alumni TV

A number of Wesleyan alumni act in, write, direct, and produce popular TV programs. Earlier this month, we shared a list of those alumni and their shows, as part of our “Best of Wes” series—and today we are sharing a second installment, listing even more alumni and their shows. (Interested in other Wesleyan-themed lists? Check out our previous “Best of Wes” pieces.) Additional alumni-produced TV shows and series include: The TV mini-series Fosse/Verdon is directed and produced by Thomas Kail '99, produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, Hon. '15, and written by Sam Wasson '03. Amelia McCarthy '04 worked as the…

A number of Wesleyan alumni act in, write, direct, and produce popular TV programs. We've compiled a list of those alumni and their shows below, as part of our "Best of Wes" series. (Do you have a favorite that's not listed? Email your idea to newsletter@wesleyan.edu, and we'll add it in! You can also view previous "Best of Wes" pieces.) The alumni and their roles on various TV shows are listed below: Phillip Abraham '82, P'20 has directed, produced, or directed the photography of episodes of Most Dangerous Game, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Glow, Orange Is the New Black, Daredevil, Ozark,…

A four-part documentary directed by Joseph Sousa '03 will be released on Oct. 23 on PBS. Native America, produced by Providence Pictures, weaves history and science with living indigenous traditions. The series travels through 15,000 years to showcase massive cities, unique systems of science, art, and writing, and 100 million people connected by social networks and spiritual beliefs spanning two continents. Sousa and his fellow producers and film crew were provided access to Native American communities, going behind the scenes at special events, including a pilgrimage to ancestral ruins at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, a trek across lost territories in…

Thomas Kail ’99, who is currently directing the blockbuster hit Hamilton on Broadway, written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, brought the energy of live theater to the small screen as he set the stage direction for Grease: Live, a musical extravaganza starring Julianne Hough as Sandy and Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, along with Aaron Tveit as Danny, Carly Rae Jepson as Frenchy, Mario Lopez as Vince Fontaine and Boys II Men in the role of Teen Angel. The musical, which was staged in front of a live audience, aired on Fox on Jan. 31. (more…)

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On the eve of the fourth season of HBO’s fantasy hit Game of Thrones, Wesleyan Visiting Writer in English Jim Windolf talks with series creators D.B. Weiss ’93 and David Benioff and novelist George R.R. Martin – on whose works the show is based – in Vanity Fair: “Based on ‘A Song of Ice and Fire,’ the epic series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the show seemed like an odd fit for HBO. But Benioff and Weiss believed it was in the tradition of The Sopranos,Deadwood, Oz, and other HBO shows in that it would breathe new life into a tired or…

On March 31, students and staff gathered at the Career Center for the series finale of the hit TV show, How I Met Your Mother. The show was co-created by Carter Bays ’97 and Craig Thomas ’97 and has won several awards throughout its nine seasons. University Relations and the Wes Watches HIMYM Blog sponsored the event so the Wesleyan community could watch the final episode together. Photos of the event are below: (Photos by Ryan Heffernan '16) (more…)

Randall MacLowry '86, visiting instructor in film studies, co-produced, directed and wrote an episode for the PBS history series American Experience. Titled "The Rise and Fall of Penn Station," the hour-long episode premieres at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Pennsylvania Station, a monumental train terminal in the heart of Manhattan, finally opened to the public on Nov. 27, 1910. Covering nearly eight acres, the building was the fourth largest in the world. By 1945, more than 100 million passengers traveled through Penn Station each year. But by the 1960s, what was supposed to last forever was slated for destruction. In…

Bradley Whitford ’81 (The West Wing) stars as Pete Harrison, a high-powered environmental lawyer with three kids and two ex-wives in the new ABC comedy Trophy Wife, which premiered in September on ABC. On the Tuesday night show, Pete marries Kate, a younger woman, played by Malin Akerman, who previously led a rowdy, carefree life and whose life is shaken up with the new responsibilities of family life. In his review of the program in The Hollywood Reporter, Tim Goodman wrote: “Whitford shines with his surprisingly Zen-like approach to having three women he's been married to weave in and out of…

Jim Margolis ’93, a six-time Emmy Award winner, left his job last year as an executive producer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to become the show runner for a new series, Newsreaders, which airs at midnight Thursday on Adult Swim, part of the Cartoon Network. Co-created by Rob Corddry, Jonathan Stern and David Wain, Newsreaders is a sketch comedy show in the form of a fake TV news magazine and a spinoff of a successful Adult Swim series, Children’s Hospital, a parody of the hospital drama genre. The new series features both established and up-and-coming comic talents. In…

Political Animals, a six-part television mini-series created and written by Greg Berlanti with Lawrence Mark ’71 as an executive producer, premiered on USA Network on July 15. Sigourney Weaver stars as Elaine Barrish Hammond, a former first lady divorced from the ex-U.S. president who becomes secretary of state after losing the presidential nomination to a younger, less experienced male candidate. The series follows Elaine’s political success in her new job and touches upon her desire to run for the presidency again, but it also revolves around her family relations. In an article in The New York Times, Amy Chozick notes…

Jan Eliasberg ’74, of Aquinnah Films, was chosen as one of 10 fellows for the Fox Writers Initiative, a highly selective four-month program designed to groom writers to run television series and write and direct features across all the divisions of 20th Century Fox. The 10 were chosen from more than 350 nominations by representatives and arts organizations across the country. The initiative sought unique voices, as well as a diversity in backgrounds and life experiences. In a company press release, Nicole Bernard, senior vice president of audience strategy for The Fox Group, said, "These 10 incredibly gifted writers represent…

Best of Wes: More Alumni-Produced TV

Best of Wes: Alumni Act In, Produce Popular TV Shows

Sousa ’03 Produces, Directs Native America Documentary for PBS

Kail ’99 Directs Musical Extravaganza Grease: Live

HIMYM Creators Bays ’97, Thomas ’97 Speak about Wesleyan, TV during Family Weekend

Visiting Writer Windolf Interviews Game of Thrones Creator Weiss ’93

Students Gather to Watch How I Met Your Mother Finale

Film Studies’ MacLowry Co-Directs PBS Show on Penn Station

Whitford ’81 Stars in New ABC Comedy Trophy Wife

Emmy Award Winner Margolis ’93 Is Show Runner for Adult Swim’s Newsreaders

Mark ’71 is Executive Producer of USA Network’s Political Animals

Jan Eliasberg ’74 Named Fox Writers Initiative Fellow