Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brandon Rizzuto. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
My audio drama, Dean’s Killer Joke, is by far the most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date.
Since I was a kid, my heroes were Kevin Smith, The Duplass Brothers, Edward Burns, Chris Gethard—basically anyone who independently filmed or created something on their own. I’ve had many false starts getting an indie passion project off the ground over the years, but there was something about Dean’s Killer Joke that I couldn’t let slip away unproduced.
I started writing it in 2021, began independently producing and recording it in 2024, and we premiered in November of that year. By December, we started appearing on Apple’s Top 100 comedy fiction podcasts chart around the world.
While I made a couple of short films, I didn’t have the means or the resources to film a feature-length indie movie or a TV show like Kevin Smith or Chris Gethard. Thanks to remote recordings, a mic, and my small closet, however, I was able to produce and direct Dean’s Killer Joke in a couple of months. It wasn’t a movie. It didn’t premiere at Sundance. But it was a story I put out into the world on my own, just like my heroes did.
Brandon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started working in TV after graduating from college in 2014, mostly in Rights and Clearances for reality and clip shows. When I wasn’t tracking down rights holders, I was writing spec scripts that went on to win contests and get me some light interest from agents and producers. In my writing, I like to explore emotional scenes with vulnerability and wit, often about family dynamics. Usually, this results in stories that have been called “dark, but silly,” by readers and “not true” by my parents.
While moving up in TV, to where I am today as a story producer, I was also writing podcasts for several Parcast/Spotify shows, such as Conspiracy Theories and Medical Murders. These introduced me to scripted podcasts, whereas before I was listening to comedians interviewing other comedians practically 24/7.
While listening to those, I realized that sometimes you would hear a story on one comedian’s podcast and then another comic’s POV about the same story on theirs. The stand up comedy/ podcasting world felt like the perfect setup for a whodunnit where comedian suspects can all podcast to the audience their different alibis, while also joking about a murder that they swear they didn’t commit. So I took the lessons in tone and audio pacing that I learned from writing for Parcast, the banter I heard in comedians’ podcasts, and started writing Dean’s Killer Joke.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think non-creatives don’t understand the weight that their words hold. Before starting my career, I can’t count how many times I told someone I wanted to work in TV (and eventually podcasts) and they’d make some snide remark. “No, but what do you really want to do?” “My daughter wanted to do that too, but then she smartened up.” “Ha! Good luck, kid.”
I think these people mean well in a sense, and it sometimes comes from some unrealized creative dream of their own, but all it does is beat an artist down until the “plan B” job you want them to have starts to seem like the only viable option. An option that they probably won’t be happy with.
Working in a creative field is hard, uncertain, and will probably come with a few dry spells, money-wise. An unsupportive parent, teacher, friend, etc., doesn’t make it any easier.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
It’s hard to figure out what is driving my creative journey. I would say that I simply need to write and tell stories, and I’m not happy doing anything else. However, I think I’m also chasing a certain awe I felt when discovering the TV shows, comic books, and movies that shaped my life as a kid. If I can create something that makes someone else feel like all they want to do is tell their own stories, then I think I’ve done my job.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://deanskillerjoke.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-rizzuto/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ZYQ9eCUvqgzFlHpK1OAtl?si=58e159e9543f479a
Image Credits
Dean’s Killer Joke cover artwork by Sarah Xiong