I finished my screenwriting BFA at York with a written feature film and TV pilot. A TV pilot is called Dolphins Are The Worst and has the following logline: When the lost city of Atlantis suddenly appears in Halifax ocean waters, detective Mary Ann reluctantly goes there to help them solve their first-ever crime – in a world where they watch only crime shows.

But before Dolphins were Dolphins, they were Atlantis Team – a script I started working on in 2018 or 2019 and the one in my portfolio when I applied to York. I forgot about that script until 2023, and then, in class Introduction to Creative Writing, it became a short story, The Lost City of the City. In that class, which I loved very much, we read our stories, and someone said the story reminded them of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. That story got some good feedback (it’s funny! It made me laugh!) from two writers at the residence in York – as students, we had the opportunity to share our work and get feedback.

The idea was reborn in 2024 in class Writing for TV II, where it became the pilot for a 30-minute crime comedy. I also adapted it to the narrative podcast, recorded 1st episode and pitched it to some networks and podcast companies. The same story, in many different variations, evolved to become something, making the saying – we are always writing the same story – true. So, six years – that’s how long this story has evolved, and it still will as scripts are rewritten many times.

Photo by Colin + Meg on Unsplash