New Voices Alumni Interview Series: Rowan Wheeler
As a part of the New Voices Interview Series, we asked our New Voices alumni to share about their writing process, their experience with mentorship, and what inspires them. Today’s interview is with New Voices Fellowship alum, Rowan Wheeler.
Humanitas: What are you working on right now?
Rowan Wheeler: I am writing on a show based on a book I love for Freeform (While You Were Breeding), and I'm writing the second episode of a show I co-created for Peacock (Murder Ever After).
H: If you could have dinner with any writer, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
RW: Oscar Wilde, for the wit!
H: Why do mentors matter?
RW: Oh, there's no way I'd be working right now if there hadn't been generous mentors along the way to tell me "don't stop" when it felt like getting staffed was impossible. It's so helpful to have someone with experience to tell you that what you're feeling is normal and to keep forging ahead anyway.
H: If you could go back in time to when you wrote your first script and give younger you a piece of advice, what would it be and why?
RW: Stop sending shit out before it's ready! And you use too many exclamation marks.
H: What impact did the New Voices Fellowship have on your writing/career?
RW: It definitely helped give my writing credibility to have Humanitas’ New Voices Fellowship on my bio. It also helped me believe that a career was possible, that I wasn't wasting my time. But the absolute best thing for me was that my showrunner mentor was incredible and we still keep in touch. I'm so grateful for that relationship.
Rowan Wheeler is an Emmy award-winning producer and TV writer. She is currently staffed as an Executive Story Editor on season one of While You Were Breeding, for Freeform. Prior to that, Rowan was staffed on new action comedy Obliterated for Netflix, Harlem on Amazon, and Birdgirl on Adult Swim/HBO Max.
Her half-hour dark comedy Murder Ever After with Ryan Seacrest Productions that she co-created with Showrunner Scott King and was sold to Peacock in 2021. Her hour-long drama Girl Gone Viral which she created with Showrunner Karin Gist is currently in development with The Gist Of It Productions, Merman and 20th Television. Previously, she had two half-hour projects in development in the UK with Zeppotron Productions; 3D Pete and Socio-Pam. In 2018, Rowan was named a New Voices winner at the prestigious Humanitas Awards.
In 2019 Rowan served as Showrunner/Executive Producer on Funny or Die’s acclaimed short form comedy series Under A Rock with Tig Notaro and produced the Chris Evans and Mariah Carey episodes of Billy On The Street.
Rowan is repped by UTA and 3 Arts Entertainment.
Are you an emerging, unrepresented writer? You can apply for the New Voices Fellowship right now by visiting our Coverfly portal, but our deadline is TOMORROW Wednesday, May 18, 2022.
New Voices is a four-month mentorship program for emerging television and screenwriters. The program is committed to identifying and empowering five writers each year who are currently at work on a 30- or 60-minute pilot or feature film screenplay that upholds the mission of Humanitas.
Learn more about the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship by visiting this webpage.