Originally published in Script magazine July/August 2007 Debra Eckerling is a professional writer with expertise in feature articles, communications, public speaking, social media, and live networking. A project catalyst, she works with individuals and small businesses to strategize, set goals and manage their projects. Visit Deb’s site, and Twitter:. “I pitched a one-liner to Showtime: suburban, widowed, pot-dealing mom,” explains Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, “and they told me to run with it. [Showtime] had a mandate at the time to make noise because they had wanted to come out from under the shadow of HBO. I guess this was noisy enough for them.” Jenji Kohan became an “overnight sensation” after 17 years in the entertainment industry. She has written episodes for series including Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls and Will & Grace, which her brother David Kohan co-created.

Pilot Scripts. And Then There Were None. Ashes to Ashes. A Very English Scandal. Black Mirror - The National Anthem. Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child. Eleventh Hour - Man Without a Shadow. Father Brown. Happy Valley. Script may be performed, published, sold or distributed by any means, or quoted. WEEDS #2001 'Corn Snake' 5th Rev (GOLDENROD) 5/26/06 6pm 1.

Throughout her career, Kohan wrote a pilot or two every year, hoping one would take. The cast of Weeds season two PHOTO Mark Seliger [Production Photos Courtesy of Showtime“[ Weeds was] my 16th or 17th pilot. And it was like winning the lottery. I think there were shows I wrote earlier that were as good as or better than Weeds, but the stars didn’t align. For some reason, the stars aligned on this one. “I had been working in network where everything was sort of black and white,” explains Kohan.

“I wanted to do my outlaw show where everything functioned in a gray area. So I needed to come up with an outlaw and a crime.” Between articles about the drug dealer next door and the medical marijuana initiative, Kohan didn’t have to look too far to find the right crime. “[Pot] was something that was illegal but wasn’t taken that seriously. It was sort of like the gay thing for Will & Grace—there’s one in every family: a pot smoker. So, it just kind of worked out. “I really wanted to write about characters who weren’t heroes or villains but somewhere in between, like most of us are,” Kohan explains.

Weeds debuted in 2005. The phenomenal cast—led by Mary-Louise Parker (as aforementioned pot-dealing mom, Nancy Botwin) with an ensemble including Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon and Justin Kirk—more than does it justice. The brilliantly executed concept and the situations these flawed, complex characters get themselves into—and out of—is what keeps the audience talking and coming back for more. “I think the key is,” she says. “There are certain standards that are set for people by their community, or by their spouses, or by themselves, that no one’s living up to.

So on a certain level, we all feel like we’re failing, but we’re trying our best. And I wanted characters who reflected that feeling.” Kohan also wanted freedom as a writer. Ahnlab v3 internet security 90 download free. “In television, if you want more freedom, you go to cable,” she explains. “You sacrifice money, but you get to do more of what you want. You don’t have to worry about advertisers and you don’t have to worry about as many layers of executives.” Once Kohan got the “go” order from Showtime, they told her to find a studio to shoot the pilot. “They were excited,” she recalls. “So I went to Lionsgate, and they signed on.