5th Annual Native American Showrunner Program Fellows Selected

The Native American Media Alliance announced its selections for the 5th Annual Native American Showrunner Program, sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, Cherokee Film and the National Endowment for the Arts.

     “This endeavor has been a groundbreaking resource for experienced Native writers seeking advanced career development,” said Ian Skorodin, Director of Strategy for the Native American Media Alliance. “In this challenging environment, we are continuing to push the industry to support the Native American community.”

     The Native American Showrunner Program is a multi-month intensive that offers mentorship from television showrunners and series creators to to experienced Native American writers and have expanded the program to include Native American producers in unscripted.

    Program fellows take part in several meetings with assigned showrunner mentors who offer guidance on furthering the fellows’ writing and producing careers and provide creative feedback on current projects. The program consists of weekly one-on-one mentoring to develop the writers’ and producers’ abilities, offer advice as it pertains to producing for television and provide overall insight into running a television series.

     The Native American Showrunner Program is designed to propel experienced Native American writers to the highest levels of television writing and producing. This initiative continues the Native American Media Alliance’s drive for inclusion and focuses on new points of access for the Native American community. The fellowship is an extension of the organization’s ongoing development programs as it equips the next generation of Native American writers and producers with the skills and professional network to break into television producing positions.

     The 2024 Native American Showrunner Program fellows:

Scripted Fellows:

Jamie Brunton

Heidi-Marie Ferren

Unscripted Fellow:

Faith Phillips

     The Native American Showrunner Program was created to expand the number of Native Americans working in writer rooms and producing for television to increase fair and accurate portrayals of Native Americans on television. Native Americans continue to maintain the lowest representation within current television series.

Sponsored by:

Check out our past fellows:

2020 Native American Showrunner Program Fellows

2021 Native American Showrunner Program Fellows

2022 Native American Showrunner Program Fellows

2023 Native American Showrunner Program Fellows