Nine original independent pilots and their 14 creators, will benefit from holistic support and development at SUNDANCE Institute’s sixth annual Episodic Lab, taking place at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah October 10-15, 2019. The Lab’s emerging television writers will develop their pilot scripts and series through a rigorous and curated schedule of individual story meetings, writers’ rooms, case study screenings and pitch sessions, with the guidance of accomplished showrunners, producers, and industry executives.
Artists and projects selected for the 2019 Sundance Institute Episodic Lab:
Bammas
Written by Biniam Bizuneh & Opeyemi Olagbaju
Two broke best friends decide to take another shot at the American dream by starting a streetwear line out of the basement of a parking garage.
Cloister F*cked
Written by Claire Rothrock & Ryann Weir
Cloister F*cked is an irreverent, half-hour comedy about two millennial nuns who defy the Catholic Church in order to preserve their own faith.
House of the Moons
Written by Soo-Hyun Chung & Jonathan Sanford
House of the Moons chronicles the rise and fall of the Korean immigrant family behind the controversial Unification Church as they battle for control of the religious and financial empire built by the infamous Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
Make America
Written by Kelly Edwards
A highly-educated, substance-abusing, black cable news anchor on the verge of self-destruction is relegated to the heartland to do the one thing she despises the most — interview real Americans about what makes America great.
Marimbero
Written by Henry Alberto & Valerie Stadler
In 1997, a young queer boy partners with a group of Miami drag queens to help keep his father’s drug pushing operation afloat and save his struggling family. Based on a true story.
Mature Adult Stuff
Written by Lindsay Weiglein
An ambitious and selfish 30-something finds her world turned upside down when the boyfriend she was planning to dump has a stroke and now depends on her for his every basic need. Based on a true story.
The Seventh
Written by Katherine DiSavino
When an orphaned teenager discovers her tragic past was predicted by a centuries-old prophecy, she must claim her birthright as the Seventh Daughter of a Seventh Daughter and save the world from supernatural evil.
Supply, 404
Written by Adamma Ebo & Adanne Ebo
This satirical crime drama takes a darkly-comedic look at the tensions between a Black family-operated hair salon and a big Korean-American hair care company over the rightful ownership of the billion dollar Black hair care industry.
Valley of Bones
Written by Lekethia Dalcoe
After the unjust killing of a young Black boy reignites the eternal rivalry between the Angel of Death and the Devil, their supernatural forces contend for power over the restless Black souls trapped in Purgatory.
Creative Advisors for the Lab include: Jenny Bicks (EP/Showrunner, Sex and the City), Daniel Chun (Writer/Producer, ABC Studios/Illumination Studios), Charles Eglee (Writer/Executive Producer, American Gods), Lee Eisenberg (Writer/Creator, Little America), Tom Fontana (Creator, Oz), Shalisha Francis (Co-Executive Producer, The Wilds), Lauren Morelli (Showrunner, Tales of the City), LaToya Morgan (Co-Executive Producer, Into The Badlands), Erica Rivinoja (Executive Producer, Marvel’s Tigra & Dazzler), Graham Yost (Showrunner, Justified), and Sanjay Shah (Co-Showrunner, Central Park).
Industry Mentors include: Sarah Babineau (Co-Head of Original Content, Comedy Central), Barbara Crawford (Vice President Current Series, FX Networks), Deniese Davis (Chief Operating Officer, ColorCreative), Marta Fernandez (President, MACRO Television Studios), Susie Fitzgerald (Executive Vice President of Original Scripted Content, AMC and SundanceTV), Anne-Marie McGintee (Director, Original Drama Series, Netflix), Rose Catherine Pinkney (Senior Executive of Scripted Programming, BET Networks), Jeff Schwartz (Development Executive, Amazon Studios), Barbara Teixeira (Head of Television, RT Features), Sarah Timberman (Partner, Timberman-Beverly Productions), and Kathryn Tyus-Adair (Senior Vice President of Original Programming, STARZ).
