The American Film Institute (AFI) is calling in the top TV writers and showrunners to mentor its impressive recent grads of the AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Fellows program. IndieWire can announce that the 2025 Writers’ Room Ready incubator will include teams from “Hacks,” “Mad Men,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” and “The Girl from Plainville,” plus mega-producer Coco Francini, who recently founded the Proof of Concept Accelerator program with producing partner Cate Blanchett.
The AFI Writers’ Room Ready pairs established, leading creatives with AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Fellows to work on original television pilot scripts. “Hacks” writers Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, as well as icon Matthew Weiner are among the mentors. Regina Corrado (“Mayor of Kingstown”) and Liz Hannah (“The Girl from Plainville”), who is also part of the AFI Class of 2009, round out the list. The selected recent 2024 AFI graduates who will benefit from these mentors are Arden Earnest, Eric Schabla, Greer Sinclair, Matthew Syrett, and Lauren Thomas.
Writers’ Room Ready is part of AFI’s Bridge to the Future incubator which supports alumni and recently graduated Fellows. “Professional growth accelerates with expert guidance,” Susan Ruskin, Dean of the AFI Conservatory and Executive Vice President of the American Film Institute, said. “We are grateful to our accomplished mentors whose wisdom and expertise help our Writers’ Room Ready participants develop their potential into truly industry-ready skills.”
And the Writers’ Room Ready Fellows also have a few buzzy names among them: Matthew Syrett, who will be mentored by Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky, produced the Academy Award-winning film “Freeheld” and was also the lead story producer for Netflix’s “MerPeople.”
The Writers’ Room Ready program also works to benefit its mentors who produce projects, too. Writers’ Room Ready mentor Francini previously told IndieWire that she is looking to produce commercial projects that are driven by a director’s distinct voice, when it comes to funding features through Proof of Concept. “We want big ideas. We want things that can resonate with audiences, just like everybody else,” Francini, who no doubt will bring that perspective to the Writers’ Room Ready TV pilot program, said. “So I think that while we all love an intimate, personal film, we’re looking for people that want to take the next step and for their voices to reach audiences.”
Below are a list of the selected projects, with language provided by AFI.
Arden Earnest mentored by Coco Francini
Script: “Cosa Nostra” | One-Hour – Crime Drama
In 1903 New Orleans, the loyalties of three teenage Sicilian-American sisters will be tested when the unruly middle child Serafina joins the city’s mafia. Inspired by my Sicilian, gun-toting great-grandmother who was in the mob. Stage 32 TV Drama Screenwriting Contest 2024 Finalist.
Arden Earnest is a writer-director with degrees from the AFI Conservatory and USC School of Cinematic Arts. She is the recipient of a Slamdance Screenplay Award, a ScreenCraft Grand Prize Winner. Arden is currently in post-production on a short film she wrote and directed, inspired by her award-winning feature script “Counterpoint.” Arden is represented by UTA, Bellevue Productions, and Vainshtein Law.
Eric Schabla mentored by Regina Corrado
Script: “Jump” | One-Hour – Drama
After her wealthy father’s business goes belly-up, an obsessive equestrian champion loses everything. Forced to start over, she must reckon with her splintering family, an escalating addiction and the shame of working as a lowly stable hand in the cutthroat world she used to dominate.
Eric Schabla is a writer and performer from the Midwest. His scripts have placed in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, Coverfly’s Red List, the Austin Film Festival, and Screencraft. He has also adapted foreign films and television for Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ via Voice and Script International, Iyuno and Igloo Music.
Greer Sinclair mentored by Matthew Weiner
Script: “Jack and Julie” | One-Hour – Drama
After a chance meeting at a downtown L.A. jazz club, a young, rebellious singer falls in love with an out-of-work actor—only she’s iconic torch singer Julie London and he’s television legend Jack Webb. The tempestuous relationship inspires London’s record-breaking debut album and Webb’s hit police show DRAGNET.
Greer Sinclair is a writer, director, and actor. A native of Los Angeles, she spent her formative years in rural Louisiana where she began writing. She is a Screenwriting Fellow of the American Film Institute Conservatory where in 2024, she was nominated for the Sloan Fellowship Award. Prior to AFI, she studied film and theatre at Mount Holyoke College and Sarah Lawrence College before receiving her Bachelor’s in film from the San Francisco Art Institute where she began directing short films and music videos. Sinclair previously co-hosted the Noir City film festival, where she highlighted women in the film noir genre. Her writing on film and culture has been published in Vanity Fair and Air Mail.
Matthew Syrett mentored by Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky
Script: “Beached” | Half-Hour – Dramedy
After her banishment from Madison Avenue, a relentless ad executive reinvents herself in the overly quiet seaside suburbs of Atlantic City by launching a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme.
Matthew Syrett is a filmmaker best known for producing the Academy Award-winning film “Freeheld” and as the lead story producer for Netflix’s “MerPeople.” His creative works have won Oscars, Emmys, and Sundance awards, and have appeared on HBO, PBS, Netflix, and AppleTV. Syrett holds an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Beyond film and television, Syrett has held executive roles in media, advertising, and technology, including Vice President at Grey Advertising, Senior Product Manager at IMDb (Amazon), co-founder of financial services firm Marstone, and VP of Product at Rakuten USA.
Lauren Thomas mentored by Liz Hannah*
Script: ”Echoes” | One-Hour – Thriller
Seeking redemption, a recovering addict breaks parole to find her missing goddaughter in their isolated hometown. Once back, she must reconcile with the people she has harmed to uncover a horrific truth.
Lauren Thomas is a recent graduate of the American Film Institute with a Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting. Previously she attended The Rhode Island School of Design, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography.
