{"id":855,"date":"2019-07-17T11:22:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T10:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.advertizer.co.uk\/insight\/?p=855"},"modified":"2019-07-22T09:23:53","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T08:23:53","slug":"ed-mccardie-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advertizer.co.uk\/insight\/ed-mccardie-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed McCardie – Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Houston-based writer and producer Ed McCardie has helped create some of the most popular TV shows in the last decade, including Shameless, Sneaky Pete, Spotless and many more. He talks to INSIGHT Magazine about his big break, his favourite scenes and the enduring appeal of the anti-hero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you have a \u2018big break\u2019 into the business of scriptwriting?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was just starting out, I won a pitching competition at BAFTA in London (the competition was the end of day entertainment for a rather dry funding conference). The prize money was more than a year\u2019s salary for me at the time, so I quit my job the following Monday, to become a full-time writer. When the prize money for the pitching competition finally came through, it was less than half what was originally advertised\u2026 Tough at the time, but a good early lesson. The TV and film business can be a bit like that for writers \u2013 lots of promises which don\u2019t entirely materialise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve noticed that your siblings are all actors. Were you a \u2018theatrical family\u2019? And do you ever fancy getting in front of the camera?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We weren\u2019t a theatrical family \u2013 my Dad was an engineer and my Mum was a nurse. My two older brothers got into acting because they had a brilliant teacher at school, who really inspired them \u2013 he really changed the course of their lives. My youngest sister is also an actor, probably because that whole world had been opened up to her by seeing my older brothers. For my part \u2013 I wanted to be a writer of books, really (still do), and just fell into this.
As for going in front of the camera \u2013 no, not ever. No desire to. Acting is a proper, technical profession, and I have absolutely none of the skills required. I hate standing up to talk in front of people. My wife is an actor and has a remarkable set of skills. She\u2019s better than me. I married \u2018Up\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You do a lot of producing as well as writing. How different are these two areas of your work and which do you prefer? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I prefer writing, hands down. It\u2019s what I\u2019m best at. And getting lost in an idea, creating a story and characters is a really joyous thing, when you get the time to do it. Though you don\u2019t often get the time \u2013 a screenwriter usually writes with a gun at her\/his head, and a producer piling on pressure. In an ideal scenario, the writing side of the job is done in the quiet, with time to think, plan and play with a story (planning takes time, and is hugely important \u2013 but it\u2019s hard, and lots of people try to skip it). Writing is the happy side of the job.
Producing is\u2026 different. Producing is project management really, and a very different skill-set from writing. It involves dealing with people, and writers are not good at that. Writers as producers is a relatively new thing in the UK \u2013 and, writers tend to steer the creative side when made a producer, and a strong Production Manager tends to steer the practical (management and financial) side.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are drugs and crime and badness and mischief in all sections of society \u2013 as demonstrated amongst the current political classes in Westminster.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shameless went on for 11 series. It was a massive hit. It was described by The Herald as \u201cA mix of burnt-out car wreck depravity, cutting-edge reality and coal-black comedy.\u201d Why do you think people took the Gallagher family and their neighbours on the Chatworth Estate to their hearts?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the Gallagher family (for all their dysfunction) looked out for one another in the end, always; I think they were very human and made mistakes as people, but fundamentally had family and community at the heart of everything they did. I think that, although the show was a comedy drama, there was a large slice of truth in their life on the margins of society \u2013 when the show first came on, it was a very warm and human portrayal of a very marginalised section of society, rarely seen on telly. Shameless was always at its best when it had one foot in reality.
