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Posts tagged as “Diversity & Representation”

TV Writing Fellowships: The Big Six

TV Writing Fellowships: The Big Six

UPDATED FOR 2024

We all know that staffing season is right around the corner, but a great way to learn more about the TV writing industry while simultaneously get a major push in “breaking into it” is by getting selected into one of the main TV writing fellowships (AKA diversity writers program) out there (not just using TV writing contests). It’s also the number one answer when it comes to “how to get into writing for television”. Many TV studios that have writing programs in English provide aspiring writers with valuable opportunities to develop their skills and gain industry experience.

Although several lists of TV fellowships have been posted here and there, I didn’t find an exhaustive one listing both the current application requirements for 2024, as well as the correct submission period (plus other info like eligibility, number of fellows selected, etc.). So here is one.

For future reference, I have also included screenwriting fellowships whose deadlines have already past.
Note that the listed application requirements for the studio writing programs exclude the obvious signed agreements/application forms that must always be completed. In addition, I did not include the physical details of the submission process such as number of copies of scripts required, shipping address, etc. (all of it can be found on the official page of the programs).

CBS Writers Mentoring Program

NEW: Learn all about the CBS Writers Mentoring Program from its supervisor!
CBS Mentoring Program
Application Webpage
The focus of this six month program is on opening doors: providing opportunities to build relationships with network executives and show runners; to support new and emerging writers in their efforts to improve their craft; and to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to break in and succeed.
The Writers Mentoring Program (or CBS Writing Fellowship and CBS Diversity Program) is not employment and there is no monetary compensation. It is, instead, a structured program of career development, support, and personal access to executives and decision-making processes, with the goal of preparing aspiring writers for later employment opportunities in television.
Each participant will be teamed with two different mentors.
One is a show mentor who is a senior-level writer on a current CBS drama or comedy series. This relationship builds over the course of the Program and is focused on helping the participant with creative feedback on their writing as well as help and advice on career goals.
The other is a CBS network or studio executive with whom they will meet on a regular basis, to discuss their work, get creative feedback on their material and get advice and support in furthering their career.
Once a week, participants will be invited to attend a small workshop-style meeting with various CBS show runners and other industry professionals. Speakers include executive producers, agents, managers, development and current executives and others. The purpose of these gatherings is for participants to gain a better understanding of how the business works from many different perspectives as well as creating the opportunity to make critical networking connections.
It’s been found that in order to derive the greatest benefit from the Program, participants should be available to 1) attend a once a week (evening) workshop and 2) attend meetings or observe in various situations for a minimum of five full days (not necessarily in sequence) over the course of the six-month Program.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 10
Submission period: April 1, 2024 – May 1, 2024
Dates of program: October 2024 – April 2025
Eligibility: The primary focus of The CBS Diversity Institute’s Writers Mentoring Program is to provide access and opportunities for talented and motivated diverse writers with a focus on writers of color. Aspiring diverse writers with a strong desire to write for CBS television series are encouraged to apply. You must be 21 or older to be eligible.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour or hour spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season
– One original work of writing (original pilot, screenplay, stage play, short fiction story). The original sample should be similar in tone to the spec sample.
– Current resume or short biographical summary
– Letter of interest
Cost: Free

Walt Disney Entertainment Writing Program (FKA Disney Television Writing Program and Disney/ABC TV Writing Program)

NEW: Learn all about the Disney ABC Writing Program from its supervisor!
ABC Writing Program
Application Webpage
The Walt Disney Entertainment Writing Program (formerly known as the Disney Television Writing Program, and informally known as the Disney writing fellowship or Disney ABC TV Writing Program) is designed to expose aspiring writers to key executives, producers and literary representatives – all essential in the pursuit of a writing career. Additionally, while in the program, writers have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a current programming or development executive to create spec scripts of series from the current broadcast season. The ultimate goal of the ABC Writing Fellowship is to prepare and nurture the writers for a professional writing career.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 8
Submission period: May 1, 2024 – June 3, 2024 (11:59 PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: January 2025 – January 2026
Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have US employment eligibility. Prior professional work experience in the entertainment industry is recommended. Post college experience preferred. Although one completed script is required for consideration, the ideal candidates should have a body of work consisting of no less than two spec scripts and at least one original sample. If candidate advances to final stages of interview process, the review of additional scripts and referrals from working entertainment industry professionals will be required.
Application requirements:
– Two original pilot scripts that capture the writer’s unique tone, style and point of view. They must be live-action content; animation samples of any form are not accepted. The samples should also tonally translate to the type of programming broadcast on WDT.
– Current resume
– An autobiographical summary
– An essay reflecting “the applicant’s unique life experiences and personal stories which will demonstrate the writer’s ability to make distinct contributions to a writers’ room.”
– (optional) Letters of recommendation from entertainment industry professionals. The letters must be written on your behalf by working entertainment industry professionals who can discuss your potential as a professional television staff writer.
Cost: Free

