For the past four years we've had the pleasure of leading the Harvardwood Writers Program - TV Modules. During that time, we've had approximately 150 budding Harvard alum writers participate in weekly peer-review workshops (aka "modules"), various writer/exec/showrunner panels, mock pitching opportunities, and post-panel drinking hangs at our favorite watering holes, Stout and Trejo's Tacos. We always like to say HWP-TV provides two things: deadlines and community. The latter is what has meant the most to us—we've truly made lasting friendships and know that others have too. We can't stress enough how much we love our community and hope that it continues to expand and bring folks together.
We couldn't have done any of this without the Harvard Hollywood community at large. First, thanks go to all the alumni writers, execs, agents, and managers who joined us as panelists, generously giving their time and sage advice on the art and business of TV writing. These include Colleen McGuinness, Glenn Kessler, Kayla Alpert, Jon Collier, Sam Shaw, Jonathan Steinberg, Mark Goffman, Sam Baum, Dan O'Keefe, Michael Narducci, Grainne Godfree, Craig Turk, Warren Hsu Leonard, Allison Kiessling, Nelson Greaves, Sam Chalsen, Danny Chun, Ethan Drogin, Teresa Hsiao, Roberto Patino, Steve Tompkins, Alison Rich, Gus Hickey, John Blickstead, Trey Kollmer, Jordan Reddout, Brian Polk, Ava Tramer, Yalun Tu, Erin May, Zadoc Angell, Ryan Halprin, Jaime Davila, Cliff Murray, Scoop Wasserstein, Josh Clay Phillips, Alex Zimbler, and Felipe Tewes. We'd also like to give a proper shout-out to our "module" leaders over the years, the awesome Adam Parker, Julie Wong, Jill Dickerson, Jason Lazarcheck, Jennifer Hsu, Alex Burger, Rachel Harner, Alison McKenzie, Ryan Slattery, Robert Vanover, Mitch Iverson, Jackie Canino, Braxton Brooks, Megan McDonnell, Megana Rao, Patrick Cheung, Reuben Fernandes, Richard Scott, Daniel Gale-Rosen, Dona Le, and Jennifer Hoelzer. Finally, we received a ton of support from the Board, most of all from Dona Le and Allison Kiessling (who really are captains of the whole Harvardwood ship) as well as Mia Riverton Alpert, Stacy Cohen, and Adam Fratto (without whom there would be no ship at all)—THANK YOU ALL!!!
A few months ago we agreed that four years was a good run and it was time to pass the torch. So we did. We couldn't be happier that Megan McDonnell and Megana Rao accepted. They've been stars of HWP-TV for years. They're both super smart, terrific writers, and they're cool—frankly a lot cooler than we are. We're excited to see what they do with the program, and if they ever need us, we'll be around, cheerleading from the sidelines.
With much love,
Todd and Joey
Megan McDonnell AB '14 is a TV writer and has been a participant in the Harvardwood Writers Program since 2016.
Originally from Dayton, OH, Megana Rao graduated from Harvard in 2014 with a degree in Human Evolutionary Biology. She worked in tech for several years before moving to LA. She currently produces the podcast "Scriptnotes" on screenwriting.
Fun fact: Megana and Megan met during their Freshmen Expos class at Harvard!
Joey and Todd have done such a wonderful job of directing HWP—they've left us impossibly large shoes to fill! From the content of the panels to the weekly assignments in the small groups, they've been so thoughtful in their leadership and have inspired so many great samples from the modules. We feel so grateful to have found such incredible friendships in the Harvardwood TV Writing Program and am excited to continue to foster Joey and Todd's culture of community and creativity within the program.
-- Megana & Megan