OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East

Geri is joined by Lang Fisher—co-creator and showrunner of the Netflix series NEVER HAVE I EVER—to discuss creating a comedy that’s rooted in grief, writing teen characters who sound like real teens, how casting tennis champion John McEnroe as narrator helped tie the whole series together, and more. Lang Fisher was a staff writer for The Onion and started her TV writing career at THE ONION NEWS NETWORK. Since then, she’s written on hit comedies like THE MINDY PROJECT, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, and 30 ROCK. While at 30 ROCK, she co-wrote the episode “A Goon's Deed in a Weary World,” which was named in Variety’s “25 Best TV Episodes of the Decade (2010-2019).” Her latest project is NEVER HAVE I EVER – a coming-of-age dramedy co-created by Fisher and Mindy Kaling. The series follows Devi, an Indian-American high school student, as she grapples with the death of her father, her Indian identity, and trying to improve her social status at her school. The series premiered in 2020 and was recently renewed for a third season. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents the fourth and final week of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For the fourth and final installment in the series, OnWriting host Geri Cole speaks with Steven Canals, the co-creator and executive producer of the FX drama series POSE. After receiving an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, Steven Canals began his professional writing career as a research assistant at Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black’s production company Hungry Jackal Productions. He then went on to serve as a staff writer on the Freeform supernatural horror series DEAD OF SUMMER while also writing the short film “Afuera.” In 2018, he started his tenure as co-creator and executive producer of POSE. POSE is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons and ferocious house mothers of New York’s underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the late 1980s. The series follows Blanca Rodriguez, who, after receiving an HIV positive diagnosis, is forced to confront her mortality and dedicates herself to leaving a legacy by founding her own House of Evangelista and supporting her new found-family. POSE, which recently concluded its third and final season, features the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles and the largest recurring cast of LGBTQ actors ever for a scripted series. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Netflix, and the third season is available on FX. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents week three of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For our third installment in the series, Geri speaks with Nikole Beckwith, the writer and director of TOGETHER TOGETHER. Nikole Beckwith is a writer, director, and pen-and-ink artist. As a playwright, her work has been developed and performed in on stages in New York, Chicago and London. She made her feature film debut with STOCKHOLM, PENNSYLVANIA, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive numerous accolades including a Women's Image Award for Best Screenplay and nomination for Best Director, a Satellite Award for Best Film for Television, and three TV Critics Choice Award. Her latest project is TOGETHER TOGETHER – a story about the ups and downs of surrogacy and the power of platonic love. The film follows 26-year-old Anna and single, middle-aged app designer named Matt, two self-described loners who gradually open up to each other, give in to the intimacy of their admittedly finite shared experience, and forge an unlikely friendship over the course of Anna's time as Matt's gestational surrogate. The film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and is currently available to rent or buy through major SVOD platforms. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents week two of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For our second installment in the series, Geri speaks with Kimberly Peirce, the writer and director of BOYS DON’T CRY. BOYS DON’T CRY is the 1999 film based on the true story of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man trying to live and find love in Nebraska. On the film's 20th anniversary, it was selected for preservation at the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

For the first part of our OnWriting Pride Month series, Geri is joined by Emma Seligman, writer and director of SHIVA BABY, to discuss the challenges of writing and directing a low-budget first feature, the ways Judaism and a love of cinema have shaped her storytelling, and how the film uses anxiety and a horror soundtrack to heighten the tension and the comedy. Emma Seligman is a Canadian filmmaker. While studying film at NYU, she made a number of short films, including “Lonewoods,” “Void,” and her thesis project, “Shiva Baby,” which had its world premiere at the 2018 South by Southwest film festival. SHIVA BABY is the feature-length adaptation of that project, and Seligman’s feature debut. The film follows Jewish, bisexual college senior Danielle as she—along with her family, her ex-girlfriend, and, to her shock, her sugar daddy—attends a shiva for a barely-remembered relative. The film—which premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and has since received widespread critical acclaim, including the Best Screenplay award at Outfest 2020—is now showing in select theaters in the US and is available to rent on most major streaming platforms. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri welcomes the Bodega Boys Desus Nice and The Kid Mero to the show to talk about what they do—and don't do—to put together their show; their unique approach interviewing illustrious guests; and why it's so important to be real and stay real with the people you work with… no matter how strong the brand. Desus Nice & The Kid Mero are former Bronx schoolmates who—while building their respective followings as formidable comedians in their own right—reconnected on Twitter and quickly became known for their shared affinity for complaining about their dissatisfaction for their jobs coupled with pointed and funny pop culture commentary. The re-connection of the quick-witted duo led to stints on Complex (DESUS VS. MERO), their current podcast (THE BODEGA BOYS), and a critically acclaimed late-night show on Viceland— all while continuing to amass an enthusiastic following for their smart and comedic off-the-cuff musings on life’s greatest topics. They have also contributed their voices to Ezra Koenig’s (Vampire Weekend) animated series NEO YOKIO and NEO YOKIO PINK CHRISTMAS. DESUS & MERO is the third talk series co-hosted by the duo. In each episode, Desus, Mero, and a variety of illustrious guests speak about important topics and chat about pop culture, sports, music, politics—among many other things. The Showtime series is the network’s first-ever late-night talk show. New episodes air on Mondays and Thursdays. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri speaks with Zack Akers, writer and co-director of SHIPWORM, about how the project is the first podcast to be covered on the Writers Guild Minimum Basic Agreement; the challenges and freedoms of writing for audio; and the roles that doctors working during the pandemic, a rented duck, and a rare & elusive type of mollusk have played in his creative process. Zack Akers, along with his creative partner, Skip Bronkie, run the podcast production company Two-Up, the studio known for groundbreaking fiction, musical and documentary podcasts like 36 QUESTIONS, THE WILDERNESS, and LIMETOWN—the last of which was also adapted into a TV series for Facebook Watch (and which is now available to stream on Peacock). His latest project is SHIPWORM: a first-of-its-kind feature-length scripted podcast. The two-hour narrative story stars Broadway luminary Quentin Earl Darrington as Wallace Conway, a small-town doctor who wakes up to find he's been implanted with an untraceable chip that allows a mysterious voice to lead him on a deadly journey that threatens his family, friends and his own life. The full podcast is now available on all streaming services. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

To kick things off for Season 9, Geri is joined by Sierra Teller Ornelas and Mike Schur, co-creators — along with Ed Helms — of the new Peacock sitcom RUTHERFORD FALLS, to discuss how the series tackles big issues around race and culture with an abundance of humor; how they built an inclusive and equitable writers' room; and how television, and the world, is better off when we learn from history. Sierra Teller Ornelas is a Navajo and Mexican American writer, producer, and showrunner whose long list of past credits includes BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, SUPERSTORE, and SPLITTING UP TOGETHER. Mike Schur is a writer, producer, and actor who is probably best known as the co-creator of PARKS AND RECREATION and BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, the creator of THE GOOD PLACE, as well as a writer on THE OFFICE and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – among other things. Their latest project is the sitcom RUTHERFORD FALLS. The series—which was co-created by Ornelas, Schur, and Ed Helms, and for which Ornelas is showrunner—follows Nathan Rutherford and Reagan Wells, two lifelong friends who find themselves at a crossroads, quite literally, when their sleepy town gets an unexpected wake-up call. The complete first season premiered on April 22 and is available to stream on Peacock. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

The WGAE Women’s Salon presents a series of four live recordings of OnWriting in honor of Women's History Month. In each episode, we’re speaking with women screenwriters whose latest projects center on women’s stories. To wrap up the series, Geri speaks with Eliza Hittman, the writer and director of the acclaimed 2020 film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS. Eliza Hittman is an award-winning writer and director from Brooklyn, NY. She is the writer and director of the 2013 drama IT FELT LIKE LOVE and the 2017 drama BEACH RATS, the latter of which earned her the 2017 Director Award at Sundance Film Festival. She is also the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award from Lincoln Center and is a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. Her latest project is the drama film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS. The film follows Autumn, a 17-year-old who, after learning that she’s pregnant but unable to get an abortion without her parents’ consent in her native Pennsylvania, embarks on a trip to New York City with her cousin Skylar in order to get an abortion there. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award for Neo-Realism. It also won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. It is currently available to stream on HBO Max. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents the third in a series of four live recordings of OnWriting in honor of Women's History Month, presented by the WGAE Women's Salon. In each episode, we’re speaking with women screenwriters whose latest projects center on women’s stories. For the third installment in the series, Geri speaks with Jenny Lumet, the co-creator and showrunner of the new CBS series CLARICE. Jenny Lumet is a screenwriter and actress who is widely known for her screenplay for the acclaimed 2008 drama film RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, directed by the late, great Jonathan Demme. She is a writer-producer on STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, and is co-creator and showrunner of the forthcoming sci-fi series THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. Her latest project is CLARICE — the CBS crime procedural drama series co-created by Lumet and Alex Kurtzman, and for which Lumet serves as showrunner. CLARICE takes a deep dive into the untold personal story of FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) as she returns to the field in 1993, one year after the events of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Brilliant and vulnerable, Clarice's bravery gives her an inner light that draws monsters and madmen to her. However, her complex psychological makeup that comes from a challenging childhood empowers her to begin to find her voice while working in a man's world, as well as escape the family secrets that have haunted her throughout her life. The series premiered in February 2021 on CBS and is also available to stream on Paramount+. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast