Television – On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Rosanne Presents on Shaping Global Cultures Through Screenwriting – Stephens College [Video]

Recently, I was asked to make a short presentation to the faculty of Stephens College about the newest book I edited alongside my dear friend and Screenwriting Research colleague Rose Ferrell. Shaping Global Cultures Through Screenwriting: Women Who Write Our Worlds.

I was happy to discuss the inspiration for the book, which came from a conversation Rose and I had during a conference. That’s one of the best things about gathering for conferences – the casual conversations that create new collaborations.

I was also happy to discuss the way we arranged the book in “Worlds” because continents are the easiest classification. I give a quick thumbnail of one chapter in each of those Worlds to highlight what type of social or legal advocacy the screenwriter in discussion addressed. It was lovely to be reminded of all the interesting stories told by the writers of each chapter and to appreciate the cultural diversity of storytelling around the world that Intellect made possible by publishing the book.

Chapters cover a spectrum of storytelling from artists offering a window into how women around the world use the screen to advocate for social or legal change. For example, the Samoan performance artist Angela Tiatia, known for her 2014 work, ‘Walking the Wall.” Tiatia displays her Malu Tatau tattoo, which symbolizes the preservation and documentation of cultural practice and identity in online spaces.

One chapter focuses on a junior Pacific Islander lawyer who created a music video calling on the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on climate change, a matter of concern as rising sea levels threaten the homes and histories of island communities. Other readings in the book examine the film “Kajillionaire” by Miranda July as a platform for imagining queer utopias, the transformative power of the female gaze in the Italian documentary “Trial for Rape,” and the frequently ignored creative roles and contributions that women make behind the scenes of the beloved children’s television show “Bluey.”

It was a pleasure to make this presentation for my colleagues. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Rosanne Interviewed on “TV We Love” on the CW

This season the CW has been airing a new documentary style series called TV We Love which has covers a popular TV show from each decade from I Love Lucy for the 1960s to Happy Days for the 1970s and Dynasty for the 1980s. The last of 8 episodes covered Touched by an Angel (where I served as a Writer-Producer for 6 years). I show up a few times in the hour, discussing writing for the show and why we think it still resonates.

It felt odd to be on the other side of the camera, considering I had researched, written, and filmed a documentary in 1998 with my friend Dan Forer for ABC NEWS/Nightline called “Boys to Men: Bill Clinton and the Boys Nation Class of 1963,” so being the one answering questions was interesting. It helped me think deeply about my responses – trying to make sure they were in full sentences, that they used emotional verbs, that they were stories unique to me, so no other interviewee could be used for that point. And, of course, I tried not to fill empty spaces with “um” or “like”. A very fascinating experience – and then seeing the final product it was fun to put on my producer hat and recognize what director Megan Harding chose both of the quotes and of the B-roll.

She interviewed me for a couple of hours and distilled that into several appearances. My favorite part was being able to tell the story of how star Roma Downey let my 2-year-old son Joseph join her 4-year-old daughter (and her nanny) to play in her trailer for a while since the kids were both so bored on set. Heck, I was often bored on set, but I was at work, I couldn’t run off to a trailer with coloring books and have goldfish crackers for a snack. But he could – and thanks to Roma’s generosity, we have that memory.

What I’m most proud of is the chance to say things that reflect on my professional goals of creating more female-focused stories about women who make a difference in people’s lives. I used to say the show was Cagney and Lacey without guns, and I was proud of that. For the interview, I kept my focus on how amazing it was to be able to write for two powerful female characters portrayed by two high-quality actresses (heck, Della Reese was already a legend). I’m happy they used this quote: “It was getting to write for female characters who had something important to say. That was a dream job.” That broadens my mission with the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting. Near the end, they used a quote that I hope defines the themes of most all the episodes I’ve written for this show and others: “All of us need to believe in ourselves and in our community and to understand that all of us have the ability to make change.”

If you don’t have the CW you can see this episode (and any of the others that interest you) on their website at TV We Love.

When Women Write What They Say, They Say So Much More: Powerful Actress-writer-producers Past, Present & Future with Dr. Rosanne Welch, SRN 2025, Adelaide, Australia [Video]

In another example of my love for a good, long, alliterative title, I name this year’s Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) presentation:

“When Women Write What They Say, They Say So Much More: Powerful Actress-writer-producers Past, Present & Future”.

It covers writers like Emma Thompson, who adapted Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, in which she starred as Eleanor, and Gertrude Berg, creator, writer, and star of The Goldbergs, and then everyone from Tina Fey to Issa Rae, to Mindy Kaling to Lena Waithe. This presentation discusses the way women writing their own characters, dialogue, and worlds into existence impacts the audience, the industry, and the way women are seen in society.

WGA Panel on “Writing Bold and Complex Young Women” Now Streaming [Video]

WGA Panel on Writing Bold and Complex Young Women Now Streaming

One of the fun-nest things I get to do during each MFA Workshop is moderate a panel of working writers at the Writers Guild of America, which is recorded and presented on the WGA Foundation YouTube channel.

Now available to stream is our latest panel, “Unapologetically Herself: Writing Bold and Complex Young Women”. I always try to include one of our MFA alums who have gained spots on TV shows so this one has Alexandra Fernandez who has been on the writing staff of Station 19. Other panelists for this event were Karen Joseph Adcock (Yellowjackets), Beth Appel (The Sex Lives of College Girls), and Stephens alum!!, and Autumn Joy Jimerson (Forever).

Several past WGA panels have included such screenwriters as Marta Kauffman (Creator and Executive Producer of Grace and Frankie), Lucia Aniello (Co-Creator, Executive Producer, and Director of Hacks), Meg DeLoatch (Executive Producer of The Neighborhood and Family Reunion),Joan Rater (A Small Light); and Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding – and sequels). You can check those out here on our Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting website.

