‘Bugonia’ Writer Will Tracy: ‘The Onion,’ John Oliver, and ‘Succession’

The new conspiracy-laden film ‘Bugonia’ has been described by critics and audiences alike as “bleak.” But the comedy writer who penned the script doesn’t see it that way. In this episode, Will Tracy shares how he went from ‘The Onion’s’ editor-in-chief to winning Emmys for ‘Last Week Tonight’ and ‘Succession’ to writing the mind-bending script for Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest collaboration with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. He discusses ‘Bugonia’s’ very 2025 political message and unpacks what could be considered a deeply cynical ending that he finds oddly hopeful about the future of the planet—if not humanity. Tracy also explains why he found writing for John Oliver so miserable, how he managed to identify with Kendall Roy on ‘Succession,’ and what it feels like to act opposite Jeremy Strong.  Follow Matt Wilstein on Bluesky @mattwilstein  Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Watch full episodes of The Last Laugh podcast on the Daily Beast’s YouTube channel Highlights from this episode and others at TheDailyBeast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices