On April 16, get an exclusive look Inside the Writers Room with Ghosts, an iteration of our ongoing event series where we gather the writers room of a TV series to learn how their room runs, from how they plan each season and break story to their individual experiences cracking episodes. Learn how the writers approach character development, how they pitch jokes in the room, and their process for crafting funny storylines for their fourth season.
Panelists include:
Joe Port & Joe Wiseman - Co-Showrunners / Executive Producers
Talia Bernstein - Co-Executive Producer
Akilah Green - Co-Executive Producer
Sophia Lear - Co-Executive Producer
Josh Malmuth - Co-Executive Producer
Moderated by Michael Schneider (TV Editor, Variety).
Doors open at 6:30PM. Event begins at 7PM.
Take advantage of early bird ticket pricing through Monday, March 31st! Prices will increase to $20 for GA and $10 for WGA/students/military on Tuesday, April 1.
Questions? Email us at events@wgfoundation.org.
About the Panelists
Joe Port has been writing and producing television for over twenty years alongside his writing partner Joe Wiseman. Port has produced many original television pilots and worked on notable series such as “The Office,” “New Girl,” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” Most recently he and Wiseman adapted the CBS comedy GHOSTS, which is in its fourth season and delivers nearly 11 million multiplatform viewers with streaming alone up 9% year over year. Additionally, they're developing another supernatural comedy, this one about vampires and titled Eternally Yours, for CBS.
Port, a native of Altoona, Pa., is a 1997 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a political cartoonist and drew a pretty good Ross Perot. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, and two sons.
Denver native Joe Wiseman has been writing for television with his writing partner, Joe Port, for over twenty years. Among the many notable series they have written for are “The Office,” “New Girl,” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” Most recently he and Port adapted the CBS comedy GHOSTS, which is in its fourth season and delivers nearly 11 million multiplatform viewers with streaming alone up 9% year over year. Additionally, they're developing another supernatural comedy, this one about vampires and titled Eternally Yours, for CBS.
Aside from his family, Wiseman considers his greatest achievement as having been a former Twin Galaxies-recognized world record holder in “Tecmo Super Bowl” on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Though the college he graduated from, The College of Santa Fe, went out of business a few years ago, Wiseman is pretty sure he’s still technically a college graduate.
Talia Bernstein is a writer currently working as a Co-Executive Producer on the hit CBS series GHOSTS. Talia has written for shows such as FRESH OFF THE BOAT (ABC), 9JKL (CBS), MERRY HAPPY WHATEVER (Netflix), and FAM (CBS). She also wrote and starred in the short film LOSER BABY, Dakota Johnson’s directorial debut, which premiered at TIFF in 2024.
Originally from Miami, Florida, Talia attended Wesleyan University, where she played softball and earned the title of 14th hardest to strike out in the nation; a statistic, she believes, more people should care about. She lives in Los Angeles with her wife and puppy, Marla Pooch—what a hitter!
Before moving to Los Angeles to become an Emmy-losing comedy writer, Akilah Green spent several years working as a lawyer-lobbyist on Washington, D.C.’s infamous “K Street.” Since that time, Akilah has written for such shows as HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show, for which she was nominated for the aforementioned Emmy, Amazon's Yearly Departed, which earned her a Gracie Award and two WGA award nominations, Black Monday on Showtime, Issa Rae's Rap Sh!t on HBOMax, and Taika Waititi's Time Bandits on Apple TV. Akilah currently serves as a Co-Executive Producer on Ghosts on CBS.
Originally from Houston, Texas, Akilah is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and The University of Michigan Law School (two very big football schools, although she is not into football at all). She is, however, very into 90s sitcoms. Mad About You is her favorite.
Sophia Lear began her career in journalism as assistant literary editor at the New Republic, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television. She has written for such series as New Girl (Fox), Mo (Netflix), amongst others. Currently, she is a Co-Executive producer on Ghosts on CBS.
Originally from New Haven, Connecticut, Lear graduated from Yale University. She now lives in Mar Vista with her family and an insane cat.
Josh Malmuth has been a Co-Executive Producer on CBS's GHOSTS since the show's first season. Previously, he created and showran ABBY'S for NBC and was a Co-Executive producer on SUPERSTORE for four seasons. Josh started his career on FOX's NEW GIRL and was promoted to Producer throughout his five seasons on the show.
About the Moderator
Michael Schneider has been covering the business of television for nearly 30 years — most of that time at Variety, where he oversees television coverage as its executive editor, TV. Schneider has won several entertainment journalism awards and also regularly contributes to local outlets including Spectrum News 1 and KCRW. He was previously Executive Editor at IndieWire; the Chief Content Officer for TV Guide Magazine; and TV Editor at Daily Variety. Mike regularly moderates industry and TV show panels at events including Comic-Con, PaleyFest, HRTS, NATPE and others, and once won a staring contest with Jon Hamm on the Dolby Theatre stage.