In a previous life before becoming a high-flying tech exec, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo was an improv comic in Chicago. Now, he’s making what sounds like pretty good use of his new-found free time by helping out in the writers room on HBO comedy Silicon Valley, which satirizes the startup world..
Ex-Twitter CEO and ex-comedian Dick Costolo is contributing to HBO’s Silicon Valley
Scott Olson/Getty Images
“I’m in the writers room, and it’s more consulting than writing. There’s plenty of writing talent in the room,” Costolo tells Bloomberg News in an email. “I’m answering questions and describing how interactions would work between executives, VCs, employees, etc.”
"He's a funny guy."
“He’s a funny guy,” says showrunner Mike Judge in an interview with Bloomberg. “It’s just great to be able to be spinning stories, coming up with ideas, and just go, ‘Hey, Dick, would this ever happen?’” Judge says Costolo has “great stories” to tell the writing staff, like how he threw away burner phones after leaving China for fear of getting hacked.
Silicon Valley’s writing team includes former tech journalist Dan Lyons, best known for his Fake Steve Jobs blog. The show has been renewed for a third season, which is due to hit next year.
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