Showrunner Sessions is our ongoing event series where we go one-on-one with a showrunner (or showrunning team) to find out, “What exactly does a showrunner do?” Find out what they look for in a writing staff, the lessons they’ve learned on the job, and their approaches to running the writers’ room.
For this session, we’ll hear from Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie, the showrunners behind the Prime Video original series, We Were Liars, which reached number one on the platform globally upon premiere. Hear about Julie and Carina’s impressive journey through the industry, how they run their writers’ room, and their advice for adapting books into a hit television series.
Doors open at 6:30PM PT. Panel starts at 7PM PT. All proceeds go towards producing future panels and events.
Take advantage of early bird ticket pricing through Monday, July 21st! Prices will increase to $20 for GA and $10 for WGA/students/military on Tuesday, July 22.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at events@wgfoundation.org.
About the Panelists
Photo Credit: Ricky Middlesworth
Julie Plec is a creator, showrunner, executive producer and director, most notably responsible for the complete VAMPIRE DIARIES Universe, which spanned 13 years and more than 300-episodes of television.
Under an overall deal at Universal Television, she and Emily Cummins, president of her production company, My So-Called Company, have a truly impressive list of projects in active development across multiple platforms including the recently launched WE WERE LIARS series at Amazon, based on the bestselling novel by E. Lockhart for which Julie serves as executive producer and writer. The amnesia thriller starring Emily Alyn Lind, Mamie Gummer, Caitlin FitzGerald and Candice King follows the Sinclair family, who spend their summers on a private island, and explores the themes of secrets, lies, and the consequences of one's actions. The show is currently #1 worldwide on Prime Video.
Recently, Julie co-created and executive produced THE GIRLS ON THE BUS for Max. The series, inspired by a chapter in Amy Chozick’s bestselling book Chasing Hillary, stars Melissa Benoist, Carla Gugino, Natasha Behnam, Christina Elmore and Scott Foley. Previously, she served as co-creator and co-showrunner of Peacock’s VAMPIRE ACADEMY, based on the popular book series. Along with directing multiple episodes of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, LEGACIES and ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO, Julie directed an episode of VAMPIRE ACADEMY and of The CW’s hit series RIVERDALE.
Julie got her start as a television writer and co-executive producer for the series KYLE XY which she produced for the show’s three-year run. Other television credits include DAWSON’S CREEK, on which she collaborated with creator/ executive producer Kevin Williamson, and THE TOMORROW PEOPLE, on which she collaborated with fellow executive producers Greg Berlanti and Phil Klemmer.
In the early part of her career, Plec worked with both Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson during the run of their hit SCREAM franchise. She also co-produced Berlanti’s directorial debut film, THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB.
Photo Credit: Farrah Aviva
Carina Adly MacKenzie began her career as a television critic and entertainment journalist (Los Angeles Times) before transitioning to writing and producing ("The Originals," "The Flash"). She is the co-creator of Amazon Prime Video's "We Were Liars" and The CW's "Roswell, New Mexico," and the author of the YA novel Eternal Night.