Episode 8: Jeane Phan Wong

Home Town: San Gabriel, CA, home of the best Asian food in SoCal in my opinion 

Current Town: Los Angeles, CA 

What are you working on now?: I’m staffed on a streaming cable one hour historical drama. I’m also doing a fantastic job on procrastinating in terms of developing new ideas to sell and also addressing notes on a holiday rom com I wrote during the pandemic. I hope my reps don’t read this. 

Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person: I grew up “working” at my parents’ bakery. I subsisted on an inventory of baked goods, comic books, and every book I could possibly order from the Scholastic newsletter. It was my time being the world’s worst worker at the bakery that I fell in love with storytelling and then I started writing down my own stories, whether it was a bakery box or store napkin. This is where I fell in love with writing. Soon the lighter storytelling from Sailor Moon to comic books became darker from true crime and genre stories. 

If you could change one thing about television, what would it be?: I have two things. First, as a BIPOC writer, I’d love to see the numbers better reflect the world we live in not just for BIPOCS, but also queer, more mature writers, and all underrepresented groups. I don’t have all the solutions but I suspect it’s a multiprong approach from bias training to elimination of “diversity hires” as interchangeable and a ton of other things that need to happen. I’d also like to get rid of free work and takes. As someone who was fortunate to sell a few TV projects before staffing, it was nerve wracking until each time I landed a sale. Working for free for months on end on a take or pitch and then not being sure if you’ll land with a buyer to get compensated for your time isn’t right. Writers should get paid for their written work and time, period. 

Who are or were your television heroes?: Rob Thomas who created VERONICA MARS and the fictional Veronica Mars, of course. Jason Katims for FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and the power of emotional television. I also love Daniel and Amy Sherman Palladino for GILMORE GIRLS and how dialogue on that show informed me as a writer. If I were religious, the holy trinity of shows for me and who I am as a writer would be VERONICA MARS, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, and GILMORE GIRLS. 

What kind of television excites you?: I love seeing genre-breaking shows like WANDAVISION or KEVIN CAN GO F**K HIMSELF, though I know the latter has mixed reviews. I love shows where characters come from a severely flawed place like THE SOPRANOS, FLEABAG, ENLIGHTENED, or NURSE JACKIE. I also love high concept TV where when I look at it, I wish I had thought of that idea myself like THE GOOD PLACE. I also can’t resist a good love triangle and an OTP romance. 

What advice do you have for TV writers just starting out?: Lateral networking is super important. People at your level are integral resources but emotionally also great for someone starting out to have those relationships to navigate the highs and lows of this business. Networking with someone above you is great too, but I think it’s beneficial to think of your peers in a “rising tides” situation versus competition. My other advice is hone in on your craft. That could be getting in a room as support staff and getting a graduate school level education that way or it could be having a non-draining day job that allows you to write in your own time. Find the lane you’re happy in and don’t look back. Write and have multiple samples. Lastly, find joy. I’ve recently had to learn this. I feel like I’ve been in a HUSTLE WORKAHOLIC mode these last few years, whether it was trying to get a project I sold further down the line or staffing, I sometimes need to remember it’s okay to take a significant amount of time off to replenish the well. Also for those who have worked in the preMeToo era, I come from a background where some work experiences have not been great. I’ve had to learn to let go of previous expectations in new settings and not be as wary that the shoe will drop in a new setting if that makes sense. I had to realize trauma won’t repeat itself. This took a lot of self-work on my part. Once I realized that, I could enjoy something and be one percent less neurotic. With that said, I know I sound like a saying on a millennial t-shirt but I’m constantly learning to find joy in the present. For instance, after the morning session in the room I’m currently in, I usually spend half my lunch break on a walk, listening to a random podcast that has nothing related to the show I’m on. Then I’ll have a quick lunch and maybe review or brainstorm a bit before being back in the room after lunch. But I always build in time in my day to connect with my present surroundings. A writer way more brilliant than I mentioned to me years ago, at a certain point you have the craft and networking down and if you haven’t gotten your break, then it’s mentally not psyching yourself out. It’s whatever the version of “twisties” are in gymnastics for writers, maybe it’s “blockies,” because it’s more than a writer’s block, it’s a mental block that can detract you. In whole, the industry is a mental game and maintaining a sense of sanity (or semblance of one because what writer is sane) is crucial to staying in the game long-term. It’s a marathon, not a race. Another wonderful t-shirt sentiment. 

Any Plugs?: I’m dying to write an Asian princess movie. Gonna put out there. As for something right now I’m working on, nothing I can say yet but I’m @jeanedevivre on all the socials and I can say more there when it’s appropriate. 

A child of Vietnam War immigrants, Jeane is Vietnamese-Chinese. She was raised Buddhist and developed a sweet tooth as a child while manning the register at her parents’ bakery. She grew up on a steady diet of Asian folklore, Sailor Moon, and weekly comic books in the San Gabriel Valley. After college, she interned for her local congressman, focusing on public healthcare and did a stint working at an oncology lab. She used to be trained first responder, as well. But this work convinced her to live by her favorite Han Solo line "Never tell me the odds" and dive into her real passion: Hollywood. Jeane has sold several TV shows. Currently, Jeane is a staff writer on an unannounced historical drama. In her spare time, Jeane is a recovering fashion/beauty junkie and perfecting her old-fashioned recipe. She can easily be bribed with carbs or Kpop concert tickets.