From Passion to Paycheck

Alec Engerson spent four years as a development executive for Emmy-winning director and executive producer, Anthony Hemingway, where he helped develop and produce shows like GENIUS: ARETHA and LA LAW before talking his way into the writers' room — first as Showrunner's Assistant to Matt Nix on TRUE LIES (CBS), then as writer's assistant on the new BAYWATCH reboot. Along the way, he has adapted two...

When her most recent hit show ACT YOUR AGE garnered a nomination for the Humanitas Prize, TV Showrunner and Creator Alyson Fouse had already been cranking out badass comedy for decades - with work on projects including A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, SCARY MOVIE 2 and the one that launched her career: THE KEENAN IVORY WAYANS SHOW. And the only reason this happened i...

TV Director, Editor and Producer, Doug Hannah, got his start on unscripted shows like AMERICAN IDOL and then worked his way up through scripted shows, including BURN NOTICE, WHITE COLLAR, CODE BLACK and MAGNUM PI to where he is now on the new reboot of BAYWATCH. He successfully made the transition from editor to director and also included producing duties into his skills set. He has the wonderful...

Some directors come up through film school. Geoff Browne came up with a camera in places most people never reach. He’s lived in a cave village in China, filmed monks in Tibet, worked in the Arctic, crossed the Atlantic on a small Russian freighter — and made documentaries on a serial killer in Vancouver, drug dealers in LA, cartel members in Mexico. He’s been solo on shoots or worked with large cr...

Jordan Mitchell-Love is an Actor, Casting Producer, Host, 1st AD and Stunt person here in LA. As a Casting Producer, Jordan mainly works in unscripted television on some of the biggest shows in the world including Beast Games on Amazon; Wipeout on TBS; The Wall on NBC; and Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC. He also served as the host and master of ceremonies for the LA WebFest, the world‘s larg...

Steven Esteb is a WGA screenwriter who's sold TV and film projects to places like MGM and RKO Pictures, directed 6 feature films, from an AIDS documentary to a political comedy starring Beau Bridges and Judd Nelson, even a gangsta rap cult favorite for Cash Money Records starring Lil Wayne, Birdman, Juvenile.  And he created and hosted the totally insane Journalista Podcast for iHeart Radio, w...

This is a fun conversation with the badass Kevin Clark-Ryan who recently released VIPERS, the short film he co-wrote and shot in LA, and who is currently a TV Showrunner’s assistant. With extensive experience in both New York and LA as a production assistant, driver, writer, director and bringing the deeply appreciated paychecks to set - Kevin’s point of view, coming directly from the trenches, is...

With experience on close to 3000 TV, Film, Video Game and Stage projects, Karen Huie is a veteran actor who plays the role of Grandma Tanaka in the 2026 Disney Pixar film, HOPPERS. She also has extensive experience in looping as well as teaching classes at places like the Groundlings and has written and sold TV pilots. I met Karen many years ago and must admit I wanted to just sit back and keep li...

Jason Shuman has had a prolific film and television career as both a writer and producer. From his beginning days, producing a horror film about the tooth fairy in Australia through projects from BANGKOK DANGEROUS to REBEL IN THE RYE, LONE SURVIVOR, ARE WE THERE YET, HALF BROTHERS, ACAPULCO, and the HBO Series WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY - he is the embodiment of a story machine....

Carole Kirschner has been a Career Coach in Hollywood for over 25 years and is the Director of the WGA Showrunner Training Program & the Paramount Writers Mentoring Program. She actually started off as a stand-up comic and then spent 15 years as a senior-level development executive, including at CBS and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. And this episode is pretty special because not only i...

Jeane Phan Wong has sold numerous pilots, a feature, and has experience producing television from prep to post including episodes she wrote on freelance for ARROW. She staffed on Freemantle's SANDOKAN and consulted for Freeform's pilot AZNBBYGRL. She previously worked as an assistant in representation and in television, and has a unique perspective in that she has sold more than staffed. I...

Known for multiple award-winning concepts, Adrien Prevost has scored custom work for companies like A24, Sony Pictures Classics, Amazon Studios, Disney / Pixar, Focus Features, Aviron, Hulu, FX, Universal, Warner Brothers and AMC and his work is a testament to the magic that only comes to storytelling through music.

