WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.159 --> 00:00:08.119 Welcome back to this Nightcap seven hundred WLW and joining 2 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:12.839 us after quite a lengthy period of time, because frankly, 3 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:15.880 he's got a lot of things that are more pressing 4 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:20.600 than talking to me. Is our old friend Kevin Wade. 5 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:23.879 And if you missed the interviews before, you can always 6 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:27.600 check the podcast file at seven hundred WLW dot com 7 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:32.799 under the nightcap heading. But when I first had the 8 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:38.479 opportunity to interview this guy the first time around, I 9 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:44.359 was so jazzed because he was pitching a new book 10 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:47.240 and I knew nothing of the book until we talked. 11 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.039 And I was even more jazzed after the fact. But 12 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:56.200 jazz because this guy was a showrunner, executive producer at 13 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:02.359 some points, and writer of my favor Bridge Network television 14 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:07.959 show Blue Bloods. His name is Kevin Wade, and he 15 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:10.519 was on of course, pitching the fact that he had 16 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.959 a brand new book that he had noveled, that he'd written, 17 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:19.519 called Johnny Careless. And I've just had such a wonderful 18 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:24.359 conversation that I that I bothered him again a few 19 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:27.400 months later, and now I'm bothering him again. In the 20 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:31.799 summer of twenty twenty five, Kevin Wade welcome back to 21 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:32.200 the show. 22 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.640 How are you, sir, I'm good. 23 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.799 Thanks, it's nice to be back with he carried Jeff. 24 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:40.000 Yeah, we had such a great time. 25 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:42.640 The first couple of times, I thought, you know, this 26 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:46.359 is fantastic content. And even if nobody else cares, I 27 00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:51.560 care because of your connection with this marvelous ensemble TV 28 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.319 show that had now sadly no longer producing new episodes 29 00:01:56.359 --> 00:02:01.719 after fourteen years. So you are I understand, as you 30 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.400 told me when I when I called Kevin, he said, well, thanks, 31 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:08.319 I'm just I'm just sitting here pretending to work anyway. 32 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:12.080 I got nothing better to do today to talk to you. 33 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:16.680 You're working on a sequel the second chapter what you 34 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:20.879 hope and plan to be a series of Johnny Careless books. 35 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:23.840 And let's set the stage for people who don't remember 36 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:26.319 or did not get a copy of Johnny Careless. And 37 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:32.159 by the way, shame on them for that. Johnny Carreless, 38 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:35.240 go ahead, you. 39 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.159 Go ahead, You're doing great man. 40 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:38.280 Okay, great. 41 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:45.960 Johnny Careless is a character who is in fact that Careless. 42 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:51.400 In fact, Johnny Careless dies at the beginning of the 43 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:58.319 book entitled Johnny Careless. The titular character is is not 44 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:02.120 around for the rest of the night, but he sets 45 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:08.800 the stage for this local police chief to solve not 46 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:12.080 only his murder, but ensuing murders. And how am I 47 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:12.840 doing so far? 48 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:14.879 Very good? 49 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:15.680 Very good. 50 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:19.360 So the story, the one I'm writing, as well as 51 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.960 the first one Johnny Careless, are told in the present 52 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:26.240 and in the past in kind of relative sort of 53 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:32.479 alternating chapters, so that hopefully if somebody dies on page two, 54 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:37.080 which he does in Johnny Careless, you get to know 55 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:41.560 him and his relationship with Jeep Mulane, the local cop 56 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.919 who is the hero of these stories, and so that you, 57 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:48.960 hopefully the reader's experiences by the end they care that 58 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:52.000 this guy passed away. They couldn't have known on page 59 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:55.439 two what they know on page two hundred and forty, 60 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:58.759 and so hopefully it becomes what they call in the 61 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:04.759 movie business and television business, a character driven mystery, were 62 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:08.800 you're less about the thrills and chills in edge of 63 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:11.159 your seat as to whether or not they'll get out 64 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:14.840 of the building before it blows up, but more about, Oh, 65 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:18.800 I understand the relationship with those two and why it 66 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:21.920 ended up where it did, and I care about it. 67 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:23.720 It's kind of designed along those lines. 