Before he directed “Wicked” (2024) or staged the cinematic fireworks of “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), Jon M. Chu was just an 8-year-old at Universal Studios’ screen test experience, playing a sleeping policeman on camera. Years later, he’d direct major flops like “Jem and the Holograms” (2015) — a film that scored just 22% on Rotten Tomatoes and was pulled from theaters after two weeks. Now, in his episode of “Seen on the Screen with Jacqueline Coley,” Chu talks about how making “Wicked” scared the daylights out of him.

Those are the kind of experiences “Seen on the Screen” is built on. Hosted by Jacqueline Coley, awards editor at Rotten Tomatoes, the new bi-weekly podcast “Seen on the Screen” peels back the curtain at NBCUniversal. From marketing executives to lighting designers to theme park employees who ended up producing films, the podcast is about the messy, squiggly, unpredictable paths people take to build a life in entertainment. The podcast isn’t focused on red carpets or press junkets. It’s about real people — some famous, some not — talking about how they got into the industry, why they stayed and what keeps them chasing it.

Having navigated a path far from typical Hollywood success stories themselves, Coley and Dwight Caines, Universal Pictures’ president of domestic marketing, created “Seen on the Screen” as a resource for film students and anyone curious about the business side of the industry. They see the show as especially valuable because it shines a light on the wide range of roles and career paths that often fly under the radar.

“Seen on the Screen” started out of a desire to highlight not just the culture at Universal, but also the behind-the-scenes people who truly make things happen and shape the stories we see on screen.

Through upbeat conversations with guests from all corners of the industry, the show reveals how all the skills and experiences gained through diverse career paths are transferable — a message especially meaningful to those still figuring out their place in entertainment.

For Coley, growing up in Alabama and Texas, Hollywood felt distant and almost impossible to reach. But the podcast shows that a passion for storytelling and creativity can lead to all kinds of roles beyond just being a famous director or screenwriter. Ultimately, “Seen on the Screen” makes that feel a little more possible, and a lot more human, for listeners who dream of being a part of the industry.  

“The audacity to hope for a career in entertainment is something that is very distant for a lot of people, due to proximity or just what they believe is possible, what the people around them believe is possible,” Coley said. “There’s such an interesting array of paths that got people there, but they all, for the most part, just started out as people who love storytelling, love movie making, love craftsmanship, and then all of this was born from that.”

Reflecting on his experience, Caines hopes the podcast serves as proof for listeners that there is a place for them in entertainment, no matter their background. 

“When I was in college, I didn’t see [many] professors who looked like me. I think I had two Black professors over my four years in college, and I sort of felt like, ‘Oh, maybe the industry isn’t diverse enough. Maybe this is going to be impossible for me to be seen in a senior role,’” he said. “Whenever I hear their stories, I love when it reaffirms the idea that there’s somebody who can help guide you on your path, who can help you remain curious.”

Whether it’s learning about how greenlighting decisions get made or hearing how different paths converge in unexpected ways, each episode reaffirms Caines’ belief in helping others stay curious, take risks and imagine themselves in spaces they might not have thought possible.

Every episode spotlights a new voice and a new narrative that has been left unseen. The podcast is intentional about featuring these kinds of roles, so that listeners, especially those early in their careers, can see the wide range of paths available in entertainment beyond becoming a director or writer. 

Like producing a show, each episode is curated to highlight people who’ve collected a range of experiences — people whose careers have been shaped by curiosity, adaptability and the willingness to learn on the job.

That’s what makes “Seen on the Screen” relevant to students, especially those in film and media studies. It’s an industry podcast that doesn’t feel like an industry podcast. It’s approachable, funny and a little nerdy, with trivia that invites guests to geek about the films that rocked their world or changed their lives. Every episode is like grabbing coffee with someone who’s actually doing the work — and wants to help you get there too.

Finn Rollings, a senior majoring in cinema and media studies as well as a NBCUniversal campus ambassador, found inspiration on how to get that first step through the door of the film industry while listening to Arnold Klein’s episode about how his high school job at a theme park led to his career as a senior director of digital marketing at Universal.

“To hear from Arnold about how it really was just that first step in working at the parks part-time, it was really inspiring to see what he’s doing now,” Rollings said.

The podcast offers an emotional, human-centered perspective on the entertainment industry. According to Rollings, while the School of Cinematic Arts provides significant resources, many students are left with a sense of ambiguity about what the industry looks like in practice. By featuring real people and their creative journeys, “Seen on the Screen” breaks that idea down into relatable stories, making the entertainment world feel less like a distant machine and more like a community you could actually be part of.

Listening to the passion and dedication of people who work in the film industry has been a very heartening experience, Rollings said. He feels the stories told in the podcast uplift the voices of unsung heroes and erode the knowledge barrier of entry and secrecy that often surrounds studios.

“The online media landscape has sort of transformed what it means to be a movie studio from that classic Hollywood idea,” Rollings said. “In that sense, bringing in diverse voices, diverse backgrounds, diverse paths into the industry … showcasing that breadth within the studio is really helpful in characterizing what Universal is today.”

Rollings said today’s media landscape can overshadow the human work behind the stories we watch, flattening the industry into algorithm-driven recommendations and studio branding. That’s why “Seen on the Screen” feels so refreshing: It brings those human stories back into focus.

After all, the industry isn’t a staircase, and Rollings said that you have to be open to taking a bit of a garden path to where you think you want to go. Every odd job, every side quest, every seemingly unrelated skill might come back to support you in ways you never expected.

Maybe you’ll end up doing a 180 from working as a Wall Street analyst to greenlighting films. Maybe you’ll manage influencer talent thanks to a high school internship at a theme park. Maybe you’ll start as an assistant at a specialty studio and end up running it. Maybe you’ll even develop a movie about a cocaine-addicted bear. 

Whatever the path, this podcast doesn’t just show you what’s possible. It helps you believe in the value of your own story, before it even hits the screen.