Wendy Mericle | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Writer, producer |
| Years active | 2001 - present |
Wendy Mericle is an American television writer and producer. She is known for her work on the ABC dramedy Desperate Housewives and The CW's superhero series Arrow .
From the age of seven on, Mericle grew up without a television, despite going on to become a television writer, executive producer and showrunner. She stated, "It is a very strange thing to be able to say to people I've never seen an entire episode of The Cosby Show , or that I have no idea [what they mean] when they make jokes about Family Ties . There's no baseline for me. But I do have a strong background in literature, in film, and that has served me well." [1]
Her career began on The WB's Grosse Pointe , as assistant to executive producer Robin Schiff. She then went on to write for the drama series Everwood , where she first worked with creator Greg Berlanti. She would go on to work on the series Jack & Bobby and Eli Stone , where she served as writer and story editor on the latter. She held positions on The WB/The CW's Smallville , CBS' Ghost Whisperer , and the ABC paranormal/dramedy Eastwick . [2]
In December 2014, Mericle sold her first project to FOX. The series would revolve around advanced female U.S. soldiers competing for a placement in the male-dominated Navy SEALs. The project was executive produced by Basil Iwanyk, for his studio Thunder Road, and Warner Bros. [3] Ultimately it was not ordered to pilot.
In 2011, Mericle joined the ABC [ broken anchor ] comedy series Desperate Housewives' eighth and final season, as an executive story editor. She later became a co-producer and writer of two episodes ("What's to Discuss, Old Friend" and "Lost My Power").
The stories that I like to break are the ones that have very strong emotional underpinnings. One of the things that I wanted to do when I came on the show in an Executive Producer capacity was to make sure that the emotional storylines were really there, and I wanted to bring them to the fore and to explore the relationships in equal parts to the action.
Mericle boarded the DC Comics produced CW series Arrow , as writer and producer. Marking her fourth collaboration with co-creator Greg Berlanti. She was promoted to co-executive producer with the start of the third season. In April 2015, it was announced Mericle would be promoted to co-showrunner for the series' fourth season, alongside Marc Guggenheim, [4] a role Mericle stepped down from at the end of season six. [5]
She has stated that her favorite character to write for is John Diggle, saying, "I like that he's a strong voice with a strong point of view, and one that I think I agree with in a lot of ways. He also served in the military and has a very interesting world view I find intriguing. I like writing to that." [1]
In April 2018 it was announced that Mericle had signed a development deal with ABC Studios where she will develop new projects and work with the studio's Head of Drama Development, Nne Ebong. [6]