Writer/creators Kohan & Mutchnick Compare Their Success with Jay’s Failure Part 1 — Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen
Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen

Writer/creators Kohan & Mutchnick Compare Their Success with Jay’s Failure Part 1

January 27, 2026 · 54 min

Why listen

The creators of Will & Grace sit down with Jay Kogen to trade war stories about early TV careers and what actually makes a show last.

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Writer/creators Kohan & Mutchnick Compare Their Success with Jay’s Failure Part 1
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In this episode

  • How two high school friends built one of TV's most influential comedies
  • What early career failures and near-misses taught them about the industry
  • The real story behind working on The Single Guy and navigating network politics
  • How to hold onto creative partnerships when the pressure gets intense

About this episode

Max and David talk war stories about working on “The SIngle Guy” including Ernest Borgnine, playing poker, NBC screwing Jay over, Buz Kohan, David Bowie, The Garth Brooks Joke, Max telling the show runner stuff he shouldn’t, having your partner being yelled at, the love of Jim Burrows, lunch of Walter’s, setting up boundaries, Will & Grace, Mid Century Modern, early success, why they never hired Jay Kogen, feeling like a fraud and then feeling like you know stuff, rebooting Will & Grace, being best friends, their daughters are best friends, and David gives advice on being a twin and showing little kids “Stage Coach.” 

Bio: David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are the creators and executive producers of "MidCentury Modern", and are perhaps best known for the 16-time Emmy Award-winning comedy series “Will & Grace,” which ended its 11-season run on NBC in April 2020. The trailblazing series is still praised for its significant social impact and groundbreaking representation of queer characters. High school friends Mutchnick and Kohan started their entertainment careers almost 25 years ago as writers for “Dream On”, “The Dennis Miller Show”, and “The Wonder Years”. Mutchnick graduated from Emerson College and currently serves on its Board of Trustees. Kohan is a proud alumnus of Wesleyan University, where he majored in English and philosophy. Mutchnick is married to entertainment lawyer Erik Hyman. They live in Beverly Hills with their twin daughters, Evan and Rose, named for the couple’s maternal grandmothers. Kohan is also co-creator and producer of daughters Olivia and Nora. He currently lives in Los Angeles with Nora and his wife, Blair, a board member and motion picture agent at UTA.


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Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen

About Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen

Straw Hut Media

Don’t Be Alone with Jay Kogen is a comedy/advice podcast trying to fight the isolation of modern life. Each episode, Award winning TV writer/comedian/philosopher Jay Kogen has a conversation with a friend about how to solve the problems on Jay’s mind.

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