Building upon more than a decade of success of the CAPE New Writers Fellowship for emerging TV writers, CAPE is now tackling the senior ranks. The CAPE Showrunners Incubator, powered by STARZ #TakeTheLead for 2024 and 2025, provides upper-level writers with the opportunity to receive exclusive mentorship and real-world training and education to become successful showrunners for series television.
When CAPE first started tracking the number of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) showrunners almost a decade ago, we counted around 20 API showrunners. At the most recent 2023 API Showrunners Brunch co-hosted by the Asian American Writers Brunch (led by Melinda Hsu and Jennifer Lee) and CAPE, we invited over 70 API showrunners. The numbers are improving, but we can do better.
The CAPE Showrunners Incubator completed its inaugural year in June 2024 and gave 8 TV writers on the brink of showrunning the opportunity to receive exclusive mentorship and real-world training and education.
Thank you for your interest in the CAPE Showrunners Incubator!
Year 2 of the program will take place in the summer of 2026.
If you would like to receive an email when the 2026 application has been released, please fill out the form below.
MEET THE 2025 CLASS
The 2025 Class for the CAPE Showrunners Incubator is made up of six individual writer/producers and one writing/producing pair all with projects in imminent development.
PROGRAM CHAIR
MELINDA HSU
Melinda Hsu is a TV writer, producer and director who was the Showrunner of NANCY DREW as well as the showrunner/co-creator of TOM SWIFT; currently, she’s in a development overall at 20th Television. Her TV credits include LOST, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, THE GIFTED, FALLING SKIES, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, MEDIUM, and one-hour pilots for Amazon, Netflix, NBC and Lifetime. For her work on LOST, she was nominated for an Emmy and a Writers’ Guild Award.
Melinda mentors writers through the CAPE, Mentors Matters, Unlock Her Potential, and the alumni associations of Harvard and Columbia. On a national level, she has received awards from both CAPE and Girls Inc. for her work as a mentor and community leader. Her podcast, Lead With Kindness, is aimed at changing the culture of Hollywood and the world; this series of ten 30-minute conversations is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts (Instagram: @LeadWKindness). Her book about the strategy of culture change is also titled Lead With Kindness, and will be published by Post Hill Press.
In September of 2024, Melinda was elected to the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West. As a member of the Board, she helped design and launch the WGA Leadership Training Program, and teaches its curriculum in order to lift up writers and foster humane work environments throughout the industry and beyond.
MEET OUR 2025 SPEAKERS, MENTORS & CONTRIBUTORS
From the development of the program, to the sessions, coaching and workshops themselves, many provided their time to make the CAPE Showrunners Incubators possible.
LILY HUI
Writer, Co-Executive Producer
ROOKIE NORTH
YAHLIN CHANG
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
THE HANDMAID’S TALE
ALEX TSE
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
WU TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA
ALBERT KIM
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER (live-action)
JESSICA GAO
Head Writer, Executive Producer, Creator
SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW
BRADLEY ESTRIN
Staff Writer
4400
SONALI MEHTA
Staff Writer
THE PRADEEPS OF PITTSBURGH
PATRICK EMRALINO
Staff Writer
THE CLEANING LADY
AJ CURRIE
Writer (Pre-WGA)
CHARLENE LEE
Casting Director
BEEF (Season 1)
STEVE MAEDA
Showrunner, Creator, Writer, Executive Producer
ONE PIECE (live-action)
CORI UCHIDA
Showrunner, Writer, Co-Executive Producer
SUNIL NAYAR
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
REVENGE
GARY LENNON
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
POWER BOOK IV: FORCE
SAMANTHA OFFSAY
SVP, Original Programming
STARZ
JANE SONG
Business Affairs, Originals
Disney
ANGELA TAM
Senior Manager, Business Affairs
FX Networks
BIRGIT ZACHER HANSON
Executive Coach
LEO CHU
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
ULTRA VIOLET & BLACK SCORPION
ERIC GARCIA
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
ULTRA VIOLET & BLACK SCORPION
MAY CHAN
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
SURFSIDE GIRL
SIMRAN BAIDWAN
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
CLEAN SLATE
MIRSADA ABDOOL RAMAN
SVP, Global Television
Miramax
MAGGIE LEUNG
VP, Comedy Development
NBC & Peacock
NEIL THOMAS
Studio Scripted Series
Netflix
KELVIN YU
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
TERESA HSIAO
Showrunner, Writer, Executive Producer
AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM QUEENS
KANOA GOO
Actor
JESSIKA VAN
Actor
DANNI WANG
Actor
RJ O’YOUNG
Actor
