The Recap

Erica Messer has been an accomplished showrunner, executive producer, writer and creator of dramatic television series for over twenty years. Erica recently served her ninth and final year as Executive Producer, Showrunner and Head Writer of Criminal Minds, a series that consistently ranked as TV’s number one suspense thriller and is listed among a select few shows to have broadcast 300+ episodes over fourteen seasons. In 2018, Erica completed her first documentary feature film, The Biggest Little Farm, after six years of painstaking hard work. The documentary had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in September and has gone on to win many awards at various film festivals, including seven nominations for the Critics’ Choice Awards for Documentary Films. Erica is a working mother and very familiar with juggling the demands of Hollywood with those of parenthood. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her family.

In this episode, Jennifer and Erica talk about Erica’s incredible journey as a television writer, executive producer and showrunner. They share their experiences and talk about the difficult challenges they’ve both faced as female writers. Erica speaks to how she and her husband Kenny have been able to balance a hectic work life schedule. Erica talks about some of her more recent projects, including her documentary, The Biggest Little Farm, which is now available on iTunes and Hulu. Finally, Erica provides some sage advice to aspiring writers everywhere and encourages each of them to fulfill that burning desire to tell their own story.

Episode Highlights

00:51 – Jennifer highlights one of the companies she’s been collaborating with, Unplug

02:01 – Jennifer reiterates this month’s charity initiative, Hope Scarves

03:15 – Jennifer reminds the audience to be present and in the moment for the next few days as we welcome a New Year and new decade

04:50 – Introducing today’s guest, Erica Messer

06:13 – Erica’s writing career and journey

11:11 – Moving to LA with her soon to be husband, Kenny

15:04 – Getting a foot in the door

18:52 – Jennifer highlights Erica’s work ethic as a main contributor to her success

20:06 – Writing specs for Ally McBeal, Party of Five, and other hit dramas

24:28 – Writing and co-producing Criminal Minds

26:09 – How Erica and Kenny balanced their work with raising a family

28:46 – Erica talks about becoming a showrunner on Criminal Minds

31:03 – Jennifer and Erica speak to the difficulty of being a female writer

35:09 – Erica’s current projects

38:43 – Erica’s first feature, The Biggest Little Farm

42:44 – Advice Erica would give to aspiring writers everywhere

44:56 – What does Erica think about when she hears the word ‘love’?

45:06 – Where in the world would Erica most like to live?

46:25 – How does Erica define serenity?

46:43 – Lightning round of questions

48:15 – How working on Criminal Minds has affected Erica’s psychology and mental well-being

57:42 – Jennifer reminds the audience to visit Unplug to get a free class

Tweetable Quotes

“That year that I did that was so valuable to me now, because a huge part of your job as a writer is dealing with executives and their thoughts. And, I just always looked at them as the freshest eyes on a project.”

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“My husband would tell you that, at a certain point, we played ‘Rock, Paper, Income.’ And, ya know, that’s how he looked at it. And I was clearly the one that was gonna stay working.”

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“I felt like Criminal Minds has always been sort of that middle child. Ya know, I have a kid in ’04, that show in ’05, and a kid in ’06. So, it has been the middle child for our family and I’ve felt such a protection over it.”

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“We have to be so vulnerable as actors, as writers, as directors even. You’re putting your art into the world. You’re so vulnerable in that and when there’s people who just want to cut you down, it makes you go quiet, it makes you do all this other stuff where you’re then not shining.”

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“The Biggest Little Farm is a beautiful, beautiful story and so hopeful, so inspirational. It’s the kind of storytelling I think we all need right now.”

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“I think when you have that burning desire to tell a story, that’s your gut telling you you have to. It’s almost a fight or flight instinct. You have to write. Writers have to write. So, whatever medium you choose, whether it’s a book or a script, or a film, if you wanna shoot it, whatever you wanna do, I think just tell your story.”

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Links Mentioned

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