Category: THE WRITERS ROOM
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Michael Lucas, creator and writer of Australian drama The Newsreader, talks blending fact and fiction in this 1980s-set series, building the relationship between its star female news anchor and an ambitious young reporter, and what’s to come in season two.
Sister act
Kid Sister star and writer Simone Nathan tells DQ about penning this semi-autobiographical Jewish family comedy, playing ‘herself’ and why scripts are never truly finished.
Bohemian rapsical
Verden er Min (I am Earth) creator and writer Amy Black Ndiaye tells DQ how she broke new ground with this Norwegian rap musical about a woman finding her way through life as she enters her 30s.
Caring about Karen
As Karen Pirie becomes the latest detective to join the ranks at ITV, DQ interrogates series creator and writer Emer Kenny about adapting Val McDermid’s novels, her own starring role and being inspired by Lennie James.
Shot caller
Who Shot Otto Mueller? is the first Viaplay original series to emerge from Estonia. DQ speaks to writer Birk Rohelend about working with the streamer, toxic masculinity and her love of Agatha Christie.
Deadly Games
Munich Games writers Michal Aviram and Martin Behnke reveal how they overcame their long-distance relationship to partner on this political thriller, which focuses on a new threat upon the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games massacre.
Everything I Know About Starstruck
Rose Matafeo, the creator and star of Starstruck, and Dolly Alderton, the writer behind Everything I Know About Love, share stories, revelations and advice from their experience making their shows.
World of Hurt
Former doctor Adam Kay speaks to DQ about turning his bestselling memoir This is Going to Hurt into a BBC drama and the show’s real-world impact within the medical community.
Delving into deepfakes
Ben Chanan, creator and writer of BBC surveillance thriller The Capture, discusses bringing back the series for a second season, becoming a showrunner and keeping ahead of the headlines.
Enter Sandman
Neil Gaiman, Allan Heinberg and David S Goyer discuss their creative collaboration on The Sandman, Netflix’s eagerly awaited adaptation of Gaiman’s acclaimed graphic novel series.
Good to be bad
The creators of Belgian dark comedy Des Gens Bien (Good People) reveal how their follow-up to crime drama La Trêve (The Break) blends thriller and comedy as a couple’s insurance scam spirals out of control.
Summer secrets
Twee Zomers (Two Summers) creators and writers Paul Baeten and Tom Lenaerts discuss this psychological thriller in which a group of friends reunite 30 years after a tragic accident, leading dark secrets to resurface.
In the loop
Giri/Haji creator Joe Barton tells DQ about jumping through time for The Lazarus Project and discusses the art of balancing high-concept ideas with audience-grabbing entertainment.
Finding Sasha
French young-adult series Chair Tendre (About Sasha) explores teenage life from the perspective of Sasha, who was born intersex. Writer Yaël Langmann reveals the origins of the project, how she cast the lead role and the universality of its story.
The incredible Hulík
After winning acclaim with Horícï ker (Burning Bush) and Pustina (Wasteland), Czech screenwriter Štěpán Hulík again draws on real-life events to leave viewers asking more questions in four-part drama Podezření (Suspicion).
On the Ray up
Maya Sondhi has gone from starring in police dramas to writing her own. She gives DQ the lowdown on her first original series, ITV’s DI Ray, which focuses on a detective struggling with her identity.
Strange but Canoe
Unforgotten writer Chris Lang was tasked with dramatising the unbelievable true story of a man who faked his own death for ITV true crime drama The Thief, His Wife & the Canoe. He tells DQ how he brought this stranger-than-fiction tale to the small screen.
Diving deeper
As Das Boot returns for a third season, writers Tony Saint, Colin Teevan and Judith Angerbauer tell DQ how the U-boat war drama starts to explore new perspectives of the Second World War on the home front and at sea.
Making it in Hollywood
Kelly Edwards, a former television executive turned writer, looks back on her experiences on both sides of the business to offer some advice to aspiring screenwriters.
The art of Dodger
Husband-and-wife writing team Rhys Thomas and Lucy Montgomery break down their partnership on Dodger, a 10-part family drama set before Charles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist.