Dan Lin’s Rideback, MRC Announce Second TV Incubator Session

Will Thorne

Click here to read the full article.

Dan Lin’s Rideback production shingle and MRC are partnering once again for a second session of their Rideback TV incubator.

The TV writers residency program, which was launched in Feb. 2019, offers a paid, six-month residency to a group of five writers who have each previously been staffed on series and want to create their own drama series for cable and streaming. The writers are paired with experienced showrunners and/or executive producers who act as mentors.

More from Variety

The writer application period for the second session is open from Jan. 13-19, 2020, with the session itself running from April 1 through Sept. 30. Participants in the incubator will work out of Rideback Ranch, a creative campus in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown. The goal of the venture is to creatively and financially support TV writers from a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences, and for each participant to generate a market-ready, straight-to-series project.

Executive director Elsie Choi (pictured above) will continue to oversee the program and work in partnership with the Rideback TV group headed by Lindsey Liberatore, EVP of television for the company.

“The second year of the Rideback TV Incubator will again provide an inclusive mix of voices with the collaborative power of a writers room from day one. The creative process is greatly enhanced through this unique community of creators and producers all supporting one another,” said Lin, founder and CEO of Rideback.

Each creator is paid $200,000 for the six-month session, and each of their projects that moves forward will be produced by Rideback, with financing and other studio support by MRC. Creators whose projects successfully move to series will become executive producers and be awarded writing credits as determined by the WGA. The program’s inaugural, 2019 session is currently concluding, with series-ready projects to be taken out to market soon.

“We are committed to helping writers develop their creative vision, learn to sell their shows and understand what it means to be a creator in today’s competitive landscape,” added Choi.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.