“Unapologetically Herself: Writing Bold and Complex Young Women” Panel at the Writers Guild Foundation – Friday, August 8, 2025, 7pm

Unapologetically Herself: Writing Bold and Complex Young Women

During every MFA Residency Workshop I moderate a panel of writers – often proudly including one of our MFA alums – and this August we’re doing it again. Join us on Friday, August 8, 2025 from 7:00 PM 8:30 PM at the Writers Guild Foundation (7000 West 3rd Street Los Angeles, CA, 90048) for:

Unapologetically Herself: Writing Bold and Complex Young Women

We’ll explore how writers develop these strong characters, how to approach sensitive scenes intentionally, and how they navigate nuances of character personalities, behaviors, and motivations.

Panelists include:

Karen Joseph Adcock – Yellowjackets
Beth Appel – The Sex Lives of College Girls
Sahar Jahani – Life and Beth (MFA alum!)
Autumn Joy Jimerson – Forever
Dr. Rosanne Welch – Moderator/Executive Director, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Get tickts for this WGA Panel Discussion

And if you’d like to see some of our previous WGA panels you can find them on our MFA Website

Rosanne Talks “Why The Monkees Matter” on “Johnny D’s Rock n Roll PhD” Podcast [Video]

Watch the entire video – Johnny D’s Rock n Roll PhD – Author Rosanne Welch “Why The Monkees Matter”

Get the book, Why The Monkees Matter , from Amazon, Bookshop.org, or McFarland

I had a great conversation about Why The Monkees Matter with the two hosts of “Johnny D’s Rock n Roll PhD”. Often, I speak with people who know the music more than the show – or the show more than the music. Here, both hosts had strong knowledge about both, and then we found out he shared the same top 1 songs as our favs.

Watch the video to learn about the many things the TV show taught us about friendship, going against authority and the patriarchy, and living a life full of passion for art above all things commerce – with lots of hidden nods toward the counter culture of the day (like rescuing a giant marijuana plant from misuse by supervillains who would corrupt its powerful fumes for evil). Yeah, they did a whole show about that!

A complete transcript is available here or on the YouTube Page

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Friend and editor Anna Weinstein’s book on Shonda Rhimes make Bloomsbury’s Essential New Books list for film students

Congratulations to my friend and editor Anna Weinstein!

The first book in her “Screen Storytellers” series, which is on The Works of Shonda Rhimes is on Bloomsbury’s Essential New Books list for film students.

I’m proud to have a chapter in the book discussing the idea that while most people think Rhimes is ‘only’ a feminist, her writings have always expressed an even wider humanist philosophy.

I can only hope that my upcoming The Works of Susan Harris will make the same list. Look for it in late 2026.

Rosanne Interviewed About the History of Teen Idols on Cosmoetica #438: On Teen Idols [Video]

Rosanne Interviewed About the History of Teen Idols on Cosmoetica

I enjoyed discussing the phenomenon and possible importance of Teen Idols across the generations with Dan Schneider for his Cosmoetica YouTube channel. Of course, he found me thanks to my book on The Monkees ( whose subtitle is “Teenagers, Television, and American Pop Culture”) and I was happy to report on the research I had done for the book about the rise of the term “teen ager” (post WWII when high school became mandatory), those who came before the Monkees (from Sinatra to James Dean to Bobby Sherman), and those who’ve come after (from the Jackson Five to Leonardo DiCaprio to Miley Cyrus).

I shared the panel with Fred Velez who has written about Monkees fandom and together we all delved into what participating in such fandom offers the audience, how streaming and the internet have changed such fandom, and who will be the most remembered teen idols of the century.

Enjoy the watch and listen

Puchase for Kindle

Save 35% on McFarland Books – One of My Publishers is offering a 35% Discount on Their Catalog This Week!

Save 35% on McFarland Books – One of My Publishers is offering a 35% Discount on Their Catalog This Week!

Along with your other holiday shopping over this Thanksgiving weekend, I’m happy to pass along this lovely discount from McFarland Publishing, the fine folks who published two of my favorite books:

Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

AND

When Women Wrote Hollywood: Essays on Female Screenwriters in the Early Film Industry

Direct from the McFarland site, From now through December 2, they are offering a full 35% off ALL of their titles with coupon code HOLIDAY24 at checkout.

See the entire McFarland Catalog

You can buy one of my books — or any other cool pop culture book you find — for yourself or anyone else on your gift list this year.

Happy Holidays!

My new book chapter in The Works of Shonda Rhimes from Bloomsbury [Book]

Order from Bloomsbury | Amazon | Bookshop.org

I’m very proud to have a chapter in this new inaugural book in the Screen Storytellers collection covering The Works of Shonda Rhimes. Edited by Anna Weinstein, an Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at Kennesaw State University, the series is designed to do one of my favorite things – bust the outdated ‘auteur’ theory by bringing attention to the writers of the stories we have loved and watched – and rewatched – all our lives.

For this collection, my chapter focuses on how Rhimes’ shows come from the Humanism ideology even moreso than simply a feminist one, though that is what many people think. But Rhimes’ hired Dan Shapiro, chair of the College of Medicine’s humanities department at Penn State Hershey, as a consultant for her first two medical dramas Grey’s Anatomy (2005–) and Private Practice (2007–13). In this way, Rhimes was able to bring the real-world philosophy of medicine to her fictional hospitals, presenting authentic depictions of humanism to her audiences. One of the things I love about research is learning new things about people/shows/events I thought I already knew well.

The other exciting thing about this inaugural book arriving is that I have signed on to edit a similar book on The Works of Susan Harris so this book is my example of what that future project will feel like when it arrives in the mail!