Full-Circle Moments
A conversation with Eric Rietz on writers’ rooms, collaboration, and following your Plan A.
I love the holidays—not because of the pressure to do more, but because they invite us to settle down. Even though I’m a summer person at heart, being a winter baby makes this season feel like an invitation to let things be as they are.
This past season was sensational, ending with a moment I’ll never forget: being invited by my mentor Kali to see Dave Chappelle live in Dallas. It was my first time seeing him perform—not working on his show—and we had perfect seats. It was a full-circle moment because I am now working in another environment where I feel supported and appreciated.
I crossed paths with the Magic Lemonade team early in my career, and even after I stopped freelancing with them, they always made sure that wherever I went, people recognized my worth. I still laugh thinking about Kali’s jokes whenever I walked away from events like ABFF Honors with flowers in hand. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day he found a way to pay me in flowers instead of a check.
I believe women are like a garden. We water our flowers, tend to our soil, and occasionally, people come by to admire the growth. We thrive best in environments where we feel seen, safe, and appreciated.
Lately, I’ve been asking myself: What am I afraid will happen if I slow down? While sowing seeds into your own vision, it’s essential to remember your why.
My why is this: I want my stories to be love letters for Black men and women. I want more Black love stories on screen. I want Black women to see themselves written by other Black women, in soft, magical, relaxed, truthful, honest, and loving ways. At our core, we deserve to see more love reflected back to us.
Meeting and learning from people like Eric Rietz—whose work on Reasonable Doubt exemplifies passion and craft behind the scenes—reminds me that there are paths we may not even know exist yet. Growing up, I learned how much wisdom lives in the people around us, if we’re willing to pay attention. Hearing from people like Eric is a lesson in curiosity, in networking with intention, and in honoring the brilliance that often exists quietly behind the camera.
One of my favorite holiday rituals has always been watching movies—something I don’t do enough of lately, but that first inspired my love for creating. Working behind the scenes taught me how many people it takes to bring stories to life. And for many of us, we don’t work simply to work. We work because it is our gift—because it gives us life.
Sometimes, while I’m on set, I say a quiet prayer to myself. They don’t know it yet, but one day I’ll own my own studio.
Pouring into your passions, on screen or behind it, creates magic. It’s always worth the investment.
The New Year is a natural time to reflect and reprioritize. Some of the best stories begin by admitting we don’t know where to start. But showing up, seeking mentors, and investing in your gift can lead to a life filled with joy and purpose. Your dream might not just be for you—it could become a legacy for the next generation.
Happy Sunday. Here’s a surprise interview with Eric Rietz!
How do you spend your Sundays?
Mostly trying to relax and then get ready for the week. I know it’s a boring answer, but I usually spend Saturdays socializing, exercising, and trying to get away from screens as much as possible. I’m in front of a screen every weekday for work, sometimes for extended periods, so I relax and have fun as much as possible on Saturdays without one. Then on Sundays, my partner and I still relax but also get cleaning, organizing, and errands done, and then prep for the week, including meal planning, making sure our dog is taken care of, and trying to carve out some time for us, as much as one can.
What are you currently reading?
I just read the scripts for Get Out, Home Alone, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as research for an indie film project I’m developing to write & produce with the director of the first film I made, Alone Together. I’m also in the middle of book 2 of Robert Harris’ historical fiction trilogy about Ancient Rome, Conspirata. It’s a fictionalized account of Julius Caesar’s rise to power that I read before bed because it helps me avoid staring at a screen and is just the right amount of intriguing without keeping me glued to the page and missing my bedtime. Did I mention I’m old?
At Sunday Forever, everyone can write, and we see it as a form of therapy. How has writing impacted you? How do you think others can benefit from a writing practice?
Writing has transformed my life. Growing up, I was an outsider and loved music. After my dream of being a rockstar died in junior high and I got cut from the soccer team, I had fewer friends and more free time. I dabbled in short stories but stopped… until senior year of high school, when AP English with Mr. Culhane changed everything. He taught me to analyze writing and saw in me the creativity no one had seen before. That gave me the confidence to dig deeper and find my voice.
Even in college, as I moved from advertising to TV/Film, I kept trusting my gut, and it’s done a great job keeping me out of bad fits and landing me in incredible rooms.
