Comedian Neal Brennan Talks with Michael Kirk (Frontline) for The Talkhouse Film Podcast

The co-creator of Chappelle's Show sits down with one of the key figures behind Frontline, Brennan's favorite TV show of all time.

By Neal Brennan, Michael Kirk, and Talkhouse Podcast

6:00 AM EST on February 23, 2017

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Film Podcast, to mark the release of his new Netflix hourlong special, 3 Mics, writer, director and standup comedian Neal Brennan sits down with Michael Kirk, a documentary director who has made numerous award-winning films for PBS' current affairs show Frontline, Brennan's favorite TV show of all time. In their wide-ranging conversation, the two discuss such topics as: fake news; Brennan and Dave Chappelle watching Frontline on the tour bus together; how Errol Morris, Michael Moore and Adam Curtis have reshaped documentary; what John Oliver told Seth Meyers three days after the election; which political power player refers to himself as Darth Vader; and much more. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse Film at talkhouse.com/film.

You can watch all of Kirk's recent Frontline episodes, including his most recent, the four-hour Divided States of America, for free here.

The music featured in the podcast is as follows:
1. Intro / outro underscore: “Plastic Man vs. The Giant Red Phase Of The Sun” – Iced Ink

Episode engineered by Susan Valot and edited by Mark Yoshizumi; the Talkhouse podcast producer is Elia Einhorn.

Neal Brennan

@nealbrennan

Three-time Emmy nominated writer, director, producer, and standup comedian Neal Brennan’s new hour special, 3 Mics, is now on Netflix, having previously enjoyed a successful off-Broadway run in NYC with superstar musician John Legend serving as producer. Brennan is also currently a writer and Creative Consultant on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Brennan co-created Comedy Central’s legendary Chappelle’s Show, for which he received three Emmy nominations; one for directing, one for writing, and one for producing. Together, Brennan and Dave Chappelle wrote and produced virtually every sketch on the show themselves, and also together also co-wrote the movie Half-Baked. Brennan directed the 2009 comedy The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, as well as episodes of such TV shows as New Girl, Inside Amy Schumer and The Mindy Project. (Picture by Tyler Ross.)

Michael Kirk

@kdgkirk

Documentary filmmaker Michael Kirk has produced more than 200 national television programs. Kirk was the senior producer of Frontline from the series’ inception in 1983 until the fall of 1987, when he created his own production company, the Kirk Documentary Group. Kirk is the winner of every major award in journalism, including four Peabody Awards, three duPont-Columbia Awards, two George Polk Awards, 15 Emmy Awards, and 11 Writers Guild of America Awards. Learn more about his work here.

Talkhouse Podcast

@Talkhouse

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