2024 DET Writing Program
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the DET Writing Program is a launchpad for fresh voices in television storytelling and helps diverse comedy and drama writers secure their first staff writer assignment on a Disney series.
During the program, writers participate in advanced creative workshops, refine their portfolios, and meet and learn from DET creative executives, producers, showrunners and program alumni through networking and professional development sessions. Each participant is a contract employee of Disney, with weekly salary and benefits, for one year, or until they staff on a show and are compensated at WGA scale. For over a decade, the program has maintained a 100% annual staffing rate.
This year’s cohort includes comedy writers Sarah Beth Ballard, Jordan Crawford, Paloma Lamb, Naomi Lambert, Mahtub Zare Mochanloo, Elisa Oh and Jorge Thomson; and drama writers Letícia Ayroza, Derek Cioch, Isabel E., Jordan Goodman, Jaleese Ramos, Antoine Perry and Rance Ward.
Sarah Beth Ballard has been selected as the fifth annual Eunetta T. Boone Comedy Writers Scholar, receiving mentorship from Disney Branded Television (DBT) and special staffing consideration on a DBT series. The scholarship honors trailblazing showrunner, producer and comedy writer Eunetta T. Boone, who was executive producer and showrunner for DBT’s “Raven’s Home,” among many other credits.
Rance Ward has been selected as the inaugural FX Singleton Scholar, receiving mentorship from FX and special staffing consideration on a FX series. The scholarship honors the life and legacy of legendary director and producer John Singleton. The youngest and first Black person to receive an Academy Award® nomination for Best Director, Singleton co-created the FX drama “Snowfall,” directed episodes for FX’s “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” and mentored many other creatives embarking on careers in television.
Notable program alumni include show creators, co-creators and showrunners such as Zahir McGhee (“Queens”), Raamla Mohamed (“Reasonable Doubt”), Saladin Patterson (“The Wonder Years,” “Dave”), Aseem Batra (“I Feel Bad”), Ayanna Floyd Davis (“The Chi”), Dailyn Rodriguez (“Queen of the South”) and Anthony Sparks (“Queen Sugar”).