Emerson Advantage

As a graduate student at Emerson College, you will have access to a variety of exclusive benefits and opportunities that will help prepare you to take your career to the next level. 

Residency Overview

Each semester of Emerson’s MFA in Writing for Film and Television begins with a weeklong residency on Emerson’s Boston or Los Angeles campus, where you will meet with faculty; collaborate with peers; and participate in a master class taught by our Semel Chair, an award-winning film or television screenwriter.

During the residency week, you will engage in master classes, seminars, intensive workshops, and peer group workshops. Evening sessions include screenings, guest lectures, and staged readings from student work. Seminars, lectures, and workshops will reflect residency themes.

You will meet with your professors to form the work plan for the semester. Before each residency ends, you will have clear deadlines for the semester’s creative work, reading and viewing lists, and a schedule for all online meetings.

Semel Chair Master Classes

Our Writing for Film and Television program brings award-winning film and television writers to our Boston and Los Angeles campuses during your weeklong in-person residency at the beginning of each semester.

The Semel Chair in Screenwriting is a working screenwriter who will conduct master classes, meet with students, and lead an evening screening and discussion of their work. Semel Chairs rotate each semester and are announced several weeks before the semester begins. Other guest lecturers include managers, agents, and more.

Previous Semel Chairs

• Courtney Lilly, 2024 Semel Chair
  Sitcom producer and writer Courtney Lilly cut his teeth on My Boys (TBS, 2006–2010) before taking over as showrunner for the sixth season of Black-ish (ABC, 2014–). Lilly began his career as a reporter for the Providence Journal-Bulletin but after earning a Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship at the turn of the century, he switched his attention to penning TV scripts. He contributed to two episodes of alien animation Invader Zim (Nickelodeon, 2001–2006), and single episodes of superhero cartoon Static Shock (Kids' WB, 2000–2004) and aardvark adventure Arthur (PBS, 1996–) before moving onto live-action comedy with writing credits on sitcoms Arrested Development (Fox, 2003–2006), Everybody Hates Chris (UPN, 2005–2009), and cross-cultural comedy I'm Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks) (2007). In 2006, Lilly joined the writing staff of sports-based rom-com My Boys (TBS, 2006–2010), also serving as producer for nine episodes of its four-year run. Lilly pulled the same double duty on the Jimmy Fallon-created sitcom Guys with Kids (NBC, 2012–2013), hit adult animation The Cleveland Show (Fox, 2009–2013) and hangout comedy Undateable (NBC, 2014–2016). In 2015, Lilly was appointed onto the writing and producing team of another prime-time sitcom, Black-ish (ABC, 2014–) and four years later was chosen to replace Jonathan Groff and Kenny Smith as the showrunner of its sixth season.
• Susanna Fogel, 2023 Semel Chair 
  Susanna is a director, screenwriter, and novelist. Her film credits include Booksmart, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA and a WGA award, Cat Person, which was based on the New Yorker short story and premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, The Spy Who Dumped Me, and Life Partners. She is currently in post-production on Winner, a biopic of the whistleblower Reality Winner, written by journalist Kerry Howley. On the TV side, she directed the pilot episode of HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, for which she won a DGA award and was nominated for an Emmy, the pilot of Amazon’s The Wilds, and the WWII-set limited series A Small Light for Disney+. She is currently in pre-production on Hatching Twitter, a Netflix limited series about the founding of Twitter, and Ponies, an action comedy series for Peacock about two widows who become spies in the CIA Moscow Station in 1977. Susanna is also an avid writer of satire whose pieces have been featured in The New Yorker. Her first novel, Nuclear Family, was published by Macmillan in 2017. She is an alumna of Columbia University, Concord Academy, and the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
• Adele Lim, 2022 Semel Chair
  Adele Lim is a screenwriter whose credits include Crazy Rich Asians (Warner Bros) and Oscar-nominated Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney Animation Studios). A Malaysian native of Chinese descent, she came to the States at 19 and graduated from Emerson College. She has written and produced primetime TV dramas, including One Tree Hill (The CW), Private Practice (ABC), and Lethal Weapon (FOX), and was the co-showrunner and Executive Producer of Starcrossed (The CW). She mentors emerging writers through the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and CAPE (Coalition of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in Entertainment) to promote equity and representation in entertainment. In the fall of 2021, she made her directorial debut with an untitled feature film for Lionsgate Films and Point Grey productions.
