Write On: 'Silo' Showrunner Graham Yost

“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.