Top 5 Favorite Entertainment Industry Focused Podcasts

Michelle Miller
4 min readMay 18, 2021

Want a sneak peek inside the entertainment industry? The entertainment industry can be intimidating and confusing — which is why podcasts give us a unique insight into what it really takes to be successful in show business.

These are my TOP 5 Favorite Entertainment Industry Focused Podcasts big and small, that I’ve learned so much from. These particular podcasts are informative, well produced and easy to listen to when you’re walking down the street or doing some laundry.

Cover Art for Mentors on the Mic podcast

1. Mentors on the Mic (~1 hr)

TV/Film Actress Michelle Simone Miller dives into the careers of accomplished Mentors in Entertainment. She interviews incredible guests including Emmy-winning Producers, Emmy-winning Casting Directors, Grammy-winning Producers, Showrunners, Hollywood Managers, Agents, TV Directors, TV Writers, Network Executives, and more. Each interview focuses on the respective guest’s incredible career all the way to where they are today. Perfect for anyone looking to break in or move up in the industry. (I’m admittedly bias on this one, but all true)

Need a Mentor in Entertainment? How about a Tribe of Mentors?

Recommended episodes -

Season 2, Episode 12 — Showrunner of the CW’s hit series ‘Pandora’ Mark A. Altman

Season 2, Episode 6 — Casting Director Jenny Ravitz (Casts for Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD)

Season 1, Episode 21 — TV Director Linda Mendoza (Scrubs, The Good Place, Blackish)

Season 1, Episode 8 — Serena Kerrigan, SFK The Queen of Confidence

Cover Art for Smartless podcast

2. Smartless (~ 1 hr)

Actors and Comedians Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett join forces to create this hysterical podcast. They bring in fascinating guests they wish to learn from (mostly in Entertainment) and hilarity ensues. Even the ads are extremely entertaining! I’ve listened to every single episode.

Recommended episodes -

Episode 25 — Martin Short

Episode 26 — Bryan Cranston

Episode 27 — Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Cover Art for Awards Chatter podcast

3. Awards Chatter (~ 1 hr, 30 min)

The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘Award Chatter’ is a podcast that features incredible in-depth interviews with the most interesting and accomplished people in show business. There are so many incredible interviews that it was hard to pick my 3 favorites. (Also recommend Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, and Lupita Nyong’o…) Host and The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Expert Scott Feinberg is absolutely terrific. He does extensive research on each guest, asking the best questions and getting the best stories.

Recommended episodes -

Episode 363 — Amanda Seyfried

Episode 305 — Shia LaBeouf

Episode 188 — Jennifer Lawrence

Episode 150 — Oprah Winfrey

Cover Art for The Moment with Brian Koppelman podcast

4. The Moment with Brian Koppelman (~ 1 hr)

Brian Koppelman is the Showrunner and co-creator of Billions and co-writer of Ocean’s Thirteen and Rounders. He conducts interviews about the pivotal moments of Industry titans that fueled fascinating creative careers. His style of questioning is direct, reverent, and full of experience and wisdom about the industry. Highly recommend.

Ron Howard — 1/05/21

Alison Ellwood — 12/29/2020

Judd Apatow 6/16/21

Cover Art for One Broke Actress podcast

5. One Broke Actress (~1 hr)

Actress Sam Valentine talks to different Actors, Agents, Casting Directors and Coaches in the industry covering everything an Actor would want to learn. Want to know about life on set with COVID film production guidelines? Want to know what Agents and Managers expect as at the end of the yeargifts? Fantastic resource for all Actors or those who wish to learn more about the Business.

Season 1, Episode 1 — Kate Siegel

Season 6, Episode 11 — Shaan Sharma: Let’s Talk about Fi-Core

Bonus: Holiday Agent and Manager Gifts

Bonus: Agent Anthony Boyer (Head of DDO Theatrical Dept)

What about YOU???

Let me know if you agree. What are some of your favorite entertainment focused podcasts?

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Michelle Miller

Michelle Miller is an Actress, Communications Coach, and Host of the podcast, Mentors on the Mic. She received her BA from Brandeis University.