Where are you from and what inspired you to become a television writer?

I’m from Oak Park, CA. Writing for TV never really occurred to me until a couple years ago, when I got a taste of the writers’ room. What appeals to me the most is the promise that no matter what, you are going to make one 60-minute movie each week. Episodes don’t go into turn-around, they don’t lose stars or directors, get shelved and sit for years. You write an episode, it’s going to come out in one form or another. I also find the collaborative process to be challenging and exciting. Everyone wants to make the best episode possible, and they’re all taking their own roads to get there. The challenge is to find the best road and hitch a ride with that guy.

What Spec did you write to get into the workshop?

I wrote Justified with my writing partner, Mike Sopczynski.

Who is your all time favorite television character and why?

Just one? Wow. I feel compelled not to pick the more obvious choices for this, so I’m going to have to go with William “Bunk” Moreland from The Wire. I know what you’re thinking: “Not Omar? What about Stringer? Lester’s the man!” The truth is, everyone on that show is incredible, but there was something about Bunk that stood out to me, despite being a supporting character for the most part. A smart detective, and a good friend (despite having a funny way of showing it), I just enjoyed every single scene with him. Like Omar, he was a man with a code, and while everyone around him was riding the swells of the drama, trying to climb political ladders and take down major drug rings, there’s Bunk — the rock — steady, solid, catching murderers. Good police.