Calling all helmers! Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) has opened the submission process for the 2019 edition of the Studio’s Television Directors’ Workshop. The WBTVG Directors’ Workshop was established in 2013 with the mandate to discover new and innovative talent, prepare directors from other creative fields (motion pictures, commercials, music videos, shortform video, etc.) for the transition to television, and provide increased opportunities for female directors and directors from ethnic minority groups.
Since its inception in 2013, the WBTVG Directors’ Workshop has helped to launch or further the TV directing careers of more than 40 women and/or people of color. Additionally, 100 percent of the members of graduating classes from the last three sessions have been booked to direct episodes of Warner Bros.–produced TV series.
Applications for the 2019 Directors’ Workshop — including a resume, short composition, letters of recommendation and link to a directing portfolio — can be submitted from now through February 7, 2019. More info about eligibility requirements and the submission process can be found at https://televisionworkshop.warnerbros.com/directors-workshop.
Recent graduates of the program include Regina King (Insecure, Shameless, This Is Us, The Good Doctor, Animal Kingdom, Being Mary Jane, Southland), Jaffar Mahmood (Young Sheldon, The Middle, Life in Pieces, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Alexis Ostrander (Light as a Feather, Riverdale, American Horror Story, Supergirl, Second City), David Rodriguez (Chicago P.D., Animal Kingdom, Chicago Med, The Chi, Queen of the South), Sherwin Shilati (Lucifer, Riverdale, NCIS: Los Angeles, Trinkets) and Jude Weng (Fresh Off the Boat, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Life in Pieces, The Good Place, Young Sheldon), among many others.
Current Warner Bros.–produced series that have booked graduates from the Directors’ Workshop include The 100, Animal Kingdom, Arrow, Blindspot, The Flash, Gotham, Lucifer, Queen Sugar, Riverdale, Supergirl, Supernatural, Young Sheldon and more.
The eight-week WBTVG Directors’ Workshop course is taught by esteemed director Bethany Rooney, who has directed more than 250 episodes of network television. The Master Class features guest speakers currently working in television, including an eclectic mix of showrunners, directors, cinematographers and editors. Each session teaches a new skill essential for excelling in pre-production, shooting and post-production. The workshop also has optional components, with participation determined by each director’s skill set, including cinematography, acting and shadowing.
In addition to the Directors’ Workshop, WBTVG operates the annual Television Writers’ Workshop, which has been the premier program for aspiring TV writers for more than 30 years, with successful alumni including Janine Sherman Barrois (Claws), Felicia D. Henderson (Gossip Girl), Joe Henderson (Lucifer), Michael Narducci (The Originals, The Vampire Diaries), Heather Mitchell (Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy), LaToya Morgan (Shameless) and many more.
For more information about the Directors’ Workshop, please visit http://televisionworkshop.warnerbros.com or contact [email protected].
