Television Writing and Producing
Program Overview
Humber’s Television Writing and Producing graduate certificate program prepares you to work in the writers’ rooms of major television programs and in television production offices as a creative producer.
You will learn how to write, as well as create and produce all genres of television shows from half-hour situation comedies, animation, childrens’ programming, one-hour episodic, reality and lifestyle to late night comedies, short films and screenplays. You will work under the direction of award-winning writers and producers and meet many successful directors, producers, agents, and development and network executives from the industry to learn the creative business of television and film. Learn and meet well-known guests and celebrities from the world of television and film to help you create, write, develop, pitch and sell your ideas that may one day lead to successful employment in writers’ rooms and with television networks and production companies.
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
Outline the requirements for various scripts including Movies of the Week, Variety Television, Children’s Programming and Dramatic Series.
Create “spec” scripts of types including Movies of the Week, Variety Television, Children’s Programming and Dramatic Series.
Calculate profit and sales figures for given productions.
Summarize trends in television sales, production and markets.
Prepare strategies for pitching and packaging new products.
Provide a critical summary of all the technical requirements associated with television production and give examples of the problems and challenges encountered in production areas such as sound, lighting, space, sets, animation needs, camera operation, make up, costume design and music.
Perform the duties of a director or a director’s assistant.
Demonstrate the skills of a story analyst, reader production assistant and writer’s assistant.
Demonstrate the responsibilities and functions of a theatrical agent.
Outline the entrepreneurial skills needed by script writers.
Network with well-known television writers and producers.
Exhibit team building and communication skills and profit from exercises that encourage self-understanding, peer respect and professional behaviours.
The Humber Advantage
Unlike students from other programs, Television Writing and Producing graduates enter the industry armed with their own spec or original script(s) in the any of the following genres: situation comedy, children's half-hour, animation, one-hour episodic, short film, screenplay, reality, and late night comedy. These scripts are invaluable writing samples that open doors for many grads.
Aaron Bala, a 2013 Television Writing and Producing graduate, is a screenwriter and network executive with TVOkids where he brings shows to life and develops new content for local markets.
Expert Faculty
Anne Fenn
Anne Fenn is an experienced TV writer and former development executive with over 25 years' experience writing for film, TV, radio, print and stage. Anne loves to teach and has been teaching Sitcom Writing in the Comedy program since 2010 and also teaches in the TV Writing & Producing post-graduate program. She has been nominated for numerous awards for her writing, some of which she won! Anne recently earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction (King’s/Dalhousie), holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, and is a graduate of Norman Jewison's Canadian Film Centre. For more information about Anne, please go to annefenn.com.
Rob Salem
Rob Salem was an entertainment columnist and editor at the Toronto Star for almost 40 years. He has also been an actor, author, TV and radio host and pop-culture pundit.
Raymond Storey
Raymond Storey is an award-winning television writer and producer whose series credits include: Bomb Girls (Shaw/Reelz), King (Shaw/Reelz), The Guard (Global/ION), Train 48 (Global), Made In Canada (CBC), Wind At My Back (CBC), Traders (Global), Deepwater Black (Sci-Fi Channel/YTV), and Road to Avonlea (CBC/Disney). Television movies and mini-series include Iron Road (CBC), Open Heart (CBC), Happy Christmas, Miss King (CBC), Sleeping Dogs Lie (CBC), Einstein: Light to the Power of Two (HBO), Da Vinci: Dream of Flight (HBO), Marie Curie: More Than Meets the Eye (HBO), Bach’s Fight (HBO), and Butterbox Babies (CBC, BBC, A&E). His producing credits include creator/executive producer, The Guard; creative producer, King; co-executive producer, Bomb Girls; creative consultant, Train 48; and supervising producer, Wind At My Back.
Ray was a multiple Gemini Award-nominee for Best Writing in a Television Movie or Mini-Series and won Best Writing in a Children or Youth Program in 1998. Most recently, Ray was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award as a writer-producer on Searching for Vimy’s Lost Soldiers.
With a background in theatre, Ray’s stageplays include The Last Bus, Saints and Apostles, The Glorious 12th, and South of China, as well as his musical collaborations with John Roby: Country Chorale, Girls in the Gang, The Dreamland, and the young audience musical Lulie the Iceberg, based on the children’s book by Japan’s Imperial Princess Takamodo. Ray is a three-time Dora Award winner, a three-time Sterling Award winner, a Governor General’s Award finalist, and Chalmer’s Award finalist, amongst others.
Your Career
In 2021, three graduates garnered Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards nominations for their work on Schitt’s Creek, Lockdown, and Ollie’s Pack. Some of the graduates of this program are presently working as writers and producers at major television networks and major independent production companies. Some are working on popular television shows on CTV, CBC, NBC and Netflix such as Big Brother, Bitten and New Girl. There are also graduates currently running top animation TV series and working as literary agents at major agencies in Toronto.
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Television Writing and Producing
Watch the video to see how this program prepares you to work as a television writer and producer, and to work in the production offices and on sets of current major television shows.
Humber Students Benefit from Five Centres of Innovation (COIs)
The Humber Centres of Innovation Network demonstrates our strong commitment to providing an experiential learning environment for students. Students and faculty work with industry partners on real-world challenges to prepare them to become the innovative and strategic problem-solvers of tomorrow. Come to Humber and experience interdisciplinary learning across five COIs.
About the COIsNews Feed
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Fri, October 15, 2021
In June 2020, I committed the FMCA to seven action items to address the attitudes, behaviours and structures that act as barriers for students from Indigenous and equity-deserving communities.
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