Write On: 'Silo' Showrunner Graham Yost

Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast

“It really comes down to scene work. Do these characters pop? Is this fun to read? Is it fun to imagine what’s going to happen next? When you get to the end of that pilot do you want to find out what’s going to happen in the next episode? It’s all of that,” says Graham Yost, showrunner for Silo on AppleTV+.

You may not know the name Graham Yost, but you certainly know his TV shows: Justified, The Americans, Slow Horses, Sneaky Pete, From the Earth to the Moon, and Band of Brothers just to name a few – he also wrote the blockbuster film Speed in 1994.

On today’s episode, I chat with Graham about his show Silo on AppleTV+ which is a startling apocalyptic thriller that’s been renewed for a second season. It stars Rebecca Ferguson, David Oyelowo, Common and Tim Robbins. We talk about the lessons he learned making Speed, which show impacted his writing the most and if a new season of Justified – that includes Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), will be coming back to television.

Graham also shares his advice for emerging writers. “The big thing I say to writers who are starting out is, ‘What are you working on next?’ If they only have that one project, well, you need more. You need to find out what you’re good at. That’s the job. We’re paid to write,” he says.