Fresh off runs on the series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “IT: Welcome to Derry,” Helen Shang rose from Researcher and EP assistant to Co-Executive Producer with writing and producing work on shows including “Hannibal,” “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power,” “Hawaii Five-O,” and “13 Reasons Why.” Part of her journey included a stint in David Mamet’s corner office on the FOX lot - and one of...

Keegan DeWitt has over 80 credits as composer on film and television projects including “People We Meet On Vacation,” “The Chair Company,” “Friendship,” “Kevin Can F**k Himself,” “Sorry For Your Loss,” “The OA” and “How I Met Your Mother.” He has worked in New York, Nashville and Los Angeles and toured as a lead singer in the band Wild Cub. With over 20 years working as a professional in the enter...

David Bianchi has established himself as not only a multi-hyphenate actor, producer and screenwriter with over 120 professional film and TV credits, he is also an entrepreneur with a massive online following who provides industry information and courses like the one he just released for actors to master their self tapes. He has booked more than 55 episodes on 18 shows using the methods in his cour...

Rebecca Metz got her start on planet Earth in Bruce Springsteen‘s hometown of Freehold New Jersey. Born to classically trained singers, Rebecca went on to act in recurring roles including projects like “Shameless,” “Better Things” and “Coop & Cami Ask the World.” She is a screen and stage actor and voice actor who trained through both Carnegie Mellon and UCB Improv and much of her inspiration...

Gregory Locklear just completed a run on the Peacock series “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy,” a unique and compelling approach to a scripted version of the infamous true crime story. He is now Co-Creator and Executive Producer on the in-development second season, focusing on the Night Stalker. Traveling west to LA from Delaware County, he broke through in documentaries and then went on to show...

Peter Jang  has credits that include roles in over 60 projects from “CSI: Vegas” to “Soulmates,” “American Horror Stories,” “Mask,” “NCIS Hawaii,” “Seal Team,” “Westworld” and “The Suicide Squad. “ He  is a stunt coordinator and performer, fight choreographer, actor, writer, director and producer. He is also the CEO of Simplicity Pictures with a unique talent in the industry due to his business ba...

Anna Khaja is an award-winning actor, playwright, and director with more than eighty-five film and TV credits, including arcs on  The Walking Dead World Beyond ,  Quantico, The Good Place ,  Silicon Valley, Madam Secretary  and most recently,  The Lincoln Lawyer . She also wrote and starred in  Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto , which enjoyed an acclaimed Off-Broadway run in New York...

TV series Creator, Writer/Producer and Stand-Up Comic, Gloria Bigelow spent years in New York City performing live before landing on comedy specials with Showtime and Wanda Sykes and as a guest on documentaries, which led to her entry into TV sitcoms as a staff writer on the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola. She rose up the ranks to Co-Producer and now has a new series with veteran comedy writer, Ch...

Niceole Levy rose from double network program participant in staff writer to co-EP on shows like NBC’s Found, The Recruit, SWAT, Cloak & Dagger and Fate: The Winx Saga, for which she served as onset writer producer in Dublin Ireland, and worked French hours. She also wrote the massively impactful book for people breaking into the television industry called “The Writers Room Survival guide.”  A...

Nate Easterling got his start in film and television on PULP FICTION and with Wes Craven then went on to join countless shows that established his career as an editor. These series include - we were liars, the last thing he told me, Vampire Academy, Castle Rock, and the the TV series for SCREAM - He just came off a stint on a show that will be coming out soon called OFF CAMPUS - and is en route ri...

TV writer, producer and director, Jen Celotta has most recently been directing on Abbott Elementary, The Paper and Cobra Kai, and she is widely known for the many years she spent writing on The Office where she rose to Executive Producer and also directed on the show. Her credits span from Home Improvement to Malcolm in the Middle, The Newsroom and Space Force and she is now in negotiations along...

Hymnson Chan has been working in Hollywood for over 15 years with over 100 credits as a stunt coordinator and performer, director and actor, including being part of the stunt team who won a SAG Award for their work on AVENGERS:ENDGAME. He previously stunt doubled for Randall Park, Ken Jeong, Jimmy Oyang, and Nico Santos. And his short film RISE OF CHOW, which he just wrote, directed and starred in...

Juggernaut creative, Marc Guggenheim counts all of these mediums in his arsenal: Showrunning, feature writing, directing, comic book and video game writing, weekly substacks, novels and now, short stories. He has created, co-created and executive produced many of the dynamic projects audiences enjoy from ARROW to LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, ELI STONE and the animated series TALES OF ARCADIA, which he co-...