CTCS-467: Television Symposium

This Fall 2024 semester, the School of Cinematic Arts will offer a very special course called CTCS-467: Television Symposium, a four-unit elective class open for enrollment to ALL USC STUDENTS OF ANY MAJOR that brings you face-to-face with the leading television writers, producers, directors and actors working today.

Each week, students watch contemporary television programming selected from the best shows on the air, followed by an exclusive Q&A with the creative team behind the show. The class is taught by MARY MCNAMARA, Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic and cultural editor for the Los Angeles Times and meets in person every Tuesday night @ 7:00 P.M. in the Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108.

Recent guests have included: Lulu Wang (Expats), Ron Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), Zal Batmanglij & Brit Marling (A Murder at the End of the World), Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage (The O.C.), Fred Golan (Silo), Melanie Marnich (Apples Never Fall), Nicholas Hatton & Jeremy Weinberg (Jury Duty), Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh (Ted), Reggie Rock Bythewood (Swagger), Syreeta Singleton (Rap Sh!t), Ted Humphrey (The Lincoln Lawyer), Annie Weisman (Physical), Chris Storer (The Bear), Eric Kripke (The Boys, Gen V), Meera Menon (Ms Marvel),  David Goyer & Allan Heinberg (The Sandman), Craig Mazin (The Last of Us), Al Gough & Miles Millar (Wednesday), Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso), Jon Kasdan (Willow), Jen Statsky (Hacks), Julie Plec (Vampire Academy), Hiro Murai (Station Eleven, Atlanta), Tazbah Rose Chavez (Reservation Dogs), Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker (Abbott Elementary), Claudia Forestieri & Brigitte Munoz Libowitz (The Gordita Chronicles), Danny Strong (Dopesick), Dong Hyuek (Squid Game), Jonathan Igla (Hawkeye), Molly Smith Metzler (Maid), Gloria Calderón Kellett (With Love), Marta Kaufman (Grace and Frankie), Tracy Oliver (Harlem), Jim Hecht & Jason Shuman (Winning Time), Michael Waldron (Loki), Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown), Ilana Peña (Diary of a Future President), Amanda Peet (The Chair), Jac Schaeffer (WandaVision), Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant), Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit), Malcolm Spellman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Simon Evans (Staged), Susan Downey & Tim Van Patten (Perry Mason), Raamla Mohamed (Little Fires Everywhere), Joe Mantello (The Boys in the Band), Jay Roach & Sarah Paulson (Coastal Elites), Prentice Penny (Insecure), Kerry Ehrin (The Morning Show), Jon Favreau (The Mandalorian), Adam McKay (Succession), Alena Smith (Dickinson), Stephen Williams (Watchmen), Chris Mundy (Ozark), Susannah Grant (Unbelievable), David Mandel (Veep), Steven Canals (Pose), Sam Levinson (Euphoria), Raphael Bob-Waksberg & Kate Purdy (Undone), Marti Noxon (Sharp Objects), David Kajganich (The Terror), Tanya Saracho (Vida), Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer (Stranger Things), Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch (Glow), Noah Hawley (Fargo), and Kenya Barris (black-ish).