Sundance Institute Episodic Program Announces 2023 Pitch Parlor Fellows
The Sundance Institute Episodic Program has announced the nine Fellows selected for the second annual Pitch Parlor, presented by NBCUniversal. The event is taking place today, March 9, 2023, in Los Angeles. Project genres this year range from heartfelt intergenerational comedy to espionage thrillers and genre-bending horror.
Pitch Parlor is an industry-facing curation of Episodic Program Alumni, who are ready to showcase pitches based on their original series ideas to producers, studios, and networks. The participating industry mentors who provided key guidance in the Fellows’ creative project development include Erika Kennair (Extracurricular), Karim Zreik (Cedar Tree Productions), Kesila Childers (Powderkeg), and Shana C. Waterman (Royal Ties).
The nine Fellows selected for the 2023 Sundance Episodic Pitch Parlor are:
- Britt Adams with ONYX
- Gianmarco Maximilian Giacomelli with TO KILL A POPE
- Naomi Ko with THE 20-YEAR CURSE
- Ricardo Pérez González with ORLANDO
- Justin Calen-Chenn and Giancarlo Sánchez with KNOCKTURNAL
- Elissa Blount Moorhead and Ericka Blount Danois with fiftyTWO
- Nicole Saad with AMERICAN GRAND PRIX
The Sundance Institute Episodic Program brings together writers with unproduced, original series IP. The Episodic Lab, taking place each fall in Utah, is a six-day immersive experience that allows writers to work closely under the stewardship of established showrunners, producers, and development executives.
“All of the content this year bolts out the gate with heroic characters, some against extreme odds – which is fitting for a post-pandemic audience,” said Episodic Program Director, Jandiz Estrada Cardoso. “One simple and human anthem of these shows is their infallible pursuit of self-defined victory, in territories as basic as family or as savage as folklore.”
The Sundance Institute Episodic Program is made possible by Founding Supporters Lyn and Norman Lear and Cindy Harrell Horn and Alan Horn. Leadership Supporters are AMC Networks, MGM+, MRC Television, Netflix, The Harry and Florence Sloan Foundation, The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and STARZ.
The Episodic Lab Alumni include producers Katori Hall (P-Valley), Barry Jenkins (Underground Railroad), Tanuj Chopra (Delhi Crime Season 2), Desiree Akhavan (The Bisexual), and Heather Rae (Outer Range). Past Fellows have gone on to earn writing positions on shows including Ms. Marvel, The Staircase, This is Us, Dave, You’re the Worst, Better Call Saul, Silicon Valley, Nancy Drew, Marvel’s Armor Wars, One Of Us Is Lying, Sweet Tooth, and The Americans. Alumni have also set up or sold Lab projects at networks including HBO, Amazon, STARZ, Disney+, Hulu, FX, ABC, CW, AMC, TBS, and Netflix.
The 2023 Sundance Episodic Pitch Parlor promises to be an exciting event with a talented group of writers showcasing their unique stories.
