Conversations with Heather Huntington and Danielle Evenson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Huntington and Danielle Evenson

Hi Heather and Danielle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We realized we were a great pair when we were placed in a mock writers’ room for one of our local producer friends, Bhavani Rao. One of us loves story and structure. The other loves character and voice. We both love a good cheese plate from Alcove.

We worked through multiple spec scripts and pilots, did the full water bottle meet-n-greet tour of LA TV and film execs, and ultimately landed projects in development at Fullscreen and Disney. We were so excited. Surely, only good things will happen now!

Then Covid happened.

The deals ended and nothing was made, BUT it forced us to dig deep and find the places that were telling stories — narrative podcasting! And, we ultimately worked with indie production studio Meet Cute and the women-led startup Aural Stories to create multiple series about love, romance, and most importantly about women you would normally not see on TV. (A story about a 65-year-old falling in love? Gasp!) We got a podcasting agent. Now we’ll take off!

Then the Writers’ Strike happened.

We rocked those picket lines with our friends and coworkers finding solace and solidarity in each other. We only used our pens to write fun picket signs and brought all our friends and family to the lines… including Heather’s Norma Ray-inspired seven-year-old.

Then the industry went through a “right-sizing.”

The great wave of jobs that we thought were coming back did not. Open writing assignments vanished, hundreds of people would compete for even fewer writers’ room jobs, and we saw a ton of colleagues laid off from the multiple studio mergers. While we’re developing TV and teaching at New York Film Academy, we also wrote interactive fiction and learned how to use AI tools — so our career could be as future-proofed as possible.

And that leads us to now.

We’re still working and creating with all our friends, but the media is evolving. We’re writing pilots about the women we want to be and want to see on TV. And, we have a new romcom, “The Proposal Spot,” that just hit Peacock.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been as smooth as our 40-something skin pre-Botox. Writing for TV has never been easy (see above: Covid, strike, “industry right-sizing,” and the guard at the Paramount gate who doesn’t like the cut of our jib). But, for us, writing itself is not a struggle.

We love it. There’s no end to the amount of stories we want to tell — mostly about all the wonderful artists and friends in our lives. Previously, we wrote a romcom about a pastry shop in our neighborhood (looking at you, Alcove) and a story about a local dating guru (looking at you, Amanda), and we’re currently working on a pilot about Heather’s experiences with the incredible Studio City school for twice-exceptional children (looking at you, Bridges Academy.)

Writing — specifically writing together — has saved us during the darkest of times, from relationship breakups to family tragedy to the time Heather thought it would be a good idea to put her kids and husband in a tin-can RV and drive around California, which is another form of family tragedy.

We both feel so lucky to have found it and each other.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Our brand is edgy feminist comedy. Films, TV, podcasts — the media can vary, but the tone and our interests are consistent. We write stories that deal with the challenge of being a woman — whether it’s today, in the 1600s, or with a very thick Boston accent. We’re funny, we’re fast, and we’re fantastic in a room — and when it’s one we’re running, we make sure the experience is as positive as it can be.

We’re incredibly proud of our work — and our working relationship with each other. It’s easy, and each of us thinks we are the lucky one in the bargain. We trust each other, buoy each other, and believe in each other’s talent.

So when Danielle thinks she has a dumb idea to start a podcast, Heather supports her. And that podcast leads to a robust career, multiple series, and a teaching position at New York Film Academy.

And when Heather can’t listen to her husband tell one more story about the Peace Corps, Danielle turns it into a sitcom that gets us into the Stockfish Film Festival in Iceland. Note: If you get a chance to go, do. To Iceland and Stockfish.

What makes you happy?
Ozempic.
When Heather orders an extra piece of cake at lunch and pretends she can’t eat it so she gives me the rest.
Three-picture deals.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @hrhuntington and @yaydanielle