68 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:26.399 Another fine example of what you're talking about that kind 69 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:30.040 of storytelling is one of my favorite movies, It's a 70 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:34.279 Wonderful Life, where George Bailey all of a sudden is 71 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:37.879 taking his life or trying to commit suicide because he's 72 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:41.160 eight thousand dollars short at the building and loan, and 73 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.959 then the Angels are called in Clarence. The angel second 74 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:49.519 Classes call in to save George Bailey's life by showing 75 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:51.480 him what it would be like Heddy'd never been born, 76 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:54.480 and it goes through the boyhood and everything that led 77 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.879 up to that crucial point in the movie. It's it's 78 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.639 like that, right, yeah. 79 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:05.240 Exactly, and it's hopefully well used in a good way. 80 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:11.759 Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder. You know, it starts with William 81 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:15.079 Holden face down dead in the swimming pool. We don't 82 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.360 know who his character is, we don't know anything, and 83 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.199 then we you know, it unravels. So you're trying to 84 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:24.680 solve a mystery. It involves the audience or the reader, 85 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:27.120 and that you're trying to solve the mystery of what 86 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.199 you were introduced to the character. 87 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:32.720 With and how did he get there? Excellent, So that's 88 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:34.319 really the essential mystery of. 89 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:35.519 It, looking forward to it. 90 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:40.879 And this police chief who becomes a police chief, right Kevin. 91 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.920 Yes, he's the local chief of police. He grew up 92 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:44.560 in the area. 93 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:47.439 The novels are set on the north shore of Long Island, 94 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:51.839 which most people don't know what that means. They know 95 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.600 what Long Island is, and they know what the Hamptons are, 96 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:57.439 But the north shore of Long Island, which is about 97 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:03.079 thirty miles northeast New York City, is familiar to some 98 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:07.480 people as the Gold Coast and to some readers as 99 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:11.519 East Egg and West Egg where f Scott Fitzgerald set 100 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:15.959 The Great Gatsby all those years ago. So there's a 101 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:22.240 kind of upstairs downstairs quality too. There's haves and have 102 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:25.439 nots and upstairs downstairs. And Jeep Mulane is a kid 103 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:29.160 who grew up in one of the villages and was 104 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:31.920 the son of a cop, went into the NYPD in 105 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.319 his father's footsteps and bounced out after a traumatic case 106 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:40.000 and became the police chief. And the villages where he 107 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:40.600 grew up. 108 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:45.319 Before you got involved in television i e. Blue Bloods 109 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:50.519 and movie business, you were, among other things, a bartender 110 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:52.439 and we talked to but that was another point of 111 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:56.240 commonality for you and I because I also still bartend 112 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:00.800 on the side, because, as we all know, w l 113 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:04.519 W stands for World's Lowest Wages. Unless you're Bill cunning 114 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:08.279 Hammer or somebody like that, you know, I'm not making 115 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:10.639 Howard Stern money. I don't think I don't think we'll 116 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:15.120 see Howard Stern tending bar at the local pub anytime soon, 117 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:18.759 since he's become such an idea in a rec lea event. 118 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:21.839 Yeah, only for charity, right maybe? 119 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:29.079 But anyway, what what was? Uh, let's let's talk about 120 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.480 some bartending things that we'll have in common that you 121 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:35.000 will know about from your time as a bar keep 122 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:41.439 before you started in television. What was the what was 123 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:44.360 the worst person you ever had to cut off or 124 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:46.920 throw out of the bar or had a bouncer do 125 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:50.240 it or whatever? What was there? There was one thing 126 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:50.720 that you run. 127 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.680 I worked at the other end, and which was the 128 00:07:55.720 --> 00:08:01.399 Bitter End, a famous music bar, saloon and live music 129 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:04.319 venue on Bleeker Street in the village in the late 130 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:10.279 nineteen seven. Okay, the mixed crowd of music fans, local 131 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:15.079 cops and detectives, chorists and kind of bad guys you know, 132 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.480 guys who had nothing better to do but go in 133 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.120 order a drink and try to flee before they paid 134 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:20.519 for it. 135 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:23.879 And once I chased the. 136 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:27.040 Guy out of the bar and I got him along 137 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:31.639 with my along with my bartending partner, we got him 138 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:34.919 against the rail outside on the sidewalk, and that rail 139 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.720 had a plexiglass piece on it. I don't remember exactly why, 140 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:40.919 but we had him. We were waiting for the cops 141 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:44.759 and I heard this clicking, and what is the clicking? 