FOX Writers Lab

NOTE: It is still TBD if the Fox Writers Lab will have a 2024 edition.
Fox Writers Lab
Application Webpage
Writers selected for the FOX Writers Lab (FKA FOX Diversity Writer’s Initiative) will receive feedback and guidance on their scripts through interactive “master classes” and will engage in guest speaker sessions with experienced writers, showrunners and directors. Upon successful completion of the program, participants will receive priority staffing meetings for the established Fox Writers Lab Staff Writer position on Fox entertainment productions.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 8
Submission period: Strong possibility that there isn’t a 2024 edition of the Fox Writers Lab.
Eligibility: FWL is for emerging writers and/or previously staffed, produced, or published writers who have a strong command of their craft and who are deeply committed to pursuing or sustaining a professional writing career. Writers who have had pilots produced are not eligible to apply.
Application requirements:
– One original thirty-minute or one-hour comedy or drama pilot television script
– Three original loglines for additional projects
– Two letters of recommendation
– Personal statement
– Current resume
Cost: Free

NBC TV Writers Program (FKA NBC/Universal Writers on the Verge)

NEW: Learn all about the NBC Writers on the Verge program from its director!
Writers on the Verge
Application Webpage
The NBC Launch TV Writers Program (formerly known as NBC Writers on the Verge, or informally known as NBC Writers Program, NBC Writing Fellowship, NBC Fellowship Program) is a 12-week program focused on polishing writers and readying them for a staff writer position on a television series. The program will consist of two night classes, which will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays (7-10pm), weekly at NBC in Universal City, CA. Once accepted, students must attend all classes and turn in all written assignments.
Classes concentrate on creating an exceptional spec script and understanding the dynamics of pitching oneself in the television industry. Writers are given the chance to interact with industry players ranging from network executives to showrunners to agents and receive valuable feedback on their work and pitch style. The NBC TV Writers Program is a prestigious initiative that provides aspiring writers with invaluable opportunities to learn and grow in the field.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 8
Submission period: May 1, 2024 – May 31, 2024 (11:59 PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: Late September 2024 – Mid-January 2025
Eligibility: Anybody can apply to the NBC Writers Fellowship. The program is especially looking for writers who are “almost there” but need that final bit of preparation with their writing and personal presentation skills. They particularly encourage writers of diverse backgrounds to apply.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour or hour spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season (on their accepted show list)
– Two short essay questions (provided when application goes live)
– Current resume
Cost: Free

Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship AKA Nickelodeon Writing Program

Nick Fellowship
Application Webpage
Operating in a three-phased structure, the Nick Fellowship provides a salaried position for up to one year and offers hands-on experience writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas in both live action and animation television.
This three-phased structure allows fellows an opportunity to nurture relationships with creators, network executives, line producers, head writers, showrunners and story editors.
As part of their script writing, each fellow will be assigned to an Executive in Charge of Production and have an opportunity to write a spec script for an on-air Nickelodeon show.
In addition, all fellows are integrated into the activities of both the development and production departments. This allows the fellows an opportunity to attend storyboard pitches, notes meetings, records, table reads, show pitches and show tapings, all while being exposed to top creators and key production crews. It’s one of the fellowships for writers with strong on-hand access to the production process (so more than just one of those TV writing workshops).
There are two creative avenues to pursue: the General Track (12-months) and the Preschool Track (6-months). The Preschool Track was created to develop writers specifically interested in writing and/or creating shows for the preschool demographic.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 4
Submission period: January 2, 2024 – January 31, 2024 (11:59PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: October 2024 – October 2025
Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have US employment eligibility.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour comedic spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online live-action or animation series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season (the accepted show list for each track is listed on their website)
– Current resume
– Short biography (500 words or less)
– Two essay questions (each 75 words or less)
Cost: Free

