“Same Show, New Characters—Investigating the Anthology Series”

Anthology writers on the challenges and opportunities in the genre-forward medium.

The anthology has roots in modern radio, and has been on-screen since the dawn of television: from Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone, all the way to today’s Room 104 and American Horror Story. Defined as a series—be it radio, TV, film, or even video game—that has a new storyline and characters each season (or even each episode), an unprecedented number of anthologies are finding their way on-screen, and more writers are developing and staffing these genre-forward programs than ever before. Read more >>

Behind the Tweet: “Lessons From the Writers’ Room”

Shaquayla Mims shares lessons learned from her first writers’ room experience in this column unpacking topics from Writer Twitter.

When I got the call to be a staff writer on the second season of a breakout TV show, I felt validated. Years of writing (and rewriting), reading countless scripts and screenwriting books, studying hours of TV and film, and scrounging up money for writing contests and networking events had amounted to something BIG. Something my parents could finally understand: getting a check in the mail. Read more >>

The Actors Fund Changes Name to Entertainment Community Fund

The new name is designed to be more inclusive and representative of the diverse professions the fund serves.

As of May 2022, The Actors Fund is now the Entertainment Community Fund. For over 140 years, The Actors Fund has helped everyone who works in performing arts and entertainment across the country. The new name is designed to be more inclusive and representative of the diverse professions it serves. Read more >>

History Regained

Soo Hugh brings Pachinko, Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel about a Korean family living under Japanese rule, to life on Apple TV+ and unearths largely forgotten tragic chapters of history.

The WGAW celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by speaking with Pachinko creator Soo Hugh about her adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s New York Times bestselling novel, a sweeping tale spanning four generations of a Korean family forced to live in colonialist Japan. Adapting the sprawling, beloved novel was daunting for Hugh, but also familiar—as the daughter of Korean immigrants, she grew up with intimate knowledge of the kind of suffering and perseverance Pachinko entails. In this Q&A, she recounts how a time-hopping approach unlocked the adaptation for the series format and how a $1.99 phone app helped her overcome doubt and a true dread of writing. Read more >>

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