Meet Janette Danielson of Sherman Oaks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janette Danielson.

Hi Janette, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area absolutely loving movies. Every weekend I had my rotation—Airplane, My Cousin Vinny, The Sound of Music, and later School of Rock, just to name a few. My childhood home was down the street from a local movie theater, and it became a family tradition to walk there at least once a week to see whatever was playing. As I got older, that ritual turned into after-school trips with friends, solidifying film as the center of my world.

By high school, I was spending my summers at film camps. One camp in particular needed more screenwriters, so I volunteered—and that’s what kicked everything off. I practiced by adapting my favorite books into screenplays, anything to get used to the formatting. That passion eventually led me to study Screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University.

After graduation, I was living in North Hollywood with friends when my roommate Giovana, an actress, decided she wanted to write her own script. She pulled me in first as a helper, then a co-writer, and eventually as her official partner. That collaboration became Fred&Dan Productions. Armed with the kind of confidence only 22-year-olds can possess (and our first adult paychecks), we produced our first short film, a proof of concept for our feature script By These Streets.

A certain number of years later (a lady never reveals her age… especially when she still feels like that 22-year-old from 10 years ago), Fred&Dan has expanded to produce web series, live comedy shows, social media content, and original features. Our work has won awards at SeriesFest and the Austin Film Festival, and our scripts have placed in major competitions like the Final Draft Big Break and the PAGE Awards.

Today, alongside running Fred&Dan with Giovana, I work full-time as an Accounting Clerk for the daytime court TV show Hot Bench and write a pop-culture/brain-rot newsletter called Sure, Jan. Writing will always be my first love, but I’ve also added “director” and “producer” to my list of pretentious, annoying titles.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Working in the entertainment industry is never a smooth road. Even though I grew up in California, I had no ties to film when I moved to Los Angeles at 18. Getting where I am now has involved a lot of random jobs, ten different apartments, a couple of years back home, and learning how to stay steady through COVID and, almost immediately after, a historic writers’ strike.

The past few years have been tough on everyone in the industry. With the streaming bubble popping, the rise of AI, and productions moving to cheaper states and countries, it can feel like the ground is constantly shifting. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that resilience is non-negotiable.

At my core, I’m still an optimist. I believe hard work and quality will always rise to the top as long as you keep putting it out there. I’ll forever champion my work and the work of my friends, because I see us as the future of entertainment. Yes, there’s an old guard to get past, but we’re armed with innovative ideas and a real belief that the industry can evolve into something that works for everyone, not a select few.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a writer through and through. I love to laugh and love making other people laugh, so I naturally gravitated toward comedy. Even in college, everything I wrote leaned satirical or absurdist. That’s one of our mission statements with Fred&Dan: we create absurdist comedies that subvert traditional narratives and make people think. I love comedy that’s silly for the sake of being silly, I love a joke the audience feels in on, I love snark and dry humor—and I especially love poking fun at our current social structures through comedy.

One project I’m incredibly proud of is Mean Streak, a satirical action comedy about two girls who become assassins to pay off their student loans. When we wrote it back in 2018, I worried it would become irrelevant once loan forgiveness became law. Cut to now… and, ironically, it’s only become more relevant as we continue drowning in student debt. Mean Streak has placed in major competitions like the Final Draft Big Break Awards, the PAGE Awards, and the Atlanta Film Festival, which has been so validating.

I’m also really proud of the webseries I produced and directed, Jennifer & Chicken. That project gave me so much confidence as a director and was truly some of the most fun I’ve ever had on set. We were a scrappy, ragtag group with a dream, and the show went on to win Best Comedy Series at the Austin Comedy Festival and Best Performance at SeriesFest. To this day, I’ll rewatch it just for the joy—it still makes me laugh out loud.

What sets me apart is my determination and my ability to wear a lot of hats in this industry. While writing, directing, and producing are my creative loves, working in finance and accounting on Hot Bench has given me a whole other skillset that directly helps my own projects. I like to say I’m equal parts left brain and right brain: wildly creative, but also the kind of person who enjoys a good spreadsheet. And, if you ask my mom, I’m also really funny, cool, and a lot of fun to work with.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned, in both film and life, is that this is a marathon, not a sprint. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started taking stock of my time and what I value. I don’t say yes to every project or job offer anymore. I know I’m lucky to even have the option of saying no in a time when so many people are out of work, but I’ve realized that work-life balance matters to me just as much as “making it.”

I love this industry and plan to be part of it in some capacity for the rest of my career, but I also love spending time with my fiancé and my dog, visiting friends in other states, and going home to see my family in Northern California and San Diego. Maybe it’s just getting older, but making time for myself has become just as important as any career milestone. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup – you can’t make great creative work or create a positive set environment if you’re burnt out.

Another key lesson: balance doesn’t mean you won’t “make it.” For me, success now also means building meaningful connections that last beyond a single coffee meeting and creating a career in entertainment that feels sustainable.

Contact Info:

• Website: fredanddan.com
• Instagram: @neddie94, @fredanddanmakeamovie
• Other: https://substack.com/@janettedanielson

Image Credits
– Heather Cox

– Max Kirkham

– Janette Danielson