There’s practical advice, like doing Morning Pages, but any kind of writing helps. Humans are natural storytellers; storytelling strengthens communities and also gives personal rewards. Writing can help you make sense of a negative event, turn a mundane day into a funny anecdote, and connect with others who’ve had similar experiences.
That’s why the best writing comes from your own life. “Write what you know” doesn’t mean telling your story exactly; it means drawing on experiences like loss, love, feeling out of place, or teamwork. A single dad from Omaha who played minor league baseball doesn’t have to write that exact story. Still, he knows something about small-town life, being on the road, parenting, or teamwork, and those insights enrich any story.
With practice, anyone can draw from life, improve their writing, and through that, improve their own life and the lives of others.
What are you learning the most from working on Reasonable Doubt?
It is possible to have a work-life balance in television while treating your employees with respect. As of 2025, I’ve worked on nine projects as a script coordinator for almost as many showrunners. Most have been great, but one was rightfully canceled for creating a hostile work environment, and maybe one or two others probably should have been. That experience has shown me many ways to run a writers’ room—and working with Raamla Mohamed on seasons 1 and 3 of Reasonable Doubt has shown me a better way.
Raamla came up through production in the Shondaland world. As a seasoned TV pro and former crew member, she knows how important every person is to the process. She values our time and input as much as the quality of our work, which matters on long nights and early mornings. For me, that looks like giving heads-ups about scripts, letting me take a few nights off when needed, and sticking to her word unless something crazy happens.
Many showrunners expect script coordinators to be available 24/7, often treating us like robots. Raamla, and some other showrunners I’ve worked for, are the opposite. My time and well-being are valued as much as my ability to do a good job. Watching Raamla juggle it all, staying kind, creating a great environment, and producing an entertaining show, is awe-inspiring. It’s a reminder that making TV doesn’t have to be the nasty business it sometimes gets a reputation for.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in a writer’s room?
If you want to break into a TV writers’ room, moving to New York or Los Angeles is still the most practical move. That’s where writers’ rooms happen, and where you can meet the people who might one day see you as a peer.
That said, support staff roles—Writers’ PA, Writers’ Assistant, Showrunner’s Assistant, Script Coordinator—aren’t as reliable a stepping stone to a writing career as they used to be. Seasons used to run 22–24 episodes, giving staff more chances to earn freelance credits. Now, with 10–13 episode seasons and limited series as short as 4–6 episodes, there are far fewer opportunities to prove yourself or get a writing credit. Many showrunners write most of the episodes themselves, so while credits still happen, they’re harder to come by.
An equally valid path is to build a writing career in related fields—social media, books, podcasts, plays & musicals—and grow a following once you have a track record; more doors in TV open to you than they might as a writers’ room staffer. A friend of mine likens Hollywood to a high school party: people are hesitant to take a chance on someone new. But once you have some proven “heat” or buzz, others are more willing to invest in you. The big question is, of course, how do you get that heat?
What motivates you to work in a writer’s room?
I love working in writers’ rooms because, although a lot of the nuts and bolts of writing happen alone, the best ideas come out of collaboration. Whether it’s just a writing pair working together, like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, or an entire room of writers, having other perspectives and ideas alongside your own helps make the story stronger. This happens in two specific ways.
The first is that, in a well-run room at least, the best idea wins, no matter who it came from. Having to pitch an idea, convince others of its merit, and have it withstand scrutiny is a stress test for a story.
The part of the process I love most is when it’s truly collaborative—one person pitches an idea, but it’s not quite right. Then another person piggybacks off that idea, and then someone else says something. Maybe another adds a tweak to that last pitch, and suddenly it’s better than any of you could’ve come up with alone.
Thank you, Eric, for offering your time to Sunday Forever. He shared that he’s fully committed to his Plan A—what he is doing now—and never had a Plan B. Sure, he worked a customer service job at a grocery store, and in an alternate reality, he might have been a bartender or a lawyer. But with time, divine timing, the right network, and dedication, we can focus on our Plan A and trust that our gifts will lead us to the opportunities meant for us. And I also hope that people continue to put you in the front row, just like Kali and The Magic Lemonade team did for me.