Allie Theiss talks to TV writer-producer Daniel Thomsen

by Allie Theiss

Time now for the second part of our conversation with writer-producer Daniel Thomsen of TIME AFTER TIME, WESTWORLD, ONCE UPON a TIME, and other fine TV shows. Making it in Hollywood is hard in itself but isn’t the end of the road. You have to keep your career going too! Danny tells us how he’s handling the challenge:

What path do you recommend a budding TV writer take to get hired onto a show?

I’ve worked in a lot of writers rooms over the years, and if you’re going by the numbers, the vast majority of first-time staff writers get their gigs in one of two ways: They’re promoted from an assistant desk, or they come through a studio program. (Most of the studios have great programs that are designed to help writers from underrepresented backgrounds.) I always recommend that people try to go through one of those doors because that’s the path of least resistance. read article

by Allie Theiss

Writer Daniel Thomsen has been at the top of TVWriter™’s radar for a long time and has worked on some of this minion’s favorite shows (TIME AFTER TIME, WESTWORLD, ONCE UPON A TIME, among many others). I’m delighted to have had the chance to talk to him about his enviable career.

When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?

I grew up during the 1990s, in the rural rustbelt, before there was much attention given to writers in television. I was a passionate STAR TREK fan, but all that meant was I watched every new episode of TNG and DS9. It fed my storytelling imagination, but I didn’t pay attention to the names of the writers or anything like that. It just never occurred to me that I could write stories to make a living. That wasn’t my world. read article