142 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:47.679 It got louder and I looked down and the guy 143 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:50.799 had a switchblade out and he was trying to stab 144 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:53.240 me in the leg. And it was too drunk to 145 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:56.440 realize that the railing looked transparent, but it was in 146 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.399 fact protected by plexiglass. I remember him well, I. 147 00:08:59.399 --> 00:09:03.759 Don't remember no, and names are not necessary. And there 148 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:09.480 are probably one or two incidences similar to that. In 149 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:14.000 one particular occasion, a guy actually had a loaded gun firearm, 150 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:19.639 and his friends made him think better of, you know, 151 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:24.360 using that. Thank God, you know, I can only thank 152 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:29.159 the Almighty for protecting me in that particular situation. You know, 153 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:33.000 since you're not supposed to bring weapons or firearms into 154 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.480 a place that serves alcohol like people. 155 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:36.320 Really, No, you're not. 156 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:39.039 You're allowed to have a version of a night stick 157 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:42.000 or a sowd Off baseball bat behind the bar. Yes, 158 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:44.720 it was the late seventies in New York. It was blackout, 159 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:46.960 it was the Bronx is Burning and Son of Sam 160 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:49.639 and that kind of that informed a lot of the 161 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:51.919 vibe in the night life in the city, no. 162 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:57.759 Doubt, exciting but somewhat dangerous. Thank god, Thank god you 163 00:09:57.799 --> 00:09:59.039 weren't Kevin Careless. 164 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:03.559 Thank you for that nice plug. 165 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:04.039 Gary. 166 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:07.759 We squeaze them in when we can. 167 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:08.159 Kevin. 168 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:12.919 Uh So, how far along are you in this process 169 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:14.480 of writing book number two? 170 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.080 Uh? I finished the draft. I showed it to the 171 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:20.600 agent and publisher. They had lots of notes. So I'm 172 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:24.360 doing a second draft, which is if you're a if 173 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:27.360 you're a professional writer. There was a great piece of 174 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:33.600 advice from Ernest Hemingway that he said, paraphrasing, the first 175 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:39.320 draft of anything is blank, deep, and it's only when 176 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:44.120 you start to write it for the reader or the 177 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:48.000 audience and you're not getting the kick out of it anymore. 178 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:52.120 They're getting all the kick. That's when you know, hopefully 179 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:55.200 you're doing it right. So it's an interesting process. 180 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.320 It's homework, Yeah, have a lot of homework. 181 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:57.639 Sure. 182 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:00.960 So, speaking of being a professional writer, which you are, 183 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:06.240 when you were writing for Blue Bloods for example, yep, 184 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:12.360 did you purposely and did the writers on that show purposely? 185 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:15.279 And it seems like an obvious answer. 186 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:19.960 But include stuff that was going on in the culture 187 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:24.080 in America at the particular time that a certain show 188 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.559 would be shot, like stuff in the headlines, and you 189 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:32.000 kind of adapt that to make it more real, more gritty, 190 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:34.639 and more up with what was going on in that 191 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.919 particular time, and you know, like the resistance against the police, 192 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.639 for example, and a lash back. 193 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:43.320 You know, I love that. 194 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:47.159 That's one of the bazillion things that I love about 195 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:50.679 Blue Bloods is that it reflects the culture and news 196 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:55.840 at the time. Was it always purposeful or did it 197 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:58.559 just blend in with the story that you already had 198 00:11:58.600 --> 00:11:59.080 to tell. 199 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:03.440 I'm going to compliment you on that question. 200 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.840 It's very well put. 201 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.039 And it's really germane to how we tried to do 202 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:13.159 Blue Bloods for all those years. It was fourteen years 203 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:16.600 of it. There were things going on. We started in 204 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.600 twenty ten and ended in December of twenty twenty four, 205 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:23.840 so there was a lot of changes. There were administrations, 206 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:29.159 there were movements me too, George Floyd defund the police, 207 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:34.919 all of that stuff, and I think we found early 208 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.679 on it wasn't codified, but we thought we had a 209 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.559 sense of the audience that they did not want to 210 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:44.720 be preached to. This was a show that was on 211 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:48.159 network television at ten o'clock on Friday night, and you 212 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:51.159 were coming home and you were hoping for maybe some action, 213 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:56.759 some mystery, and some really involving characters involved in dangerous 214 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:00.240 or mysterious situations. The last thing I think, I think 215 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:04.480 the audience wanted was to be told what way to 216 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:08.240 think that these guys are bad and these guys are good, that. 217 00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:09.639 This thing, you know. 218 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:13.759 So we didn't rip things from the headlines, but we 219 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:16.919 would take issues that were in front of the audience 220 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:19.000 and we're going to be in front of them again 221 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:22.320 when the show ended, in the eleven o'clock news came on, 222 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:28.360 and we would try to The way I put it is, 223 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:32.080 if we had a soapbox for one side to stand 224 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:36.440 up and tell why their side was the right and 225 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:40.200 virtuous one, you had to construct a soapbox of equal 226 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:43.519 size for the other side. And I think that became 227 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.080 part of a sort of secret sauce of the show 228 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:49.480 was that people could watch it not feel like it 229 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:52.519 was ignoring what was going around them on around them 230 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:58.000 every day, but kind of watch these main characters try 231 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:03.360 to synthesize, digest and make their own decisions about an issue. 232 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.399 So that's a long way of answering your very good. 233 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:09.320 Question and an excellent answer. 234 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:16.240 Tom Selleck the lead character Frank Reagan, he has been 235 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:20.360 known throughout his career and very vocal about Second Amendment 236 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:25.600 rights and stuff like that. Very conservative. With a large 237 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:29.039 cast like that, people had to probably be of all 238 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:35.000 political stripes and leanings. Did that ever, were they able 239 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.039 to just drop those feelings at the doorstep at the 240 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:43.600 studio and leave them aside, Because this is a big 241 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:46.080 problem in this country right now, Kevin, as you know, 242 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.639 is the fact that people are on one side or 243 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:53.600 the other judge the other person because they have a 244 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:59.000 different view of things as evil or ridiculously stupid. So 245 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:01.240 I'm sure there were people who were not as conservative 246 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:04.879 as Tom on the set, but yet they left those 247 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:07.960 behind the second it was time to go to work. 248 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.200 Right, That's exactly right. 249 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:13.960 They were playing characters they weren't playing themselves. 250 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:16.320 The opinions, the. 251 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:25.279 Emotions, the values that were being portrayed were fictional characters, 252 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.159 and their values and their opinions were written by the writers. 253 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:35.200 So there's a pretty clear line. And now that being said, 254 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:38.879 we were writing for individual actors. We knew them, We 255 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.879 were writing for them for fourteen years, so there were 256 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:45.559 things that we would not soft pedal, but we would 257 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:47.519 make sure that whatever was going to come out of 258 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:51.039 that character's mouth was something that that actor could get 259 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:56.720 behind as that character. So it becomes a real blend 260 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:59.120 of eh fact and fiction. 261 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.919 You know, that's the and it comes across. 