chronicle of the creative grind. For anyone curious about the real stories behind the screen, this podcast offers a front-row seat to the rants, revelations, and camaraderie that define a life in storytelling.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Screenwriters' Rant Room
Podcast Episodes
532: MICHEAUX FILM FEST - NOEL BRAHAM [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:32
In this Season Finale episode, Hilliard sits down with actor/writer/prod/director NOEL BRAHAM - co-founder of the hit MICHEAUX FILM FESTIVAL now in its 7th year and killing the game on the circuit!HIGHLIGHTS: The Power o…
531: EXEC PRODUCER SARA FINNEY JOHNSON [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:07
In this episode, Hilliard and guest co-host TV comedy writer Myles Warden sat down in a super fun conversation with icon comedy/drama writer SARA FINNEY JOHNSON (co-creator on the ICONIC television series’ Moesha and The…
530: OUT NFL PLAYER/AUTHOR - R.K. RUSSELL [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:16:08
In this episode, Hilliard and guest co-host Tristan J. Shuler sat down for a 2-hour, in-depth, hilarious conversation with R. K. RUSSELL, Out NFL Player, activist, poet and author of the amazing new book THE YARDS BETWEE…
529: SELWYN SEYFU HINDS - SHOWRUNNER [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:33:04
In this episode, Hilliard sits down for an in-depth, over 2-hour conversation with SELWYN SEYFU HINDS Showrunner/Creator of WASHINGTON BLACK the new hit series on HULU!HIGHLIGHTS: The Source Magazine in the late 90s and…
528: PARIS BARCLAY - EMMY-WINNING DIRECTOR / PRODUCER [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:49
In this episode Hilliard and guest co-host filmmaker/cinematographer (nephew) William M. Barclay sit down with Icon, Emmy-winning director/producer PARIS BARCLAY.HIGHLIGHTS: Paris’ Revival of his musical LETTERS FROM NAM…
527: EPISODIC DIRECTOR - KEN WHITTINGHAM [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:52:42
In this episode, Hilliard and guest co-host actor/filmmaker Denzel Whitaker (Black Panther, The Great Debaters) sit down for an in-depth, hilarious conversation with episodic director/producer KEN WHITTINGHAM, the man be…
526: SCREENWRITERS’ RANT ROOM “LIVE” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:10:48
In this episode, Hilliard and guest co-host, tv/film writer Saeed Crumpler recorded a "LIVE" Screenwriters' Rant Room podcast at the Bravemaker film festival in Redwood City, California!HILLIARD GUESS With credits on Dea…
525: CO-EXECUTIVE PROD - CHRIS RAFFERTY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:57:27
In this episode, Hilliard and guest co-host, writer/producer Dwain Worrell sit down for a super fun conversation with Co-Executive Producer CHRIS RAFFERTY (THE FLASH, COBRA KAI & LUCIFER)!Chris has been a lifelong artist…
524: EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - ERIC DEAN SEATON [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:48:36
In this episode, Hilliard and guest co-host writer/dir/prod Fia Perera sit down for a 2 hour, in-depth conversation with writer/director/executive producer ERIC DEAN SEATON!Highlights: Working his way up as an AD, gettin…
523: PRIDE MONTH [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:16:45
In this episode, Hilliard and Queer guest co-hosts writer/producer Deonte Staats, actor/filmmaker Dalila Ali Rajah and writer/content creator Skylar Ezell sit down in a super fun, engaging, 2-hour episode chopped full of…