Michelle Paradise

Last updated

Michelle Paradise
Michelle Paradise - pic.jpg
Alma mater Brigham Young University
San Francisco State University
Occupation(s)Writer, producer, actress

Michelle Paradise is an American writer, producer and actress. She created, wrote and starred in the short film The Ten Rules and the television series Exes and Ohs , and subsequently became a writer and producer for the television series The Originals and Star Trek: Discovery .

Contents

Early work

Paradise wrote, produced and starred in the short film The Ten Rules: The Lesbian Survival Guide, which debuted in 2002 and subsequently played at gay and lesbian film festivals, both in the United States and in Europe (specifically Copenhagen, Paris and Reykjavík). [1] The film, which focused on a group of lesbian friends in Los Angeles, won awards at the Boulder Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the Verzaubert International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. [2]

After the success of The Ten Rules, Paradise developed the themes of the film into a television series for Logo, Exes and Ohs . [3] Paradise wrote, produced and starred in the series, which debuted on October 8, 2007. [3] Unusually, she developed, produced and sold Exes and Ohs without an agent. [4] Exes and Ohs ran for two seasons.

Paradise also appeared in the short film "Black Road" (2002), the film Heart of the Beholder (2005) and the television series George Lopez (2005) and Rodney (2006). On stage, she performed improv comedy with the Groundlings, Second City and the Gay Mafia, and played lead roles at the Bitter Truth Theater, Theatre Rhinoceros, the Berkman Theater and the Little Theater Group. [5]

TV staff writer

In April 2011, Paradise completed the Warner Bros. Writers' Workshop. [6] She was one of nine finalists for the workshop, out of over 1,300 applicants. [7] In 2013, she became a staff writer on the CW series The Originals , a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries . She was credited as an executive story editor in the series' first season, as a co-producer in its second, a producer in its third, supervising producer in its fourth, and co-executive producer in its fifth and final season. Paradise wrote or co-wrote 15 episodes of The Originals, over its 5-year run. [8]

After the completion of The Originals, Paradise joined the writing staff of the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery as a co-executive producer in its second season, which started airing in January 2019. She wrote the episode "Project Daedalus", and co-wrote the two-part season finale "Such Sweet Sorrow" with Jenny Lumet and series executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who was also showrunner in Discovery's second season. In February 2019, Paradise was promoted to executive producer of the series for its third season, which premiered in 2020. [9]

Personal life

Paradise was born in San Diego. [3] She has bachelor's degrees in English and French from Brigham Young University and a master's degree in comparative literature from San Francisco State University. [4] At BYU she was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she told an interviewer, "I was Mormon for about seven years and pretty much left the church after graduation ... all for reasons that are pretty personal." [10] In 2007, POWER UP named Paradise one of its "10 Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz". [11]

Related Research Articles

Number One (<i>Star Trek</i>) Character of the television series Star Trek

Una Chin-Riley, commonly and originally only known as Number One, is a fictional character in the science-fiction franchise Star Trek. She is Christopher Pike's second-in-command during his captaincy of the starship Enterprise.

Angela Robinson is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer. Outfest Fusion LGBTQ People of Color Film Festival awarded Robinson with the Fusion Achievement Award in 2013 for her contribution to LGBTQ+ media visibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Kurtzman</span> American filmmaker

Alexander Hilary Kurtzman is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the Star Trek franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) with his writing and producing partner Roberto Orci, and directing and co-writing The Mummy (2017). He made his directorial debut with People Like Us (2012), co-written by him, Orci, and Jody Lambert from a story by him.

Rose Troche is an American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Johnson</span> American actress

Joanna Johnson is an American actress, writer, producer and director. She is best known for her actress popular roles as Caroline Spencer Forrester first and as her twin sister, Karen Spencer on the CBS daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

Exes & Ohs is an American and Canadian cable TV series that was launched on Logo on October 8, 2007, and Showcase in Canada. The show centres on the dating life of Jennifer, a lesbian documentary filmmaker with a vivid fantasy life and a floundering career. Jennifer is looking for Ms. Right but must navigate the rules of lesbian dating life, most of which she learns the hard way. Her friends are there to help: Sam, a sexy commitment-phobe who flips women faster than real estate; Chris and Kris, a lesbian couple expanding both their pet accessory business and their family; and Crutch, a young musician who wants to be taken seriously but still has some growing up to do.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Mangels</span> American science fiction writer (born 1966)

Andy Mangels is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comic books, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture. As an openly gay man, he has been a longtime advocate for greater visibility of gay and lesbian characters in various media, especially comics, including the coordination and moderation of the annual "Gays in Comics" panel for Comic Con International since it was begun in 1988. He is the founder of an annual "Women of Wonder Day" event, which raised over $136,000 in funds for domestic violence shelters and related programs during its seven-year run. As of 2011 he has had three books on the USA Today "best-selling books" list.

