Need to Spring into a new routine? It’s the perfect time to recharge and get creative for 2025! Thanks for visiting my website, home of my writing class “Crafting The TV Drama” and my video production company 59 James Street.
I am a 2012 inductee into Hinsdale South’s Hall of Fame, awarded for my success in the Entertainment field while working in New York and Los Angeles at ABC-TV, MTV Networks, NBC, and Fuse Network. I am a graduate of Loyola University Chicago, was accepted by audition to DePaul University’s Theatre School, and attended both Gower West and Gower Middle Schools growing up. I moved to NYC and became an assistant in the Writers’ Room at the ABC soap, “One Life To Live,” then rose through the ranks as a writer/producer/director and VP of Creative at VH1 / MTV Networks before NBC ultimately recruited and moved me to LA in 2016 to guide creative marketing for E! and Bravo after a nationwide search.
You’re in the right place if you're reading to find out more about my upcoming writing class, which is geared towards entering the TV Network Fellowships and the 2025 Austin Film Festival. Last year’s Hollywood strikes have thrown off the usual entry deadlines, but those are easy to keep track of online. Disney/ABC pays their fellows (approx. 50K for a six-month mentorship), while the other fellowships do not. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was a 60-page drama script! I’ll guide you and you’ll learn the structure from concept to outline to pilot script—and if you’d like to extend into the Fall, we’ll create two scripts because those are the submission requirements! Along with a killer essay. Or two! If selected, writers must move to LA for the Fellowship Programs (on your own dime), and the Networks’ goal is to staff each writer on a series for the following TV season. I’m offering my class via Zoom, or, 1-on-1 in-person classes in the Chicago area during the summer. Class is 90 minutes long, usually in the evening from 6:30 to 8PM, and the course also includes weekly Office Hours, which are 30+ minutes over the phone at a mutually agreed upon time.
If you’re intrigued to find out more, please email me for a copy of the syllabus at: 59jamesstreet@gmail.com or fill out the form to the right.
Video Testimonials rolling in…click on the site logo for more!
If you’d like to read one of my scripts, please find my “This Is Us” spec script, “First Loves,” here on my website under the “Work” tab. As more background about me, for my drama writing, I received a “Recommend” status from the 2023 Austin Film Fest (AFF) for my script submission last year. In 2022, I was a finalist for the Sundance Institute’s Episodic Writers Lab. AFF and Sundance are the two most prestigious writing competitions for teleplays in the country. I’ve also received an “8” on The Black List. I am now being “read” by multiple production companies and development executives, and taking writer interview meetings called “Generals,” with the goal of being staffed myself now that the WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes have reached their successful conclusions! My next writing adventure is a Romantic Dramedy, a screenplay set in the world of daytime soaps!
In these challenging times, it may be helpful to know I am an extremely collaborative and upbeat person to work with. I enjoy what I do, and while achieving business objectives is paramount, I also try to get to know my clients well so I can really anticipate their needs. With my students, I am patient and love to celebrate their originality by encouraging them to work hard and dream big.
All the best for creativity, love and light in your life. Grant.