<description>&lt;article class= "post-23885 post type-post status-future format-standard category-podcast entry" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" aria-label="Something Very Bad is Going to Happen"&gt; &lt;div class="entry-content" itemprop="text"&gt; &lt;p&gt;John welcomes writer/showrunner Haley Z. Boston for a post-mortem on her terrifying new series, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. They look at how the series evolved from initial idea through production, her experience as a first-time showrunner, the special relationship between women and horror, and how she constructs terror on the page.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We also chart her early career, and answer listener questions on splitting scenes and how to handle an overwhelming amount of development notes.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In our bonus segment for premium members, it's spoiler territory as we look at what we can learn from the clever red herrings and misdirects of the series.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Links:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Haley Z. Boston on &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/swampmonstr/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81667463"&gt;Something Very Bad is Going to Happen&lt;/a&gt; on Netflix&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Read along with an &lt;a href= "https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SVBIGTH-excerpt.pdf"&gt; excerpt from the pilot&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href= "https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2026-03-27/something-very-bad-is-going-to-happen-haley-z-boston"&gt; Saying 'I do' is supposed to be joyous — unless something very bad happens&lt;/a&gt; by Gina McIntyre for LA Times&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href= "https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691166292/men-women-and-chain-saws?srsltid=AfmBOoqNS2nuQagvd2qPOOGrWdduCVttMGK7S6YyHFHhuPh-6fmYl9Yf"&gt; Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film&lt;/a&gt; by Carol J. Clover&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href= "https://notnottalmud.substack.com/p/the-tasting-day-why-buying-5-babkas"&gt; Tasting Day&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href= "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/travis-holcombe/latest"&gt;Freaks Only&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOwRSsOe0zY"&gt;Atomic Wave Dance&lt;/a&gt; by The Comet is Coming&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://scriptnotesbook.com/"&gt;Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href= "https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast"&gt;Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/"&gt;Check out the Inneresting Newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/"&gt;Become a Scriptnotes Premium member&lt;/a&gt;, or &lt;a href= "https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts"&gt;gift a subscription&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptnotesPodcast"&gt;Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Scriptnotes on &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/scriptnotespodcast/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@scriptnotespod"&gt;TikTok&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;John August on &lt;a href= "https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social"&gt;Bluesky&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros"&gt;Outro&lt;/a&gt; by Gloom Canyon (&lt;a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed"&gt;send us yours!&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Scriptnotes is produced by &lt;a href= "https://www.drewmarquardt.com/"&gt;Drew Marquardt&lt;/a&gt; and edited by &lt;a href="https://www.matthewchilelli.com/"&gt;Matthew Chilelli&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;Email us at ask@johnaugust.com&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You can download the episode &lt;a href= "http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/732standard.mp3"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;footer class="entry-footer"&gt;&lt;/footer&gt; &lt;/article&gt;</description>

Scriptnotes Podcast

John August and Craig Mazin

732 - Something Very Bad is Going to Happen

APR 21, 202645 MIN
Scriptnotes Podcast

732 - Something Very Bad is Going to Happen

APR 21, 202645 MIN

Description

John welcomes writer/showrunner Haley Z. Boston for a post-mortem on her terrifying new series, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. They look at how the series evolved from initial idea through production, her experience as a first-time showrunner, the special relationship between women and horror, and how she constructs terror on the page. We also chart her early career, and answer listener questions on splitting scenes and how to handle an overwhelming amount of development notes. In our bonus segment for premium members, it's spoiler territory as we look at what we can learn from the clever red herrings and misdirects of the series. Links: Haley Z. Boston on Instagram Something Very Bad is Going to Happen on Netflix Read along with an excerpt from the pilot Saying 'I do' is supposed to be joyous — unless something very bad happens by Gina McIntyre for LA Times Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film by Carol J. Clover Tasting Day Freaks Only Atomic Wave Dance by The Comet is Coming Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Gloom Canyon (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.