Latest news with #Markoe
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Hacks' finale explained: ‘There wasn't any other way to go'
This story contains spoilers about the season four finale of Hacks. When Merrill Markoe was the head writer for NBC's Late Night With David Letterman in the 1980s, she used to stand by the studio doors to watch the host deliver jokes to the audience. Her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest. 'Oh my god,' she recalls thinking. 'If this doesn't get a laugh, I'm screwed.' That's how high the stakes felt writing for late-night television, an unrelenting beast that must be fed daily with heaps of material, much of which could be found wanting and scrapped at any moment. So when Markoe starred as herself on the Max comedy Hacks this season as a writer on fictional comedian Deborah Vance's talk show, that real-life stress came roaring back. In one scene, Ava Daniels – the show's head writer, played by Hannah Einbinder – nervously confesses to Markoe what an honour it was to work with her, and that she hoped it wasn't strange for the late-night TV legend to be reporting to someone younger. Markoe assured Ava that she absolutely did not want to be head writer, adding, in an improvised line, 'I don't want to call it hell on earth, but, I mean, it's a job for a lunatic.' Loading The 'lunatic' line turned into a fan favourite during this fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning Hacks, which recently concluded and centred on the uniquely magical and confounding cultural touchstone of late-night comedy. Markoe didn't know what she was saying until it was out of her mouth, but she felt it with all her soul. 'Somebody, I can't remember who it was – it might have been Jay Leno – told me that [executives] broke it down into segments where they showed you what was getting a higher rating and a lower rating,' Markoe said. 'Like, if a girl came out in a real short skirt, the rating went a little higher. And then if somebody came on that nobody was particularly interested in, the rating went a little lower. So they just make it so that it's impossible not to be completely crazy. 'We didn't discuss ratings so much, although I know Dave took them personally. I mean, how can you not?' she continued. 'You have a show that you think went really, really well, but it turns out that the ratings were not that good. But you think, 'Well, wow, that was really quality stuff we did.' That's a very confusing little thing to put yourself in over and over and over and over.'
The Age
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Hacks' finale explained: ‘There wasn't any other way to go'
This story contains spoilers about the season four finale of Hacks. When Merrill Markoe was the head writer for NBC's Late Night With David Letterman in the 1980s, she used to stand by the studio doors to watch the host deliver jokes to the audience. Her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest. 'Oh my god,' she recalls thinking. 'If this doesn't get a laugh, I'm screwed.' That's how high the stakes felt writing for late-night television, an unrelenting beast that must be fed daily with heaps of material, much of which could be found wanting and scrapped at any moment. So when Markoe starred as herself on the Max comedy Hacks this season as a writer on fictional comedian Deborah Vance's talk show, that real-life stress came roaring back. In one scene, Ava Daniels – the show's head writer, played by Hannah Einbinder – nervously confesses to Markoe what an honour it was to work with her, and that she hoped it wasn't strange for the late-night TV legend to be reporting to someone younger. Markoe assured Ava that she absolutely did not want to be head writer, adding, in an improvised line, 'I don't want to call it hell on earth, but, I mean, it's a job for a lunatic.' Loading The 'lunatic' line turned into a fan favourite during this fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning Hacks, which recently concluded and centred on the uniquely magical and confounding cultural touchstone of late-night comedy. Markoe didn't know what she was saying until it was out of her mouth, but she felt it with all her soul. 'Somebody, I can't remember who it was – it might have been Jay Leno – told me that [executives] broke it down into segments where they showed you what was getting a higher rating and a lower rating,' Markoe said. 'Like, if a girl came out in a real short skirt, the rating went a little higher. And then if somebody came on that nobody was particularly interested in, the rating went a little lower. So they just make it so that it's impossible not to be completely crazy. 'We didn't discuss ratings so much, although I know Dave took them personally. I mean, how can you not?' she continued. 'You have a show that you think went really, really well, but it turns out that the ratings were not that good. But you think, 'Well, wow, that was really quality stuff we did.' That's a very confusing little thing to put yourself in over and over and over and over.'
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Yahoo
Deputy superintendent of FCPS steps down after close to 20 years of service
After dedicating nearly two decades to Frederick County Public Schools, former Deputy Superintendent Michael Markoe has left the school district. Markoe grew up in the county and attended New Market Elementary, New Market Middle and Linganore High School. He returned to the school district in 1995 as a special education teacher. In 2002, Markoe left the school district to work in Washington County Public Schools, where held several roles, including as a principal and associate superintendent. Additionally, his father previously served as the associate superintendent for FCPS, as well as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the school district. 'It's a lot of time investing in the community that we love,' he said. My dad grew up in Frederick, my mom grew up in Frederick and I grew up in Frederick, so it very much has a family feel for me, and it always will.' Markoe, as deputy superintendent, oversaw FCPS' response to a federal investigation into the district's use of seclusion and restraint. In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division opened an investigation against the school district that examined FCPS' discriminatory use of seclusion and restraint against students living with disabilities. The investigation found that FCPS unnecessarily and repeatedly secluded and restrained students, finding more than 7,200 documented incidents of seclusion and restraint in two and a half school years. The incidents almost exclusively affected students living with disabilities. FCPS and the Department of Justice reached a settlement agreement in 2021 to end the use of seclusion, examine and change its restraint practices, and train staff members on the appropriate interventions for students living with disabilities. Markoe was serving as FCPS' deputy superintendent. The former superintendent for the school district, Terry Alban, who had served in the role since 2011, mutually agreed with the Frederick County Board of Education to part ways. Markoe stepped in as interim superintendent for six months until Cheryl Dyson, the current superintendent, was appointed in April 2022. He returned to his position as deputy superintendent. Markoe said it was 'very much a challenging time' for the school district. 'There was significant pain in our community, and I really felt that it would be super important for me to be visible and also to just get out and talk to our educators, our parents and our students to see where they were,' he said. Markoe said the investigation was compounded by the fact that it occurred 'at the tail end of COVID.' 'But, I think we steered through it and came out better,' he said. Markoe said having experience as a special education teacher 'helped me understand the complexities associated with special education, and do my very best to lead us forward.' He said he was humbled by the opportunity to lead FCPS as interim superintendent, and 'I thought it was very, very important that I serve our students, our parents and our educators the very best I could during that six months.' County Council President Brad Young, who was the school board president at the time of the investigation, said 'there was nobody better for us to pick' for the interim position than Markoe. 'We put him in the position of guiding FCPS through that tumultuous time with the DOJ,' he said. 'He was the steady hand that kept things going and really got us back on an even keel.' Young said the school board members at the time had to make a quick decision, but they knew Markoe 'was the right choice.' 'We wanted to make sure that we were putting a leader in place that had respect within the system so that when changes were made, they would be respected and implemented knowing that somebody was putting them in place that had FCPS and the students' best interest at heart,' he said. 'That's never been a question with Mike.' Markoe said while the investigation 'was very painful in our community, we have emerged as a stronger school system, particularly for our students with disabilities, which I'm proud of.' Following his FCPS career, he said, he is exploring future possibilities in the area of coaching and developing leaders. Markoe said throughout his time at FCPS, he has 'just been honored to work with great people' in the school district. 'I am particularly proud of always leading with the best interests of students in mind,' he said. 'I'm proud of our systemic focus on service leadership, and I'm proud of our continued pursuit of student achievement and student outcomes, which has always been a focal point for me as a leader.'