WB Writers’ Workshop

NEW: Learn all about the Warner Bros. Writers’ Workshop from its director!
WB Writers Workshop
Application Webpage
The Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop (or WB Writing Fellowship) consists of three components, all geared towards preparing the writer for a successful career in television writing.
Lectures: Weekly lectures feature guest speakers currently working in television and include a mix of showrunners, directors, actors and agents. Each seminar will teach a new skill essential for surviving and excelling in a writers’ room as a staff writer and beyond.
Simulated Writers’ Room: After the lectures, the Workshop participants are divided into smaller groups for an intensive writing experience. Each participant will be required to complete a new spec script under the same deadlines found on a show currently in production. How participants perform during this exercise will determine whether they will be chosen for a possible staffing position on a Warner Bros. show.
Staffing: Upon completion of the program, Studio executives will help participants, who pass the Writers’ Room, obtain a staff position on a Warner Bros. television show currently in production. We can’t guarantee you will get staffed, but we will get your material in front of the people who make the ultimate decisions – the showrunners.
Number of applicants selected: Up to 10
Submission period: May 1, 2024 – May 31, 2024 (11:59 PM PST deadline)
Dates of program: October 2024 – March 2025
Eligibility: Applicants must have US employment eligibility.
Application requirements:
– One half-hour or hour spec script based on a primetime network, cable or online series that aired new episodes during the 2023-2024 season. (The specced TV show must be listed on their official website.) Applicants may submit up to two specs.
– Current resume
– A one-page composition telling “why you want to be a television writer and how your background will add a unique perspective to television”
Cost: Free

How I got my Green Card

How I got my Green Card

I received my Green Card in the mail the other day.
People don’t really believe me when I say I won it at the lottery.
Either because they don’t know the lottery is real, or because it sounds plain crazy with under a 2% chance of winning.

I’ve been asked a few times to tell the story of how I got it, and since it’s a long answer, I decided to make a post about it.
And if you’re wondering what happened to me during the blog hiatus, the answers are also here.
A few cryptic tidbits were posted during the past year and a half (linked throughout this very post), and they will all be explained here.
It’s like Lost, only with an actual payoff and answers (and no retcon).

I’ve been talking about visas for some time (ever since the blog began actually).
I made a two-parter breakdown of the visa and green card opportunities for international writers out there. I talked about how to register to the DV Lottery (opened from October to December).

If you’re not really aware of what the Diversity Visa lottery is, it’s “a United States congressionally-mandated lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card.”
Around 50,000 of those are delivered each year out of 13 million applications.

Here’s what happened to me.

2008

On October 2, I decide to send in my application for the DV-2010 lottery.
The process is pretty straight-forward at first (online forms to fill out); although the specific photo ID they asked for was a pain to do.

To participate you do need to have a certain education level, and be a native of one of the qualifying countries.
Yes, what is taken into account is where you were born, not your nationality.
Sounds familiar?

As you might have guessed, some countries are blacklisted (China anyone?).
Russia has only been eligible since, well, last year.

What’s interesting to note is that Brits cannot enter the national lottery, so I had to play my French side.

Once the app is sent, there’s not much you can do except hibernate.
If you’re selected, you’ll get an actual notification letter from the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC), from where the lottery program is administered.

2009

Over seven months later, on May 29, I receive a large white envelope containing a bunch of papers to fill and send back as soon as possible (with yet again a bunch of new photo IDs to do).
It looks like I’ve won. Can it be true?

It’s also at this point that you get assigned your Case Number. From it, you can guess when you’ll have your embassy interview (within a month or two).
This is of course assuming you’re “really” selected.
Indeed, even though you just received the notification letter, it is actually the first of two.
Not only that, but since a lot of potential DV winners don’t answer back, about 100,000 people receive this first notification letter (twice the amount of actual Green Cards delivered).
First come first serve basis at this point, so time is key.
The people chosen to receive the letters are randomly chosen (obviously their applications must fit the guidelines), although the amount of letters per continent and country changes every year based on the previous lottery’s stats. This is made to even things out.