262 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.360 It comes across is so believable and so real, and 263 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:12.120 you can hear when lines are delivered, you can hear 264 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:16.039 and believe that that character and that actor would say 265 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:18.039 those things that way. And I think that's one of 266 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:21.159 the great talents of the writing of a great show. 267 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:25.159 You are also a show runner. And by the way, 268 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:29.720 every time we watch a Blue Blood's rerun and the 269 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.320 credits come up at the beginning or the end and 270 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:35.879 we see executive producer Kevin Wade, my wife will go, 271 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:43.679 there's your buddy. As a show runner, though, and I've 272 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:48.240 known people who worked as production assistants or you know, 273 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:52.120 in an associate producer role, and it could be something 274 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:58.720 as benign or small as getting donuts. But I mean, 275 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:02.120 you probably wore a lot of hats when you were 276 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:04.319 a quote showrunner for Blue Bloods, didn't you? 277 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:08.519 I did. Showrunner is actually a made up term. It 278 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:11.319 started coming around in the nineties, I think from people 279 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:15.480 writing in newspapers and magazines about television. There is no 280 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:19.599 writer's guild title or pay scale. 281 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:21.839 That's called showrunner. And you will never. 282 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:26.079 See a credit rolling on your favorite TV show that 283 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:31.920 says showrunner. It's always executive producer occasionally in conjunction with 284 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:32.799 created by. 285 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.279 But the showrunner in a. 286 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:40.839 Modern television whether it's broadcast or streaming, is first and 287 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:46.160 foremost the head writer. He is or she are also 288 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:51.599 the ambassador from the writer's room to the cast to 289 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:55.119 make sure that all those things that we just talked about. 290 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:57.200 About how we're writing. 291 00:17:56.839 --> 00:18:02.279 Your character are in some line up with that actor's 292 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:05.680 idea of what his character was like, would say, would 293 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:10.079 do in a given situation. You're involved in casting, editing 294 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:14.480 a little bit of budget just because you have a 295 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.480 pretty fixed number for each episode, so you have to 296 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:20.319 do give and take there. So there's your chief cook 297 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:24.839 and bottle washer, your backseat driver. First and foremost, you're 298 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.519 the head writer and hopefully the person that shapes the 299 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:31.279 show to week to make sure that there's a consistency 300 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.640 of voice and character and style. 301 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:37.720 Well, you certainly accomplished that in spades. The entire staff 302 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:41.759 at Blue Bloods and again are time's too short and 303 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:44.960 we're out of it, which really kind of kind of 304 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:45.680 hacks me off. 305 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:50.640 But well, you know, I'm literally just trying to write 306 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:52.720 another draft of a book and doing a lot of 307 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:56.720 staring out the window. So anytime you feel like distracting. 308 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:00.240 Right, Yeah, yeah, this deserves probably about another five hours 309 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:04.759 of conversation. Kevin Wade working on this sequel to Johnny 310 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.319 Careless and taking time out to talk to me, And 311 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:08.400 I am so grateful. 312 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:12.279 Thank you, Kevin, Thanks man, you got take care. 313 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:15.640 There is more nightcap ahead. It is Monday Nightcap. 314 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:18.000 I am pleased to welcome in for the first time 315 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:22.440 in gosh a couple of years. I think Janice Heisel, 316 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.240 who was a reporter for the Epoch Times. If you're 317 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:28.799 not familiar with that, it is a straight down the 318 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:36.160 middle news feed and Janice does extensive researched, behind the 319 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:40.519 scenes reporting on political and cultural events all across the country. 320 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:41.440 So it's such. 321 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:44.480 I know Mike Allen features here on a more or 322 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:48.759 less semi regular basis on Saturday mornings, but I'm proud 323 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.799 and anxious to have no being anxious for nothing. But 324 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:56.559 I am very, very happy to have her on this 325 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:00.000 Monday nightcap. Janis Heisel, Welcome to the show. 326 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:00.440 How are you? 327 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.119 Oh, I'm doing great. Wow, what a nice introduction. Thank you. 328 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:05.039 Well. 329 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.000 I think the first time we ever talked, you had 330 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.119 a book out, and what was that book titled? Just 331 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:16.359 remind me because of my fault, it was called Submerged. 332 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:21.000 Bryan Widmer has drowned bride and the justice system. And 333 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:24.359 believe it or not, Gosh, that case happened back in 334 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:27.680 two thousand and eight, so it's been quite. 335 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:30.319 A while now, and Ryan Widmer. 