#42 - Deutschland ‘83 & ‘86’s creator & writer Anna Winger on how to create a hit TV drama

The Role Models Podcast

Anna Winger is the creator and screenwriter of hit television dramas 'Deutschland 83’ and ‘Deutschland 86’.

For 15 years, Anna worked as a freelance photographer before switching to write her first novel, ‘This Must Be the Place’ as well as personal essays for The New York Times Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. She then went on to create and write the screenplay for the hugely successful Deutschland ‘83 and ‘86 trilogy series which broke international barriers with their widespread international popularity in Germany, the US, and all over the world.

In this episode Anna shares her experience of creating a hit television drama from scratch with lots of advice for budding screenwriters including:

• The different roles at play in the writer’s room and how it all works
• Tips for becoming a great screenwriter (including staying committed to an idea and having the tenacity to respond well to edits).
• The importance of surrounding yourself with people who know your voice and will help you push through when struggling.

Alongside these tips, Anna is also a passionate advocate for following opportunities wherever they might take you and not sticking to a set career path. This episode is full of welcoming and practical advice for people following a creative career direction as well as anyone looking to diversify their professional endeavors.

Check out the Deutschland ‘83 & ‘86 series on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.de/Deutschland-83-Staffel-1/dp/B018J45ERC

And you can follow Anna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/annawinger

If you’d like to hear more from the women such as Anna who are behind some of the world’s most well known television shows then make sure you check out previous episodes of the Role Models Podcast: https://www.rolemodels.co/podcast/language:english-only/category:tv-music-fashion-film/

Thanks to Samsung NEXT for supporting this episode. Find out more about their mission to support entrepreneurs: http://samsungnext.com/berlin

A big thanks also to our Patreon patrons who support this podcast:

• Megan Quinn, General Partner at Spark Capital who supports the organization: http://www.code2040.org/
• Anna Caroline, a leadership coach based out of Berlin that you can find on https://truthcircles.com
• Emma Harris

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