Punching Up with Sean Conroy

Punching Up with Sean Conroy

Sean Conroy

Episodes 23
Avg. Duration 34m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 5.0 (12)
Since Dec 2025
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
47%
Hosting
anchor.fm

About This Podcast

I'm Sean. I'm a comedian and a writer. I've written TV for over twenty years, and comedianed for way longer than that- stand-up, sketch, improv, one-person shows, podcasts... If you want to learn to write a sitcom pilot, I'm gonna share some of the insights I wish I had when I was starting (maybe even all). I'm also gonna talk to lots of writers about career paths, comedy, and writing habits. We're gonna talk extensively about the craft of television writing, and of comedy writing in general. Performing, too. And the art! Comedy is an art! Check out the show. See you there.

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Recent Episodes

S2E3 Mel Stephens: Being a Creator is Brutal and Beautiful!

Jun 09, 2026 1h 36m

Comedian, filmmaker, and Groundlings alum Mel Stephens and I talk about going from performing to being a writer and director. And why!  What it’s like to be a comedian working with comedian Brett…

S2E2 Why Forrest Macneil Couldn’t Be a Psychopath (with Andy Daly)

Jun 02, 2026 1h 5m

How do you make a character likable when they’re doing terrible things? Just ask Andy Daly!Actor, comedian and writer Andy Daly (Review, Eastbound & Down, Silicon Valley) goes deep on the chaos…

S2E1 The "Second Draft" of Life: Notes from the Universe and New Beginnings

May 26, 2026 23m

Welcome to Season 2 of Punching Up with Sean Conroy! I'm Sean, and just so you know, this episode gets pretty intensely personal. I'm a TV writer and comedian, and because of some stuff that's gone…

S1E19 Decoding Your Sitcom Pilot's DNA: Shortcut To A Better Script

Apr 13, 2026 9m

There's a lot of stuff I think about now when I'm starting to figure out how to write a TV pilot script that I would have liked to know when I started out, if somebody was like "hey here are some…

S1E18 Creative Discipline: Why Showing Up is 90% of the Battle

Apr 07, 2026 8m

I've been working on my creative process lately, struggling with overcoming perfectionism and writing consistency, and I feel like I'm kind of winning. A little. Discipline is to creatives as ice…

S1E17 Writing 4 Pilots a Year: Ed Herro on Overcoming Creative Fear

Mar 31, 2026 1h 3m

In this episode I talk to Ed Herro, who wrote for (among other things) Jeff and Some Aliens and American Housewife. Most recently he co-created and co- ran The Sticky for Amazon Prime. In this…

S1E16 3 Easy (?) Things You Can Do To Get Better At Writing Sitcoms

Mar 23, 2026 16m

One thing I've always struggled with as a writer is "paralysis by analysis"- maybe if I read THIS book or follow THIS method or use THIS structure I'll get it right, and everything will be easy. So…

Trailer 1: Punching Up With Sean Conroy

Mar 22, 2026 1m Trailer

TV writer and comedian Sean Conroy and his guests talk about how to write a great sitcom pilot, how to have a career in comedy, how to develop good habits as a writer, and his struggles with all of…

S1E15 Did They Steal My Script? The Idea Is King, But Execution is Everything

Mar 16, 2026 35m

Have you ever seen a movie trailer and thought, "That’s my idea!"?This week, Sean Conroy shares a devastating morning spent on Twitter discovering a project that mirrored his current screenplay…

S1E14 The Art and Science Of The Cold Open

Mar 09, 2026 28m

The cold open of your sitcom pilot may be the most important two pages you will ever write in your life, unless you write a long ransom note for yourself or jot down an ancient family recipe to pass…

S1E13 Why I Stopped Outlining And Started Writing (And Why It’s Terrifying)

Mar 03, 2026 2m

I’ve always written all my TV scripts according to a very methodical screenwriting process. I break the story, do somestory mapping, write an incredibly detailed script outline (including lots of…

S1E12 Marcus Perkins Bejarano is Punching Up: How To Get Into A Hollywood Writing Program

Feb 23, 2026 1h 7m

What happens when a high-stakes commercial real estate lawyer decides to trade the courtroom for a writer’s room? This week I talk to Marcus Perkins Bejarano, a graduate of the Nickelodeon Writing…

S1E11 The Audience Hated Me, But I Just... Kept... Going

Feb 17, 2026 13m

All comics have horror stories. Some involve heckling. Some involve check drops, or check disputes. Some are... quieter.This is mine.In this episode I'm talking about the worst set I ever had, which…

S1E10 Break The Rules! (But Know Why)

Feb 09, 2026 6m

I'm a comedian and a writer, and in this episode of my podcast I'm talking about when to follow the 180-degree rule in filmmaking and when to break it for the sake of a laugh. And obviously I'm doing…

S1E9 Q&A: Improving Your Joke Construction and more

Feb 02, 2026 37m

What does it actually take to break into a Hollywood writer’s room? In this "A M Anything" episode, AKA "Ask Me A.," producer Dean Sharp and I get into the business of television. We talk about the…

S1E8 A Tale of Two Pilots: Is There Such A Thing As A Far Far Better Thing?

Jan 26, 2026 43m

Why do some sitcom pilots feel like a sprint while others feel like a slow crawl?In this episode I manage to apply Newton’s Laws of Motion to the reading of a pilot script, and explain why I stay in…

S1E7 Owen Burke Is Punching Up With Sean Conroy: Stay Joyful

Jan 19, 2026 1h 17m

In this episode of Punching Up, I’m talking to my old friend the hilarious Owen Burke. Starting with his early days as a production assistant , to his time as a development executive at Will Ferrell…

S1E6 Getting Notes, and How Not To Take Them

Jan 12, 2026 26m

A big part of the television pilot development process (and any scriptwriting process) is getting notes from other people. In this episode I talk about handling creative criticism and your…

S1E5 Productivity: One Goal to Change Your Writing Year

Jan 05, 2026 14m

I’ve been lucky enough to work in the competitive world of television and sitcom writing for over twenty years (on stuff like Mr. Pickles and Key and Peele).. In this episode I talk about a weakness…

S1E4 Carl Tart on SNL, Grand Crew, and TV Comedy Writing

Dec 29, 2025 1h 3m

In this episode of Punching Up with Sean Conroy, host Sean Conroy sits down with the incredibly talented Carl Tart, a powerhouse in the world of comedy. Known for his sharp wit as a current Saturday…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Punching Up with Sean Conroy have?

Punching Up with Sean Conroy has published 23 episodes since December 2025, covering topics in Comedy.

Is Punching Up with Sean Conroy still active?

Punching Up with Sean Conroy is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 34m.

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