The show was often harshly pigeon-holed. There were drugs and crime and other bits of badness and mischief in Shameless \u2013 but that is only human. There are drugs and crime and badness and mischief in all sections of society \u2013 as demonstrated amongst the current political classes in Westminster. I think it shone a light back at the viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have a favourite scene from Shameless?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lots, really. There were some truly brilliant actors on Shameless, who are capable of making your writing seem better than it actually is. One stand-out for me would be Series 6, Episode 1, the opening scene of the series – Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall) is staggering home from the pub, in a heavy storm, having been told he is a waste of space as a human being \u2013 he rails at God about his lot in life (and actually uses a speech from \u2018Hamlet\u2019 to do so \u2013 I was quite pleased to sneak Hamlet into Shameless), and asks what his life is for, has it been worth it? He then drunkenly urinates on a generator by some road works \u2013 is electrocuted and has a heart attack, which puts him in intensive care. While unconscious, he is visited by the ghost of himself, aged 12 \u2013 a promising, sparky and bright lad with a great future\u2026 who somehow ended up as Frank. Young Frank holds Old Frank to account, and tells him he will die \u2013 unless he can show that he has done one good thing with his life (with all that promise). Across the Episode, Frank tries to prove that his life has been worth living. David Threlfall\u2026 was brilliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the characters you write for – for Frank Gallagher, Sneaky Pete\u2019s Marius, the Bastiere brothers in Spotless – exist on the outskirts of society, often involved with criminal behaviour. What is it about these types of characters that attracts you? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it\u2019s that they are people too \u2013 people just like you or me. In drama, sometimes the \u2018bad guys\u2019 are written or presented just like that \u2013 two dimensionally, as bad guys. In truth, they have hopes and dreams, and flaws and ambitions and worries \u2013 they have to pay bills, and worry about their kid\u2019s part in the nativity play. Their circumstances in life, or the hand that life has dealt them, might mean they operate in different circles from you or I \u2013 but they are people too. The anti-hero. The character of Tony Soprano broke the mould with this \u2013 yes, he is a Mafia boss, but he\u2019s also a father, son, husband and brother, with all the stuff-of-life that that entails. So, what appeals is \u2013 decent people that we can relate to, in extraordinary circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which has been your favourite show to write for, and why?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a toss up between Shameless and Spotless, I guess. Probably because on those shows there was the freedom to tell the story in as fresh, innovative and challenging a way as possible. They were probably the most creatively ambitious shows I\u2019ve worked on \u2013 and I was pretty senior on them, and so had a bit of clout to try and realise the ambition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Bastiere Brothers – still from Episode 1 of Spotless<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Netflix and Amazon Prime have changed the way we watch TV. Has this been a good thing for screenwriting? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes \u2013 it is undoubtedly a good thing for screenwriting. There are more opportunities, a much wider variety of stories and jobs, a huge desire for content from different channels. And\u2026 writers are not completely dependent on opportunities from the BBC, as used to be the case. Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 the BBC is a wonderful national treasure, and if we allow it to be undermined or diminished, we\u2019ll lose a huge part of our cultural life that we\u2019ll never get back. It\u2019s crucial that we maintain the BBC. But it is also great to have options now. There are stories being told now which really wouldn\u2019t be seen or heard if there weren\u2019t other platforms. So, yes, it\u2019s good for screenwriting. Any good story now has a chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must work away from home a lot. How difficult do you find getting the work\/life balance right?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s pretty difficult. I hate being away from my family. My preferred state is being at home, writing and emailing scripts to people. I\u2019m a real home-body, and my greatest happiness in life is my wife and kids. But \u2013 there is a reality to it, in that we choose to live here, in Scotland \u2013 and the TV industry is not centred here. That\u2019s our choice, not the industry\u2019s fault. And I need to work, so\u2026 we get on with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Houston-based writer and producer Ed McCardie has helped create some of the most popular TV shows in the last decade, including Shameless, Sneaky Pete, Spotless and many more. He talks to INSIGHT Magazine about his big break, his favourite scenes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[41,2],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nEd McCardie - Interview - INSIGHT<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.advertizer.co.uk\/insight\/ed-mccardie-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ed McCardie - Interview - INSIGHT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Houston-based writer and producer Ed McCardie has helped create some of the most popular TV shows in the last decade, including Shameless, Sneaky Pete, Spotless and many more. 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