Sitcoms with Janae Bakken ("Scrubs") - 026

Janae Bakken grew up in Minnesota - where she spent too many
frozen winters on the cross-country ski team, and went to college
in Chicago - where she rarely saw the sun, so she made her escape
to Los Angeles soon after graduation.  She worked on the
production staffs of such shows as Mad About
You, Caroline in the City, and Malcolm in the
Middle before making the jump to writer, where she spent
eight years writing on the critically-acclaimed Scrubs,
rising from a Staff Writer to Co-Executive Producer.  Janae
was twice-nominated for an Emmy Award with the
other Scrubs writers.  In addition, she has
written & sold television pilots for Warner Brothers, ABC
Studios, MRC and ABC Network.  Janae was most recently a
Co-Executive Producer on Freeform’s Baby Daddy for four
years, and before that a Co-EP on Anger
Management and Gary Unmarried.  In 2007, she was
selected to participate in the WGA Showrunner Training
Program.  In 2011, Janae was a guest professor at her alma
mater Northwestern University, teaching Television Writing to the
MFA Creative Writing students. 


Notes from the show:


Grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis St. Paul, MN.


She discovered "The Wonder Years," her favorite and my
favorite television show.


Northwestern University's "Creative Writing for the Media"
program - selected 12 people each year, was in the program with
me, Breen Frasier ("Criminal Minds")


Heavily influenced by the show "Friends." A lot of her friends
back home in MN got married in their early 20s.


She lived in London, England after college.


Hollywood will always be there, but you're better off going
without attachments.


La-La Land.


If you want to be in television, you need to be in Los Angeles.


20 years later, she loves Los Angeles. "Everyone's starting
over... you're in it together."


It helps there are so many alumni there.


Has been in the workforce since the age of 14, but all Los
Angeles jobs were "in the industry."


First screenplay was a comedy. First TV job was a comedy.


Gave a funny speech at high school graduation.


First job she had in L.A., she got fired.


Agency job is a good foot in the door.


On her resume, she mentioned her job as "Gedney the Minnesota
Pickle." William Morris called about it.


Interview with Pang-Ni Landrum; Mascot life got her the job.


Unruly: most people can't do funny.


At least 70% who made it in television comedy went the assistant
route.


During all down time, she wrote scripts. Every night, after work,
would stay at desk and work on own scripts.


Skills went "through the roof" being in the room with great
writers.


Had "interview" with UTA, thought she was being interviewed.


"The longer I have done this, the more I realize how hard it is
to run a show. And it's really easy to see who does it well and
who doesn't."


"I'm not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde


"Baby Daddy" is over, and she can't wait to get back in a
writer's room.


"The TV Writer's Workbook" - Ellen Sandler


"Writing the TV Drama Series 3rd edition: How to Succeed as a
Professional Writer in TV" - Pam Douglas


Take a UCLA Extension class or Santa Monica Community College
class