Disney Entertainment Television (DET) Writing Program
The Disney Entertainment Television (DET) Writing Program is a highly selective, annual TV staffing program. The goal is to staff emerging and diverse television writers on DET scripted series. Program Writers are contract employees of Disney for one year (or until they staff on a show), and receive mentorship, professional development, and unprecedented access to the company and its creative executives, producers, showrunners, and program alumni. Each year, one writer receives the Eunetta T. Boone Comedy Writers Scholarship and special staffing consideration on a Disney Branded Television series. In 2024, the program will create the FX John Singleton Scholarship, providing one writer special staffing consideration on an FX Networks series.
Established in 1990, the one-year writing program is widely recognized as one of the entertainment industry’s most successful of its type. It has kickstarted the careers of many established and award-winning writers, producers and showrunners, including Saladin Patterson, Raamla Mohammed, Peter Saji, Zahir McGhee, Dailyn Rodriguez, Luvh Rakhe, Sierra Ornelas, and Claudia Foriestri, among many others.
The Program has had a 100% staffing rate each year. It also has a long history of being the only staffing/writing initiative in the entertainment industry to employ its writers contractually as full-time employees prior to staffing.
Writing Program Application
WHEN TO APPLY
Please visit our application page, or follow us on our Facebook page to receive updates and alerts about the submission period.
2024 Disney Entertainment 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, Darek 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”).
Antoine Perry is a genre writer who survived two tornados and an odd buffalo encounter in his youth. Growing up very Black, very Puerto Rican, and very gay in very conservative Oklahoma, his writing often centers around marginalized individuals triumphing over societal oppression by being their authentic selves. Antoine won the grand prize in Screencraft’s 2022 Sci-fi & Fantasy Competition with his script FOREVER YOUNG. He is also an alum of Mentorship Matters, a prominent writers’ program founded by Raelle Tucker and Gianna Sobol, where he was mentored by Neil Reynolds. Antoine’s short film script “Scaredy Cat” was a top 10 finalist in the inaugural Pan African Film Festival / embRACE L.A. John Singleton competition for live-action short films. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in economics… that he has never used.
Darek Cioch is a Korean and Polish-American writer from Seattle. While studying film at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Darek won a school-wide screenwriting competition with his romantic comedy about zombies. After moving to Los Angeles, Darek began his entertainment career working for Anonymous Content assisting the producers of the Emmy Award-winning series TRUE DETECTIVE. He then worked in the programming department at HBO, where he supported the teams behind BARRY, BALLERS and INSECURE. Darek transitioned into the writers’ room by serving as a Showrunner's Assistant and Writers’ Assistant on several drama series, including ABC’s THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY and FX’s CLASS OF ‘09. Additionally, Darek was a researcher for FX’s IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY. Darek is a finalist for the Sundance Episodic Lab and he was selected for the 2021 CAPE New Writers Fellowship. He most recently worked on Hulu’s upcoming series INTERIOR CHINATOWN. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and newborn daughter.
Elisa Myung Un Oh is a Korean American dramedy writer. She grew up in Gardena, California and as a queer kid being raised by a Pentecostal preacher father and an “inner-healer” mother. She has a Masters in Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and Masters in Film and Television from the University of Southern California. During her time at USC, she was a recipient of the Jonny Carson Comedy award and a Sundance New Voices Lab Fellowship. She currently works as an assistant to Christina Lee, first as a Showrunner’s Assistant on MADE FOR LOVE, and subsequently as a Writers’ Assistant on an upcoming show MINOR FEELINGS. She was a Showrunner’s Assistant to Semi Chellas on KENT STATE and prior to that, a writer’s PA on Frankie Shaw’s BELL JAR. She lives with her girlfriend in Echo Park and hopes one day to be someone’s successful 이모 (auntie) who hooked them up with their cool first job in TV (as an Office PA).
Isabel E is a drama writer from San Diego currently residing in Los Angeles. Queer and mixed-race, she enjoys writing about cultural identity and complex family dynamics. Isabel is a graduate of Emerson College, where she majored in Visual Media Arts and produced multiple award-winning shorts. A seasoned industry assistant, she has worked in a variety of creative roles, from assistant at United Talent Agency's Theatre Literary Department to New York’s renowned live events venue House of Yes. She is currently in a support staff position on POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN, one of Starz’ most acclaimed series on air. Isabel was selected as a 2022 fellow in the WGA's Support Staff Training Program and is a screenwriting mentee of WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA’s Alex Tse in the Unlock Her Potential mentorship program.
