WeForShe has made its selections for its fifth WriteHer List. A curation of the best women-written, women-centric unproduced TV scripts, the annual list “seeks to answer the endemic gender equality issue in representation on television.”
Network and studio execs nominated a record 500-plus projects for the 2019 edition, which a press release describes as a 50 percent increase in overall industry engagement. WeForShe judged the nominees in terms of diversity, the Bechdel Test, and the amount and quality of its female roles.
Among the scripts that made the cut this year are Simran Baidwan’s “Birdie,” the story of an OB/GYN who becomes a revolutionary leader when the U.S. puts an end to all reproductive rights; Nneka Samuel’s “Rejig,” a portrait of a young woman with obsessive compulsive disorder; Arielle Diaz’s “Disrupted,” a look into the personal and professional lives of three women in Silicon Valley; and Yael Galena’s “1-900-BITCHIN,” centering on the creation of an underground phone sex line for women in the ’80s.
Previous WriteHer List selectees include Caitlin Parrish and Erica Weiss’ “The Red Line,” a drama about the aftermath of a racially charged police shooting that bows on CBS April 28, and Alena Smith’s “Dickinson,” a comedy about poet Emily Dickinson starring Hailee Steinfeld that’s received a series order at Apple.
“We are thrilled to see how the engagement has grown with the community year over year,” said WeForShe co-founder Claudia Maittlen-Harris. “We are also proud to see our former honorees joining the ranks of so many incredible TV shows, such as ‘This Is Us,’ ’13 Reasons Why,’ ‘The Passage,’ ‘Abby’s,’ and others. And are absolutely overjoyed for the debut of upcoming shows ‘Red Line’ (CBS) and ‘Dickinson’ (Apple) that were featured on our previous WriteHer List.”
“I’m so grateful for WeForShe’s persistence in bridging the gender gap, shining a light on otherwise unseen female talent, and building a community of storytellers and execs who believe in fostering diversity in entertainment both on and offscreen,” stressed “Mayans M.C.” co-producer and 2015 WriteHer List selectee Jenny Lynn. “It’s through WeForShe’s WriteHer List that my work finally got in the right hands and helped me land representation and employment.”
Check out the this year’s complete WriteHer list below, as well as titles chosen as “Ones to Watch.” Head over to WeForShe for more details about the projects.
The 2019 WriteHer List (Alphabetical by Script Name)
1-900-BITCHIN by Yael Galena
ALMOST OLYMPIAN by Emma Jay
BBBW by Tiffany Ezuma
BIRDIE by Simran Baidwan
BLISSFIELD by Marguerite MacIntyre
CASUALTIES by Van B Nguyen
DISRUPTED by Arielle Diaz
LA COYOTE by Rebecca Feldman
OUTTA FLORIDA by Lavetta Cannon
PASADENA by Eve Crusto
REJIG by Nneka Samuel
SAFE SPACE by Julie Mandel-Folly
SHE SAID… by Kimberly Rose-Wolter
THE APOLOGY TOUR by Deanna Shumaker
THE BOOK OF RUTH by Gillian Horvath
THE NEW KINGS OF WEST HOLLYWOOD by Emma Dudley
THORNS by Caroline Levich & Michelle Badillo
VESTA by Jenny Deiker Restivo
WINTEROVERS by Nilanjana Bose-Ciupinska & Jakub Ciupinski
WOMAN OF MYSTERY by Tess Rafferty
ONES TO WATCH (Alphabetical by Script Name)
A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE by Meg Jackson
DAMNED by Karolyn Carnie
PERFECT by Spindrift Beck
PLOT by Megan Gray
THE CANTERBURY TALES by Nicole Avenia