• Mara Brock Akil, 2021 Semel Chair
  Mara Brock Akil is an award-winning television writer and producer. Her works include The CW’s Black Lightning, BET’s first drama series, Being Mary Jane, and more. After creating and producing the television series, Girlfriends, for eight seasons, she went on to create its spin-off series The Game, which produced 25 award nominations and 5 wins over its nine-year history.
• David Magee, 2020 Semel Chair
  David Magee is an award-winning screenwriter known for his movie scripts for films such as Finding Neverland, Life of Pi, Mary Poppins Returns, and his upcoming film The Little Mermaid. He’s an Academy Award nominee for his Finding Neverland and Life of Pi scripts and a Satellite Award winner for Life of Pi. 
• Cheo Hodari Coker, 2020 Semel Chair 
  Cheo Hodari Coker is a writer and producer. He was the creator and showrunner of the Emmy Award-winning show Luke Cage. Other television works include NCIS: Los Angeles, Almost Human, Ray Donovan, and more. He was the screenwriter for the 2009 biographical film, Notorious based on the life of The Notorious B.I.G. 
• Krista Vernoff, 2019 Semel Chair
  Krista Vernoff is a writer and executive producer for hit shows such as ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Showtime’s Shameless. She’s been nominated for and won numerous awards including a Golden Globe for Best New Television Series, a Writers Guild of America Award, and two Emmys for her work on Grey’s Anatomy. 
• Dustin Lance Black, 2019 Semel Chair
  Dustin Lance Black is an Academy Award–winning screenwriter and social activist. Black won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Milk and two Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards. His other works include writing the screenplays for Virginia and J. Edgar, and he was the creator of When We Rise, an award-winning ABC miniseries.
• Alex Cox, 2018 Semel Chair
  Alex Cox is the writer/director of the 1980s indie cult classics Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, and Straight to Hell. He also co-wrote 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, an adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson novel, with director Terry Gilliam, and directed Three Businessmen, Revengers Tragedy, and Tombstone Rashomon, among many others.
• Courtney Kemp, 2018 Semel Chair
  Courtney Kemp is the creator and showrunner of Starz series hit Power, which generated the network’s highest-ever audience numbers for its second season premiere and finale. She served as writer and producer on The Good Wife, and in 2011, she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series alongside fellow producers. Other work includes staff writer on The Bernie Mac Show and producer and occasional writer on Hawaii 5-0.
• Joey Soloway, 2017 Semel Chair
  Joey Soloway is the creator, director, and writer of the award-winning show Transparent. The show has won countless awards, including two Golden Globe Awards and eight Emmys, including two for Soloway’s direction. Their other works include executive producer for I Love Dick, writer on Six Feet Under, and more.
• Graham Moore, 2017 Semel Chair
  Graham Moore is the writer of the Academy Award–winning screenplay for The Imitation Game. He’s worked as a writer, producer, director, and composer for numerous films including the upcoming film The Outfit. Moore is also a bestselling author and has adapted his second novel, The Last Days of Night, into a film.

Career Outlook for Writing for Film and Television Graduates

After earning an MFA from the School of the Arts’ Writing for Film and Television program, graduates will contribute to an arts and culture industry that added $1 trillion to the US economy alone from 2020 to 2021. Graduates who pursue a career in writing for film and television will enjoy networking opportunities offered exclusively by the College. After graduation, our students have pursued careers as:

• Authors;
• Editors;
• Executive Producers;
• Podcast Hosts/Producers;
• Showrunners;
• Writers.
   

Writing for Film and Television Alumni

Our alumni have gone on to have successful careers in the film and television industry. Recent notable alumni include:

• Nicole Savini, Co-Executive Producer of Tooning Out the News on Paramount+
• Kelly Edwards, Author of Secrets From the Executive Chair
• Jessica Hill, Director of Advertising at Warner Media
• CJ Ehrlich, Writer & second-place winner at the Ivy Film Festival, for the been script of Loser Island
• Kylie Rolincik, finalist for National Lampoon and Stage 32's Search for Comedy Writing Gold
• Willie Block, Co-Author of Prowl