21CF Global Inclusion today announced that writer Tesia Walker has been selected as this year’s Fox Writers Lab Fellow. Chosen from the seventh annual group of FWL writers, Walker has received a script development deal with Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX).

The Fox Writers Lab (FWL) is an immersive program that includes a four-month curriculum, during which the writers re-wrote an original comedy or drama pilot script and attended guest-speaker sessions with experienced writers, showrunners and producers, including producer/writer Danny Strong (EMPIRE, PROVEN INNOCENT) and showrunners Matt Nix (THE GIFTED) and Raven Metzner (“Marvel’s Iron Fist”). They received professional coaching and were mentored by executives at Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox 21, FX and 20^th Century Fox Television. FWL culminated in a “pitchfest,” in which writers pitched their original ideas to network and studio executives. All writers were considered for staff writer positions across new or returning FOX television series.

A native New Yorker, Walker is a graduate of the Columbia University Film M.F.A. program, where she won Best Teleplay Pilot for her drama script, “The Border,” and received the Jesse Thompkins III Writing Fellowship. Her short film, “Search Party,” was awarded an HBO Production Grant, and also was a semi-finalist in NBC Universal’s 2016 Shorts Fest. Her pilot, “The Line,” was a recipient of the 2017 Showtime Tony Cox Screenplay Competition for Best One-Hour Teleplay.

In addition to Walker, the 2018 FWL class included Anthony Florez, Felicia Hilario, Milton Liu, Jenny Deiker Restivo, Aiah Samba, Elizabeth Stamp and Jai Tiggett. To date, for the 2018-2019 season, Hilario, Deiker Restivo and Walker have been staffed on the FOX shows LETHAL WEAPON, THE RESIDENT and PROVEN INNOCENT, respectively. Tiggett has been staffed on Bell Media/Sony Pictures Television’s “LA’s Finest.”

“We’re thrilled for Tesia and we’re so proud of all the writers in this year’s class. Over the course of the program, we’ve witnessed their professional and artistic growth and we’re confident that their backgrounds, perspectives and unique voices will strengthen our pipeline of original storytellers,” said MyKhanh Shelton, Senior Vice President, 21CF Global Inclusion. 

“Fox Writers Lab continues to yield an incredible amount of talent,” said Michael Thorn, President, Entertainment, FOX. “We want to both congratulate Tesia on being named this year’s Fellow, and express our heartfelt thanks to all of this year’s participants for their tremendous work throughout FWL’s rigorous process. It’s an absolute honor to witness the growth these writers experience in such a short period of time.”

21CF Global Inclusion nurtures diverse voices and stories, both in front of and behind the camera, through a variety of partnerships, initiatives and programs, including the Fox Writers Lab, Fox Directors Lab, Fox Filmmakers Lab and the Fox DP Lab.

-FOX-