Michelle Ehlen is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actress best known for her comedic feature Butch Jamie.

Cathy DeBuono is an American actress and practicing psychotherapist.

Aron Eli Coleite is an American comic book writer, television writer and producer best known for his work on the Netflix series Daybreak, the NBC series Heroes and on the comic book series Ultimate X-Men.

<i>Star Trek: Discovery</i> 2017 American science fiction television series

Star Trek: Discovery is an American science fiction television series created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman for the streaming service CBS All Access. It is the seventh Star Trek series and debuted in 2017. The series follows the crew of the starship Discovery beginning a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series in the 23rd century. At the end of the second season, they travel to the 32nd century which is the setting for subsequent seasons.

<i>Star Trek: Discovery</i> season 1 First season of Star Trek: Discovery

The first season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery is set a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series in the 23rd century and follows the crew of the starship Discovery during the Federation–Klingon war. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout, Roddenberry Entertainment, and Living Dead Guy Productions, with Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts serving as showrunners, and Akiva Goldsman providing producing support.

<i>Star Trek: Discovery</i> season 2 Second season of Star Trek: Discovery

The second season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery is set a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series in the 23rd century and follows the crew of the starship Discovery. With the crew of the USS Enterprise they investigate seven signals that were sent by a time traveler to prevent a rogue artificial intelligence from destroying all sentient life. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman serving as showrunner.

Aaron Harberts is an American television writer and producer. He was a co-showrunner of CBS's Star Trek: Discovery with Gretchen J. Berg until their departure in June 2018. Harberts and Berg have been writing/producing partners since they met as students at Northwestern University. In 2019, Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg teamed up again as writers and executive producers for Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on NBC.

<i>Star Trek: Discovery</i> season 3 Third season of Star Trek: Discovery

The third season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the starship Discovery as they travel to the 32nd century, more than 900 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, and learn that Starfleet has nearly been destroyed by a cataclysmic event called "The Burn" that has left the galaxy disconnected. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.

<i>Star Trek: Section 31</i> Upcoming American science fiction television film

Star Trek: Section 31 is an upcoming American science fiction television film directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi and written by Craig Sweeny for the streaming service Paramount+. It is intended to be the first television film in the Star Trek franchise and part of executive producer Alex Kurtzman's expanded Star Trek Universe. A spin-off from the series Star Trek: Discovery, the film follows Philippa Georgiou, who is an agent of Section 31, a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets.

<i>Star Trek: Discovery</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the starship Discovery in the 32nd century, more than 900 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, as they help rebuild the United Federation of Planets following a cataclysmic event and face a space anomaly that causes destruction across the galaxy. The season was produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.

<i>Star Trek: Discovery</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth and final season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the starship Discovery in the 32nd century, more than 900 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, on a galactic adventure to find a mysterious power that has been hidden for centuries and which other dangerous groups are also searching for. The season was produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.

Terra Firma (<i>Star Trek: Discovery</i>) 9th and 10th episodes of the 3rd season of Star Trek: Discovery

"Terra Firma" is the ninth and tenth episodes of the third season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery. The two-parter begins in the 32nd Century, and follows Emperor Philippa Georgiou as she returns to the Mirror Universe. The story for both parts was written by Bo Yeon Kim, Erika Lippoldt, and Alan McElroy. The teleplay for the first part was written by McElroy, with Omar Madha directing. The teleplay for the second part was written by Kalinda Vazquez, with Chloe Domont directing.

References

  1. "The Ten Rules (2002) — Release Dates". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  2. "The Ten Rules (2002) — Awards". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 Gilchrist, Tracy E. (August 17, 2007). "The Amazing Michelle Paradise". Connexion. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  4. 1 2 Paradise, Michelle (2007). "Bio". michelleparadise.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  5. Paradise, Michelle (2007). "Credits". michelleparadise.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  6. "Writers' Alumni". Warner Bros. Writers' Workshop. Warner Bros. 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  7. Paradise, Michelle (April 2011). "News". michelleparadise.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  8. "Michelle Paradise — Credits". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  9. "'Star Trek: Discovery' renewed for season 3 with new showrunner added". EW.com. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  10. "To lesbians everywhere: XOXO, Michelle Paradise. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  11. "Top Ten". POWER UP website. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2007.