Navigating the television industry is an incredibly challenging endeavor for writers of all experience levels. However, if you want to learn from and be inspired by anyone’s career in this space, let it be Amy Aniobi, showrunner/director/producer of shows like HBO comedy series insecure, 2 Dope Queens, and Rap Sh!t, and Keynote Mentor for this year’s WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Screenwriting Lab.
As a Nigerian, Amy says she was born a storyteller and started writing songs and keeping journals as a young girl. She took her first screenwriting class as an undergrad and eventually earned her MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. Amy is the perfect example of an entrepreneurial writer. On top of having an overall deal with HBO, she also founded the production company SuperSpecial as well as the talent incubator TRIBE which aims to “[bridge] the gap between writing independently and writing as a career.”
Our own Neha Dutta sat down with Amy over Zoom to hear about her journey as a writer, producer, and mentor.
Watch the full interview below and then continue on for our five favorite takeaways from their discussion.
How to Survive Being a Writers Assistant in Hollywood
Like many writers who first come to Hollywood, Amy began working as an assistant. She shares three big lessons from that experience that have really stayed with her.
The first lesson is that deadlines matter. Amy says that as soon as one of her bosses would finish a script, she’d read it right away because often the notes call with the studio would be the next day. “When a new draft [of a script] came out, I’d read it right away. I’d be able to tell the writer, ‘Oh, I really liked this part’ and congratulate them on their jokes,” she says.
The second important lesson is that etiquette matters. Writing is a creative endeavor but when you’re working with a studio or producers, it’s best to be respectful and polite. Try to avoid defensiveness – be open-minded and collaborative. Also, If you say you’re going to return a call at a certain time, don’t be late.
Thirdly, she says knowing one particular response during a notes call is very helpful. “I learned that the best phrase ever is, ‘I’ll take a look at that.’ You don’t need to solve the note on the call with the executive, just say, ‘I’ll take a look at that,’ then go off later and decide how you’re going to fix it,” says Amy.
Read More: 5 Unexpected Skills to Take Your TV Writing Career Further
‘insecure’
Doing the Job is How You Get More Jobs
During the pandemic, Amy started a year-long talent incubator called TRIBE to create a network of writers and help foster their careers. TRIBE is currently in its second year and through an application process, she is currently working with 12 amazing writers (out of 900 applicants). But it’s about doing the work.
“Something I’m really proud of out of the program is that it’s not just panels, it’s not just industry professionals, there’s also a short film initiative,” she says. Amy’s production company, SuperSpecial, hopes to produce three short films from TRIBE. “Doing the job is how you get more jobs. That’s what we really hope to do. We think there’s so much more you can learn outside of a panel, by actually writing and actually producing work. That’s what we’re here to do,” says Amy.
Read More: How to Get a Job Writing for TV
Outwork Everyone Else
Being the child of Nigerian immigrants, Amy says she learned a very strong work ethic and that it’s helped her tremendously.
“When I was starting out in this industry, I was completely on the outside. I’d look at the people who’d get jobs and I’d say, ‘Oh, that person was in a writers room, that person was an assistant, that person had a Twitter presence, that person came from a program, that person went to grad school’ and I was like, ‘I’m going to do it all!’ Because, as Black woman, they want a reason to say no to me!’” she says, adding that she wanted to make sure there are zero reasons to say no to her.
‘2 Dope Queens’
“I will outwork you! I think that’s the secret for me. I understand that some people are not that way. Some people are going to have the clearest, brightest voice in the room; some people are going to be collaborative and be easy to work with, some people are going to put out a draft quickly for their show. I’ve always just been – I’ve got to do it all,” she says.
How to Write in Someone Else’s Voice
Amy says that while Issa Rae developed the voice for the show insecure and Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams developed the voice for 2 Dope Queens, as a showrunner and writer, she had to learn how to write in their voice.
“That means mimicking them, learning how to write like them. How do you learn to write like someone? You listen to them. It’s a studied art and I do think in television, being able to write distinct voices is the job.”
Read More: The 50 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century According to The Hollywood Reporter
Telling Stories from a Place of Humanity, Not Trauma
Sometimes people of color can get pigeonholed into writing identity stories, says Amy. To avoid that, she starts a character from a universal, human place.
‘Rap Sh!t’
“It’s almost like showing a presumably white audience why we deserve to be in a particular space. Stories of Black people overcoming trauma or coming out stories for queer people… For me, I don’t tell those stories…It’s almost like saying, ‘I’m just like you.’ But we are just like each other, we’re all people. So when I think of coming from a space of humanity and why I even started SuperSpecial is because I want to see stories about people of color and Black people specifically – but people of color in spaces of joy. Where trauma isn’t our identity. We’ve all undergone trauma but it doesn’t have to be the center of every story,” she says.
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Interested in participating in TRIBE? WeScreenplay has partnered with SuperSpecial to grant one Diverse Voices fellow entry to the next season of the TRIBE Writers’ Program!
Enter the Diverse Voices Screenwriting Lab now!
