The Heart of Development with Misha Green (LOVECRAFT COUNTRY)
About this Video
In collaboration with the Sundance Institute Episodic Program, Sundance Collab brings this intimate conversation with the creator of ground-breaking hit series Underground and Lovecraft Country, Misha Green. Moderated by Jandiz Cardoso, Director of the Sundance Institute Episodic Program, Misha will discuss how she establishes and sustains the core tenets of the shows she sets out to create during the extensive and challenging TV development process.
About the Sundance Institute Episodic Program
The Episodic Program is an entry point and sustaining force for early career TV writers with original series IP who have yet to be produced. The Episodic Lab is the keystone immersive six-day experience of the program that gives artists an opportunity to workshop their pilot and expand their arsenal of writing and development skills under the guidance of accomplished showrunners, producers, and executives. The Fellows participate in one-on-one story meetings, case study screenings, panels, and simulated writers rooms. Post Lab concentrates on navigating the business, including securing representation, staffing, and Pitch Parlor, an exclusive industry-facing event introducing the writers and the work. Submissions for the Fall 2022 program are February 9-March 9, 2022. More information will be found on sundance.org/episodic
VideoTeam
Misha Green
Showrunner / Writer / Executive Producer / Director
Misha Green is an Emmy-nominated showrunner, writer, executive producer and director.
Most recently, Green created, wrote, and executive produced HBO’s Emmy-nominated LOVECRAFT COUNTRY. The one-hour drama series was also executive produced by Jordan Peele and J.J.Abrams. Based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, the 10-episode series, starring Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett-Bell, followed Atticus Freeman as he journeyed with his childhood friend Letitia and his uncle George on a road trip from Chicago across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father Montrose. Their search-and-rescue turned into a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and monstrous creatures that could be ripped from an H.P. Lovecraft paperback.
On the film side, Green is busy at work with several projects in development. She is the writer and producer of the upcoming feature film THE MOTHER at Netflix, starring Jennifer Lopez with Niki Caro directing. She is also adapting and set to direct the sequel to TOMB RAIDER for MGM, producing Warner Brothers’ Cleopatra Jones, and producing an adaptation of THE GILDED ONES with Makeready.
Prior to LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, Green’s breakout was serving as co-creator, executive producer and a writer on the series UNDERGROUND, which chronicled the lives of slaves in 1857 Georgia who escaped bondage to find freedom with the help of members of the Underground Railroad. UNDERGROUND was the first scripted US television drama series with the focus on slavery and the Underground Railroad.
Breaking ratings records for WGN during its first season, UNDERGROUND surpassed the network’s prior season ratings by more than 500% in total viewers and 1005% among adults 18-49 in live-plus-seven viewing. The show was honored with four NAACP Image Awards nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. Additionally, the African American Film Critics Association named UNDERGROUND as Best Cable/New Media TV show of 2016. The series was nominated for a TCA Award for Outstanding New Program by the Television Critics Association and was also a finalist for the Cynopsis TV Awards in the categories of Best New TV Drama, Best TV Drama, Best Series Writing, and Best Showrunner.
Green is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Jandiz Estrada Cardoso
Moderator
Jandiz Estrada Cardoso is the Director of the Sundance Institute Episodic Program. Previously, she was the Sr. Director of Global Talent Development & Inclusion for film, TV and streaming at NBCUniversal for a decade. Jandiz spearheaded the bicoastal NBCUniversal Short Film Festival, The YA TU SABES Monologue Slam, and the national tour of StandUp NBC. In her freelance career, she has worked on dozens of pilots and features for studios including Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, New Line, AMC, ABC, CBS, Starz, and NBC (notably on their Emmy-winning series 30 ROCK). As an instructor, she has led master classes across the US and Brazil. She is a recipient of the Golden Eagle Award for Diversity Impact in Television.