Applications are now open for Paramount’s writing mentorship program, which will now join with Nickelodeon, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
Aspiring TV writers can now apply for the next cycle of the Paramount Writers Mentoring Program, which has been newly integrated with Nickelodeon’s Writing Program in alignment with the company’s Paramount One talent strategy.
Applications will be open from Wednesday, April 1 through Friday, May 1. You can apply here.
Writers selected for the overall Paramount Writers Mentoring Program will receive targeted mentorship and engagement opportunities with creative teams developing content across Paramount’s ecosystem, including CBS broadcast network, CBS Studios, Paramount Television Studios and Nickelodeon, among others.
Writers in the kids and family and YA pathway will gain exposure to development and production teams behind Paramount franchises, which include “School Spirits,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and more.
“By expanding our program into a unified mentoring experience across the Paramount ecosystem, we’re expanding opportunities for our writers and fostering relationships that support long-term careers across our portfolio,” Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, EVP of content engagement, partnerships and strategy for CBS’ TV Media, said in a statement.
The eight-month program, which is in its 21st year, is intended to support early-career writers as they develop original material and deepen their craft, making relationships across Paramount along the way. Each writer is paired with a Paramount brand executive for mentorship, and will participate in workshops with showrunners, executive producers, agents, managers and development and current executives.
Of the 154 alumni of the program to date, more than 100 launched into careers through staffing, representation or advancement to additional industry programs, with 12 advancing to showrunner or upper-level writer roles.
Alumni from the Paramount Writers Mentoring Program include Angela Kang (“The Walking Dead”), Lauren LeFranc (“The Penguin”), Rafe Judkins (“The Wheel of Time”), Aaron Rahsaan Thomas (S.W.A.T.), Gina Lucita Monreal (“NCIS: Origins”), Miranda Kwok (“The Cleaning Lady”), Simran Baidwan (“The Pitt”) and Munis Rashid (“The Night Agent”).
On the Nickelodeon side, alumni include Jessica Gao (“She-Hulk: Attorney
at Law”), Travis Braun (“Pupstruction,” “T.O.T.S.”), Jeff Trammell (“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”), Jonathan Butler and Gabe Garza (“Bella and the Bulldogs”), Kevin Arrieta (“Carol & the End of the World”) and May Chan (“Surfside Girls”), among others.
