Before Amanda Idoko was in writers rooms, she was on a pre-med track at Cornell with aspirations to be a doctor. Halfway through her college career, she changed her major to theater arts, forging a unique path through a variety of artistic fields.
Post college, Idoko was an actress and playwright in New York. She later moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of TV writing work where she began as a writers’ assistant on “Bones,” before being selected to participate in the Walt Disney/ABC Television Writing Program in 2016. Since then, Idoko has written for sitcoms like “The Mayor,” “The Goldbergs,” and “Imaginary Mary,” and Apple TV+’s animated comedy “Central Park.” Watching Idoko’s work is akin to watching a masterclass in the construction of a sitcom, heightened by a sharp wit and a genuine understanding of comedy.
There are also several upcoming film projects on the rising star’s slate, including the Allison Janney-fronted “Breaking News in Yuba County.” The 2017 Black List comedy follows Sue Bottom (Janney), whose husband dies of a heart atttack after she catches him in bed with another woman. She “buries the body and takes advantage of the local celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband.” Mila Kunis and Regina Hall also star as Sue’s half-sister, and a determined local police detective, respectively.
Also in the works are an untitled Rip Van Winkle musical starring Cynthia Erivo, and a comedic action-adventure adaptation of DC’s “Plastic Man” comics.
A Nigerian-American woman, Idoko is a vocal proponent of diversity in writers rooms, having seen firsthand the impact that an all-white or mostly white writers room has on the industry, and knows too well the difference between tokenism and real inclusion. “As women and people of color, we’re conditioned to feel grateful to be here,” she said in a 2018 interview.
Also in 2018, she spearheaded the #ShowUsYourRooms initiative with her “Central Park” colleagues to encourage transparency among the television industry. The goal was to highlight the lack of diversity and different perspectives in writers rooms — and to hopefully inspire less diverse writers rooms to reflect and change. Idoko was inspired after seeing UCLA’s 2017 Hollywood Diversity Report, which highlighted a lack of progress for people of color behind the scenes.
“Being in a diverse room means not carrying the exhausting weight of being the only,” Idoko Tweeted. “It means working in a space that looks the way the world does. I’m proud of the way my room looks. Are you?”
Speaking further on the initiative, she told Variety, “everyone’s saying they’re promoting diversity and inclusion, but every year the numbers are the same. [They’re] not actually fighting for it.”
Over 50 newsrooms participated in #ShowUsYourRoom, but the conversation is still relevant as ever. This June, the creators of “Killing Eve” were met with criticism after showcasing their all-white writers room, inspiring conversations about how the show’s writing treats its Asian lead, Eve (Sandra Oh).
As Idoko explained to Variety, “things aren’t changing because all of these studies and statistics are anonymous. Simply classifying lack of diversity as an industry-wide problem takes away personal accountability and personal incentive for people to actually stand up and fix the problem.”
“Central Park” is streaming on Apple TV+. “Breaking News in Yuba County” is expected to be released in 2020.
Previously on Writer to Watch…
Playwright and “Rocks” Scribe Theresa Ikoko
“The End of the F***ing World’s” Charlie Covell
Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt, Rising Stars of “Star Trek”
“Derry Girls” Creator Lisa McGee
Sofia Alvarez of the “To All the Boys” Films
Grace Nkenge Edwards of “Insecure” and MTV’s New “Daria” Spinoff
Katie Silberman of “Booksmart” and “Set It Up”
“Insecure” Scribe Amy Aniobi
Marquita Robinson of “GLOW” and “You’re the Worst”
“The Little Drummer Girl’s” Claire Wilson
“Speechless” and “Friends from College” Scribe Broti Gupta
Sierra Teller Ornelas of “Superstore”
“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser” Scribe Lindsay Beer
“Atlanta” Emmy Nominee Stefani Robinson
