\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) has named its Showrunners Incubator class of 2025.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe #TakeTheLead diversity initiative is back for a second year. \u201cNancy Swift\u2019s\u201d executive producer and showrunner Melinda Hsu is acting as chair of the program. The incubator provides writers who are on the brink of showrunning with exclusive mentorship and real-world training and education.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAccording to the WGA\u2019s latest job statistics, there were over 1,300 TV writing jobs lost last season\u2014nearly half of them at the co-executive producer to showrunner level,\u201d said Rhian Moore, CAPE\u2019s head of programs. \u201cThis sharp decline means even fewer opportunities for writers to gain the leadership experience they need, both in the writers\u2019 room and on set. With alumni from our inaugural year already finding success as they step into showrunning roles, CAPE is excited to continue our work training the next generation of creative leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tKathryn Busby, President, original orogramming at Starz said, \u201cWe are proud to once again partner with CAPE for the Showrunner Incubator, a vital pipeline to elevate emerging voices and connect them with experienced TV executives and producers,.\u201d Busby added, \u201cThis program offers established writers the guidance and access they need to advance their careers while giving Starz the opportunity to continue championing inclusive storytelling. We are excited to support this new cohort as they step into the next phase of their development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe 2025 class consists of experienced drama, comedy, and animation writers with imminent shows in development. The cohort is as follows:<\/p>\n
\n\tChristina Strain was born and raised on an Army base in Seoul, South Korea and then moved to the U.S. at 18 to attend Louisiana State University. Graduating with a degree in graphic design, she started coloring for Marvel comics on titles like \u201cRunaways\u201d, \u201cSpider-Man Loves Mary Jane\u201d, \u201cThor\u201d, and \u201cWorld War Hulk\u201d. After 10 years of coloring, she started her writing journey by creating the Shuster Award-winning webcomic \u201cThe Fox Sister\u201d. Since then she\u2019s attended the American Film Institute as a screenwriting fellow.<\/p>\n
\n\tEric Lu is a writer and producer, currently writing on \u201cHigh Potential.\u201d Previously, Lu wrote five seasons on \u201cThe Resident;\u201d developed shows with CBS, Netflix, Janet Yang, 20K, and Wilmer Valderrama Entertainment; directed socially impactful documentary films; and co-created a popular Youtube channel that has garnered over a billion views. Lu was most recently a member of the inaugural cohort at Rideback Rise, where he wrote a sci-fi feature set in Taipei.<\/p>\n
\n\tFreddie Gutierrez is a Chamorro storyteller who brings Pacific Island flavor to Hollywood, having written for the likes of Eddie Murphy, Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, and Method Man. From Guam to major networks\u2014Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network\u2014he\u2019s written on \u201cLiv and Maddie,\u201d \u201cSonic Boom\u201d and \u201cThat Girl Lay Lay.\u201d He\u2019s currently developing a Darryl \u201cDMC\u201d McDaniels bio-series and an animated fantasy hip-hop adventure that promises to break new ground.<\/p>\n
\n\tHillary Benefiel is originally from San Antonio, TX. Growing up as an Air Force brat, she spent most of her time doing cool social things like building computers and playing video games. Her credits include \u201cPerson of Interest\u201d and \u201cThe Magicians.\u201d Benefiel most recently was co-executive producer on Netflix\u2019s \u201cYou.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tKathryn Lyn is a two-time Hugo-nominated Filipino American writer from rural Michigan, often focusing on stories with diverse working-class characters finding their way. Lyn most recently served as co-executive poducer of \u201cStar Trek: Strange New Worlds\u201d for Paramount+ and co-executive producer of \u201cThe Bondsman\u201d for Blumhouse\/Amazon, along with series and pilots for Netflix, CBS, Freeform, A+E Studios, and Paramount Studios.<\/p>\n
\n\tMelissa Rundle is a Canadian American screenwriter of mixed heritage based in LA. She is currently an executive producer on an upcoming pilot with Dimension Studios and Two Chairs Productions. She has also served as a co-producer on the CW\u2019s \u201cKung Fu\u201d and as an interactive writer for WB\u2019s Advanced Narrative and Neurotechnology Department. She has an MFA from USC\u2019s School of Cinematic Arts and a BA in Film Production and Women\u2019s Studies from UBC.<\/p>\n
\n\tVidhya Iyer is a writer and director based in LA. She is currently developing a TV show with Oops Doughnuts starring Tara and Trisha Macaden that she will showrun. Iyer was born in Nigeria, moved to India at the age of 11 where she lived alone with no adult supervision before moving to LA to write for TV. Iyer is currently on Season 4 of Amazon Prime\u2019s \u201cHazbin Hotel.\u201d Her credits include \u201cHarley Quinn\u201d (HBO MAX), \u201cKiteman\u201d (HBO MAX), \u201cSolar Opposites\u201d(Hulu) and \u201cLittle Voice\u201d (Apple TV).<\/p>\n
\n\t
Yamara Taylor is an LA native, UCLA TV and Film School graduate, and Peabody Award Winning writer and executive producer with over two decades of experience. Her TV credits include shows such as \u201cThe Boondocks\u201d (Adult Swim), \u201cBlack-ish\u201d (ABC), \u201cDave\u201d (FXX)\u201d and \u201cSaved by the Bell\u201d (Peacock). Taylor is currently developing a half hour comedy at Hulu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) has named its Showrunners Incubator class of 2025. The #TakeTheLead diversity initiative is back for a second year. \u201cNancy Swift\u2019s\u201d executive producer and showrunner Melinda Hsu is acting as chair of the program. The incubator provides writers who are on the brink of showrunning with exclusive mentorship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[6566,6989,2609,6992,6993,4634,6991,6990,5114],"class_list":{"0":"post-13294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-asian","9":"tag-cape","10":"tag-class","11":"tag-incubator","12":"tag-islander","13":"tag-pacific","14":"tag-showrunners","15":"tag-starz","16":"tag-writers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}