Jaleese Ramos is a second-generation Mexican-American drama writer who grew up in the Central Valley of California surrounded by almond orchards and dairy farms. Her work is influenced by her sometimes messy, always loud Mexican family, especially her witchy grandma who is, ironically, afraid of anything resembling witchcraft. Her storytelling focuses on exploring identity, family lineage, and the effects that time and unresolved trauma can have on characters with a desperate desire to do right but who never quite know how to. Jaleese received an MFA in Writing for Television, Theatre, and Film from Cal State LA and a BA in English Literature from CSU Stanislaus. She was previously an assistant to a literary manager at 3 Arts Entertainment and is currently the Showrunner’s Assistant on NBC’s LOPEZ vs LOPEZ.
Jordan Crawford is a biracial writer based in Los Angeles. She was recently a Writers’ Assistant and Showrunner's Assistant on Seasons 1 and 2 of Hulu/Onyx’s REASONABLE DOUBT. Before that, Jordan worked her way up as an assistant at Spielberg’s Amblin Television. She honed her craft at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film & Television, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Screenwriting. During her time at LMU, she interned in the Freeform Original Programming department. Her half-hour pilot script, THE M WORD, was a quarter-finalist in the 2021 Austin Film Festival and has since been adapted into a digital series for Turner’s online platforms after receiving a grant from Tongal’s Black Voices Digital Pilot Development Program. Jordan hopes to make her mark capitalizing on her diverse POV and telling darkly comedic stories about love, identity, and the dark depths of the human psyche. Her hobbies include her dog, Nala, and that’s it.
Jordan Goodman writes dramas with a supernatural edge that feature complex female protagonists. She was recently the Writers' Assistant for NBC’s FOUND, and before that was an assistant on the CW’s ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING and BATWOMAN. Prior to working on these shows, she worked in Warner Bros TV Production, assisting in the day-to-day of eight network shows including the CW’s ARROW, SUPERGIRL, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, BATWOMAN, ALL AMERICAN, Fox’s GOTHAM, and CBS’s GOD FRIENDED ME. Jordan received her BA in screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. During her undergrad, she held internships at AwesomenessTV, Lionsgate, Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, Sonar Entertainment, MGM, and Circle of Confusion. She graduated with a job assisting at Abrams Artists Agency, while simultaneously working as a script reader for Coverfly. Her original work won her the Mentorship Selection from Launch Pad’s 2021 Pilot Competition, placement in ScreenCraft’s 2023 Writing Fellowship, as well as recognition from the Austin Film Festival.
Jorge Thomson is a queer comedy writer with Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Irish American roots. He spent his childhood moving back and forth between Washington D.C. and New Mexico as his mother pursued her political career. Jorge disappointed his two lawyer parents by going to NYU’s Tisch School of The Arts to study acting. Since then, he’s performed improv and produced comedy shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, including “Lunch is Late” a Benefit Show for Writer’s Room Support Staff. Jorge worked as the Writers’ PA on the final two seasons of MODERN FAMILY, as Development Assistant for comedy writer Abraham Higginbotham at 20th Television, and Showrunner's Assistant to Jeffrey Richman on UNCOUPLED (Netflix). He was a 2020 National Hispanic Media Coalition Writing Fellow, a finalist for the 2022 Disney Writing Fellowship, and was selected by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers to participate in the STARZ #TakeTheLead Writer’s Intensive in 2022. Currently, Jorge is the Showrunner’s Assistant to Michael Jonathan Smith on TWISTED METAL and co-wrote an episode of the upcoming second season. Through joke heavy and heartwarming writing, Jorge explores his own Latinx cultural identity crisis, finally proving he was right to pocket his law school tuition.
Letícia Ayroza is a first-generation immigrant who was born and raised in Brazil and is now based in Los Angeles. She was recently Showrunner’s Assistant to Tze Chun on Amazon’s I’M A VIRGO. Before that, she was Showrunner’s Assistant to Brigitte Hales on the pilot EPIC for ABC, as well as Showrunner’s Assistant to Sera Gamble on season 4 of Netflix’s YOU. While still in Brazil, she worked as a script supervisor for four years on features and television shows, and considers herself lucky to have been the script supervisor on an episode of Netflix’s BLACK MIRROR, shot in her hometown of São Paulo. Letícia received her MFA in Screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory, and in 2021 she was selected to be part of the inaugural class of the Mentorship Matters Fellowship. Growing up loving all things ""nerd"" instead of samba, soccer, or anything typically considered Brazilian, she found herself drawn to storytelling, and now loves writing about finding one’s purpose and coming into one’s power. Her most recent and best project is her twin baby girls, who already have notes on her scripts.
