Ed is joined by writer, producer, and showrunner Terence Winter who shares stories about his New York upbringing and journey into Hollywood, and describes what it took to build a world from a century ago for his hit HBO show, “Boardwalk Empire. ”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Who is the guest in this bonus episode?
Hey there, I'm Ed Helms, and this is Snafu Season 3, Formula 6. How prohibition's war on alcohol went so off the rails, the government wound up poisoning its own people. Welcome to another bonus episode. You may recall in these bonus episodes, I bring in a guest. And just have a great interview.
So after spending this season unraveling prohibition, I wanted to talk to someone who knows this era inside and out. Someone who could give us a whole new layer of historical context, color and detail. So who better than the guy who actually built it or at least rebuilt it on TV? Enter Terrence Winter, the brilliant creator of HBO's Boardwalk Empire.
He joins me for a fascinating deep dive into prohibitions, gangsters, corrupt officials, and of course, it's completely bonkers policies. We talk about his unlikely journey from Brooklyn to Hollywood, including the wild story of how he invented a fake talent agency to get his foot in the door and how he stumbled upon the real life Nucky Johnson.
the inspiration for his lead character, Nucky Thompson. I also ask him whether Formula 6 was ever on his radar and dig into some of the not entirely coincidental parallels between his fictionalized characters and the real people we covered this season.
And honestly, just as a fellow showbiz guy, I had a blast nerding out with him because who doesn't love a peek behind the curtain of a great TV show? So settle in, grab a stiff drink, preferably non-poisoned, and enjoy my conversation with Terrence Winter. Hey, it's so good to meet you, man. You too. It's so, so great to meet you. Honestly, I didn't know you were a history guy.
You know, there's such a cool overlap of this season of Snafu, which is all about Prohibition. And we'll get into some of the really surprising things that I learned and researched for this season that might even be surprising to you as an expert on Prohibition because of your incredible series, Boardwalk Empire.
A little more broadly, so our listeners can get to know you a little bit better, where are you from originally? What was your sort of path to Hollywood writer?
I grew up in Marine Park, Brooklyn, which is an area that I usually have to describe by its proximity to other neighborhoods in Brooklyn that people have heard of. You may have heard of Sheepshead Bay, which actually was a an integral neighborhood in terms of prohibition because boats used to come right in there. And that's kind of near Coney Island.
So, you know, basically blue collar family, blue collar neighborhood. I actually started to be an auto mechanic in high school and that didn't stick. I took a detour into the deli business, eventually figured out that I needed to go to college. eventually went to law school, practiced law for two years, hated it.
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