I chose to fill my form on the computer and then reprint it.
Only, the thing is: there is no letter-size paper here (it’s all A4). So I had to quickly find some US paper (which I did at some cost).
Once I had my brand new pictures and the forms printed out, I sent it back as quickly as I could, meaning less than a week later (June 4).
On June 11, I get the confirmation the KCC received my first notification letter.

Yet again, the waiting game continues.

I get word three months later the KCC sent my second notification letter around August 25.
I receive it on September 5.
This letter informs you of a few things, but is mainly there to prepare you for the upcoming American embassy interview.
First, you need to gather a lot of documents. And by a lot, I mean basically your whole life.
On my part, I had to find, among other things, my birth and police certificates, bank statements proving a certain level of income, and evidence of the required education.
There’s also the small matter of your health.
Yes, you need to go to a certified doctor that tests you for all kinds of things, such as AIDS (you can’t immigrate to the States if you’re sick). And it’s expensive.
The doc appointment also needs to be done only a few days prior to the embassy.
Once over, you’re given a sealed envelope that will later be opened during the interview.
Speaking of, mine was scheduled for October 8 at 1PM.

I arrive early only to wait hours sitting inside the embassy with all my papers in order (no clue how many trees I killed with all the photocopies).
The whole place is über-secured with people talking at counters behind bullet-proof 2-inch-thick glass. No cellphones or any electronic devices are allowed inside. So you’re basically waiting doing nothing.

I’m finally called, but before I can even begin the interview process, I have to pay, a lot (almost a grand!).
Indeed, although the lottery itself is free, if you’re selected and go through the embassy interview, you must pay a fee, with no actual guarantees you’ll get a green card at the end.

Once done, my whole application (and my whole life) is reviewed bit by bit in front of my eyes.
Sometimes I’m also asked some questions about my past and what I want to do in the States.
It’s like a pop quiz, only it’s not a good grade you want.
At this point, they’re looking for reasons why not to give you the green card.
When you’re done being stressed out, and they’re done stressing you out, you hand over your passport.

They said I’d receive it back in a few days with (or without) a visa stamped on it.
Sure enough, on October 16, I receive a package containing my passport… with the (for now) temporary visa.
Holy hell, I really won.

But this is still not over, since I must now go to the States to process it in the following six months.
Also in the package is a sealed envelope containing all my documents and medical results, to be opened by a specific immigrant agent upon arrival.
And that’s around when I went into a blog hiatus.
Paperwork takes time.

2010

On January 20, I embark upon a magical life-changing journey…
Well, not really. That’s more what’s coming this summer.
This was more of a 6-day recon mission, in New York.
Although short, I was able during my NYC stay to go on the Colbert Report.
So anyways, back to my arrival.
So I’m at JFK, and it’s time to get processed…like everyone else who just arrived.
After waiting what feels like (yet again) hours in the queue, I arrive at the immigration desk. The agent, turns out, doesn’t have the authority to open the sealed envelope, so he accompanies me all the away to the other side into the immigration office.
There, a Jack Bauer lookalike opens the envelope, and, once again, reviews the whole application from start to finish.
This is it.
He takes my finger prints, and then stamps the passport/visa.
It’s official: my visa has been processed!
I’m in.

Cut to:
Last week.
I open my mail.
In one of the letters is a laminated plastic card.
And I realize it’s true.
I’ve won a Green Card.

The unoriginality of Fringe (Part One)

The unoriginality of Fringe (Part One)

Similarities between FOX’s Fringe and other science-fiction shows have been going on for some time, mainly The X-Files.
Ever since Fringe premiered, the first show that pops into everyone’s mind is the one about aliens and conspiracies.

A little warning before we start: I’ll be talking about the Second Season premiere of Fringe, so, if you haven’t seen the episode yet, check out in the meantime this cute ad.

Coast clear?
Okay, now that we’re among adults, let’s get real.

I’m not going to talk about the differences and similarities of Fringe vs. The X-Files, given that this has already been done before (kinda).
That said, I recently came across a so-called “article” that lists “10 Reasons Why ‘Fringe’ Is Better Than ‘The X-Files’.”
I should warn you now that if you read this, chances are you’ll have a heart attack in the following ten seconds.

