The zany NBC sitcom "30 Rock" nailed at least one thing about the entertainment industry in New York City: writers' rooms are mostly white and male.
An initiative spearheaded by two city agencies and the Writers' Guild of America East is establishing a fellowship program that will support emerging TV writers who are women and minorities, as well as those with disabilities, who live in the five boroughs. The program started accepting applications Thursday.
TV production may be booming here, with a record 52 series filmed in town during the 2015-16 season, but employment data has shown that writers of diverse backgrounds are under-represented in the TV writing profession.
Participants in the "Made in NY Writers Room" fellowship will be paired with showrunners for TV dramas and comedies like "House of Cards," "Difficult People," and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Over six months of mentorship, they'll work to develop either an original drama or comedy pilot that's ready for production.
There's also a stipend at the rate of $15 an hour, with a cap of $15,600.
If this sounds up your alley, you should apply ASAP. The program's directors will review no more than 500 applications for a maximum of 12 slots. (You can submit your application as an individual or a partner in a two-person writing team.)
Technically, the submission period ends Oct. 20, but we're betting the program will reach its application capacity long before then.
You can find more application details here.
Now get writing, nerds!
