I have never had the responsibility of running a TV show but I can imagine the pressure is incredible. You have millions of dollars on the line, a cast and crew depending on you, a network to answer to and bunch of fans to appease. This pressure was made even more clear when I spoke with Joseph Malozzi, who’s show Dark Matter was just cancelled by SyFy. I asked him what happened and his answer was honest, raw, and quite frankly, inspiring.
Joseph got his big break in TV writing on a show called Stargate SG-1. Chris was a huge fan of that show when we were dating so by association, I watched a lot of it and eventually became a fan too. We followed the Stargate franchise until its last offering with SGU Stargate Universe. Joseph says he worked his way up the chain of command with those series and eventually became an executive producer.
In this episode we talk about his passion for writing sci-fi and how he got his start in a writers room. He also gets very real about what happened when he heard Dark Matter might be on the chopping block at SyFy and was then ultimately cancelled. He feels a tremendous sense of loss for his cast and crew who became like a family. But also a loss for the fans who supported the show and will never get to see a fulfilling ending.
I feel like I learned a lot from this episode about a topic that doesn’t get explored very often and I feel like you will too. In fact, Joseph has some tremendous advice for writers just getting their start. He also hints at what he would have like to see had Dark Matter been able to go 5 seasons so maybe fans will get a little sense of closure here. So what’s next for him? He plans to lay low for a bit and contemplate his next move. And with a string of hits behind him, I’m sure he’ll have no trouble finding his next one.
You can follow along on his very funny blog here. And make sure you follow him on Twitter @BaronDestructo. Then don’t forget to subscribe to Motherhood in Hollywood on iTunes, or Stitcher and leave a review!