336 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.519 Is actually getting ready to have his first chance at 337 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:34.519 parole coming up next month. 338 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:35.920 How about that. 339 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:41.640 It was fascinating reporting and in depth look at that 340 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:46.359 particular case, which of course there was a mistrial and 341 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:50.319 then they tried him again and finally convicted him of 342 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:55.960 those charges. But Janis, let's fast forward to today. 343 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:57.759 This past weekend. 344 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:03.039 That saw Saturday Flag Day, the two hundred and fiftieth 345 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:06.920 anniversary of our US Army. And by the way, I 346 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:09.319 don't know if you saw the parade in Washington, d 347 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:13.240 C amidst all the noise of the anti ice protest 348 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:17.119 across the country, but it was phenomenal. And to be 349 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:22.599 honest with you, as someone who believes that this country 350 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:27.680 should celebrate an entity that has protected us for two 351 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:30.599 hundred and fifty years and defends us on a daily basis, 352 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.880 and to celebrate the American Flag, which was commissioned two 353 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:38.440 years after the Army was created by the Continental Congress, 354 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:42.599 and President Trump's birthday, I just focused on that on Saturday. 355 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:46.759 I didn't I try, I purposely try to ignore the 356 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:51.160 rest of the noise about the anti Trump, anti ice protests. 357 00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:52.920 Did you know? 358 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:57.279 I actually did catch that on television d parade, and 359 00:21:57.400 --> 00:21:59.880 it made me wish that I had been there because 360 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.920 those everything just I was very fascinated to see. 361 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.839 For example, did you check. 362 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:10.000 Out those robot dogs with the USR flag on it. 363 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:11.839 I mean, it was just. 364 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:14.359 Kind of like they were showing all of the you know, 365 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.799 throughout history, you start with the you know, revolutionary war 366 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:21.599 uniforms up to the present. In the eye, you've got 367 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:24.240 this high tech stuff like these robot dogs, which kind 368 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:26.079 of blew my mind. Actually laughed out loud and I 369 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:30.799 saw the robot dog. But yeah, it was really it 370 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:34.079 was very good to see. Also from the standpoint that 371 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.640 you had the commander in chief repeatedly standing and saluting. 372 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.279 I believe they didn't show them all the time when 373 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:44.039 the broadcast I was watching, but it appeared he was saluting. 374 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:49.920 Like every new unit that showed up, he stood and saluted, 375 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:51.759 and a lot of other people up there on the 376 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:54.559 dais with him, you know, remained seated that he stood 377 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:55.119 and saluted. 378 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:58.440 You know, the the alphabet networks what we call the 379 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:06.240 mainstream media, and you know, the usual suspects CBSCNN, certainly 380 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:11.359 not the Epoch Times mentioned over two hundred times the 381 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:16.880 phrase peaceful protests as cars are being burned, as rocks 382 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:21.960 and cinder blocks and pieces of curb concrete are being 383 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:24.880 thrown at ice officers and the police in Los Angeles, 384 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:29.640 for example, and that they're calling them peaceful, like two 385 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:35.319 hundred times, as if they were trying to push that narrative. 386 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:40.240 And this happens so often with a lot of news 387 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:43.519 outlets that are supposed to be journalists. You're a journalist. 388 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:46.880 You don't take sides, you just report what actually is 389 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:50.200 going on. Did you see a lot of peaceful protests, 390 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:53.880 especially at the inception of the Los Angeles riots. 391 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:58.000 Well, we do have staff out there in LA on 392 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:01.799 the ground. I haven't been there since I'm here in Ohio, 393 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:04.720 but I have been assisting with that coverage from a distance, 394 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:10.160 and you know, I was afraid for their safety based 395 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:12.559 on some of the things they were telling me. And 396 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:15.200 you know, just additional reports that we've all seen. If 397 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:17.960 you've paid any attention at all, you know that media 398 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:20.359 people with a lot more wearing helmets and being you know, 399 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.920 pushed back. The police are telling them, hey, for your safety, 400 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:26.519 you got to come over here. So that whole situation, 401 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:31.200