In this episode, I break it down with Erica Shelton Kodish, an incredibly talented writer, producer, and TV showrunner who was a consulting producer on “The Equalizer,” starring Queen Latifah, co-ep on “The Good Wife,” and showrunner of “Being Mary Jane,” starring Gabrielle Union. Her career as a TV writer began on the Jerry Bruckheimer series, “CSI: New York.” Erica has also developed projects for Universal TV and CBS Studios under multi-year overall deals. She was named one of Variety’s “Ten Writers to Watch” and has been featured in The Root 100’s annual ranking of most influential African-American leaders.
Join us, as Erica and I talk about “The Shield” and writing complicated characters, doing the dishes on “Thirtysomething,” and the streamers’ new interest in procedurals. From Mrs. Lasky’s seventh grade writing assignment to revamping “Being Mary Jane,” Erica and I discuss what a consulting producer really does, running a writers room during quarantine, developing on an overall deal, and the future of diversity programs in entertainment. And Erica shares her best advice: “You have to just persist. The only people who I know that didn’t actually make it were the ones who gave up.”
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