I was so taken aback by this piece of–uhm–journalism (?) that I’ve decided to counter it right here and now.
Let’s get it on.

1. No aliens. OK, there’s an alternative universe, but at least everybody’s human.

So, besides the fact that we don’t know if they are indeed human (just look at their super-powers), you’re saying that Fringe is better than The X-Files because it doesn’t have aliens?
I take it you mean that aliens are bad.
If that’s so, then I’m sorry that Star Trek, Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica, are such horrible, horrible fiction works.

2. The mysteries seem more solvable. Of course, there are unanswered questions at the end of every episode. But they’re not too stupid to beggar belief.

Are we watching the same show? And by “the same show” I mean the FOX TV series produced by Bad Robot, the sole company that actually takes pride in the fact that you’ll never get concrete answers out of their mysteries (see Alias, Lost, Cloverfield, or even Felicity’s mystery box).

3. The characters don’t take themselves too seriously. There’s Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), who heads up the investigations. Peter Bishop (Dawson Creek’s Joshua Jackson), the wise-cracking slack genius who helps her by taking care of his father, Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), who is completely insane. I mean really, Mulder did all that pouting and screaming and what did it get him? Nothing.

First, Mulder doesn’t pout. Second, he not only was right about the Aliens, but he ended up in a relationship with Scully (and a baby). I wouldn’t call that “nothing.”
And I’m pretty sure Olivia Dunham does take things seriously, especially when we’re talking about innocent people dying everywhere.

4. The pseudoscience is at least theoretically possible and doesn’t require great leaps of the imagination. There’s a running storyline in which computer geniuses are trying to download information from a dead man’s brain.

Should I point out that you’re using as an example someone downloading a dead guy’s thoughts?
You’re countering your own argument here lady. This isn’t even remotely “theoretically plausible.” Nothing on Fringe is.
For some believable Science vs. Fiction comments, Popular Mechanics has numerous articles on the subject.

5. Every episode has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

They’ve finally found out how to tell a story, nice!
It’s certainly not like that other show with cliffhangers, random act breaks, and the bad guy never being caught.

6. There are no love affairs—yet.

The “love quadrangle” (John/Olivia/Peter/Rachel) begs to differ.
Oh, and check out that Nina Sharp/Phillip Broyles kiss, it was in the freakin’ season two premiere!

7. Leonard Nimoy is in it. He is the shadowy head of Massive Dynamic, a huge multinational corporation that is a combination of GE, Microsoft, and Blackwater.

Lenoard Nimoy was also in Zombies of the Stratosphere. So what?
Anyway, he wasn’t even in the premiere (by the way, nice dodge from the writers of last season’s cliffhanger). He’ll probably be seen only a few minutes for the whole season, max.

8. There’s a lot more racial diversity in Fringe. Yeah, X-Files had a few black people, but it really was this weird world where people of other hues were mostly used as plot devices.

Can someone tell me why the hell this is an argument for “why Fringe is better than The X-Files“?
I wasn’t aware skin color equated to talent. Robert de Niro has won more Oscars than Marlon Wayans, but Dennis Haysbert is obviously tons of time a better actor than, say, Larry the Cable Guy.
The issue of diversity, though laudable, is irrelevant to the actual quality of a show (or its writing).
Meanwhile, Astrid Farnswrth continues to be the definition of pointless character/plot device.

9. Because Fringe actually knows where its storylines are going, it doesn’t rely on filler episodes to distract you from the fact that you’re being sold a bag of nothing.

That was an ironic statement, right?
(See point number 2)

10. Fringe is worth watching just for Noble. His characterization of Bishop, the mad scientist at the heart of the show, is at turns brilliant, exasperating, hysterical and tragic. It’s the best of The X-Files in one man.

Though I don’t disagree with Bishop being the best character on the show, like the old proverb says, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
And Fringe has plenty of them.

All done…
Almost.

Regarding its faux-procedural aspect, Fringe does, in a way, take a hint from The X-Files.
However, for its more mythological storylines, the writers seem to be more inspired by another science-fiction series, Sliders.
As to how, tune in tomorrow.
(Oh yeah, I went the cliffhanger route)