Episode 205: Kathryn Borel Jr Interview

Episode 205

30th July 2026

This month’s aftershow features a conversation with writer Kathryn Borel Jr., whose ambitious adaptation of On the Road was featured in last week’s episode.

Episode notes

Episode 205: Kathryn Borel Jr Interview

This month’s aftershow features a conversation with writer Kathryn Borel Jr., whose ambitious adaptation of On the Road was featured in last week’s episode. Kathryn has written for Rush, American Dad!, Anne with an E, and Kung Fu, and is currently working on Damon Lindelof’s upcoming limited series The Chain.

Kathryn talks about her remarkably unconventional childhood, her winding path to television writing which included an acclaimed career in Canadian radio and the experiences that led her to write Corked, her memoir about a drunken, father-daughter road trip through France’s wine country.

The conversation also dives into the unique challenge of adapting Jack Kerouac’s On the Road into a half-hour television series with two female leads. Kathryn explains how she reimagined the novel, what drew her to the project, and where the series was headed if it had made it beyond the pilot.

It’s a funny, thoughtful, and fascinating conversation with a writer who isn’t afraid to take on impossible adaptations and make them feel entirely her own.

In this episode...

Guests

  • Kathryn Borel Jr.

About the show

In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve. Starring actors you know and love from television and film, a live audience, and a good time in which no one gets notes, no one is fired, and everyone laughs. Presented by Andrew Reich (Friends; Worst Week) and Ben Blacker (The Writers Panel podcast; co-creator, Thrilling Adventure Hour).

Email them at info@deadpilotssociety.com and follow @deadpilotspod on Twitter and Instagram.

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