Mahtub Zare Mochanloo is a first-generation Iranian-American writer born to a single, immigrant mother in Hamilton, Ohio. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University. She's worked at WME and at the arts advocacy nonprofit, The Creative Coalition, where she helped launch The Diversity Fund Gap Initiative, and is currently working at BallenStudios as a Coordinating Producer. Mahtub's feature THE SURROGATE is on the BlackList with an overall 8.5 rating. Her feature BUT I'M WEARING A SARI was a finalist in The Script Lab Screenplay Competition and is among the top 5% of all projects listed on Coverfly. Between performing standup comedy and surfing in Topanga, Mahtub is passionate about writing dramedies that touch on themes of queerness, shame and identity -- but in situationally refreshing and enlightening ways.
Naomi Lambert is a Black comedy writer based in Los Angeles. Most recently, she was Executive Assistant to the Chairman of Disney Entertainment Television, and was Development Assistant at 20th Television. Prior to that, she interned with Warner Bros. Discovery’s TLC and Nina Tassler’s PatMa Productions, and earned placements in Script Pipeline and WeScreenplay contests. Before graduating with high honors in TV Writing and Public Relations from Boston University, Naomi made sure to collect her fair share of awkward childhood anecdotes in the suburbs of New York, where she was raised in an interracial, interabled, and interfaith family. Of course, this incredibly uninteresting, conventional upbringing definitely did not contribute to her early passion for diversity and representation in media, nor did it inspire her quirky sense of humor in any way.
Paloma Lamb is a Latine writer, artist, and former goth. She has made the ascent from Writers' PA to Writers' Assistant, most notably on Taika Waititi’s OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH, Andy Greenwald’s BRIARPATCH and Marvel’s ECHO. Her work has received recognition from various competitions, such as the WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab, the ScreenCraft Comedy Competition, and the Roadmap Writers JumpStart Writing Competition, and is in the Top 3% of discoverable projects on Coverfly. She recently graduated from NHMC’s 2023 Series Scriptwriters Program, where she workshopped her latest pilot, CHOP SHOP, a modern-day grave-robbers story based on her own family’s funeral home. Growing up in an interracial household while navigating cancer and consequently addiction (don’t worry, she’s sober now!), Paloma writes stories for people on the fringes. When she’s not writing at her local library, she’s usually complaining to her mom, walking her angel of a dog Honey, or lurking the aisles of the closest Goodwill.
Rance Ward is an African American drama writer from Rancho Cucamonga, California. Rance was recently the Showrunner’s Assistant and Script Coordinator on STAR TREK PRODIGY for Nickelodeon, which can now be found on Netflix. Before this, he worked as an Executive Assistant to both Will Packer at Will Packer Productions as well as to Tommy and Codie Elaine Oliver at Confluential Films. At Confluential Films, he also served as the Production Coordinator for Season 3 of BLACK LOVE for OWN. Rance received his MFA from the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC and graduated from Howard University with an Honors BA in Film with a minor in Playwriting, where he also won the Exemplary Award in Film Production. Rance is an alumnus of the 2019 Academy Gold Program, where he interned at Warner Bros. and served as the assistant to Creative Executives Galen Vaisman and Dan Tausanovitch. Rance is drawn to stories that showcase the sides of the human experience that people like to keep hidden in hopes of revealing universal truths that bond us. He seeks to expand and deepen the representation of the black diaspora in television and film using compassion, empathy, but most importantly, authenticity.
Shaped by a nomadic childhood that saw her relocating to nearly 30 cities across the United States, Sarah Beth Ballard's love for storytelling comes from her exposure to many different cultures and ways of life. During her college years, Sarah was a Production Assistant and Casting Assistant on Hallmark Media films like CHRISTMAS MADE TO ORDER and ENCHANTING CHRISTMAS. She recently adapted the book 'The James Miracle' for New York Times best-selling author Jason Wright and pitched original projects to Fox and Paramount. Beyond her dedication to TV and film writing, Sarah's affinity for music has been a constant. She is currently a top 10 finalist in the 2024 CMT and Bluebird Cafe Songwriting Competition with her song 'Something Blue,' eagerly anticipating final judging. Sarah dedicates her free time to honing her craft through courses in the UCLA Extension Film Program. As a proud Disney enthusiast, her hobbies include taking long walks through Avengers Campus and enthusiastically sharing her steadily growing pin collection.