Not everybody can see every moment of their life displayed by one set of people. It's just not going to happen.
The more visibility, the more opportunities for Asian-American actors to play great roles. It goes to the studios opening up roles they might not have considered Asian actors for. The talent is there. I don't think there needs to be one superstar, but having more roles open up, that's the way changes happen.
In the writers' room, the challenge is always to tell interesting stories in unexpected ways, so we try to never limit ourselves in how we accomplish that.
Using humor as a wedge into different kinds of stories is my go-to. I think anything I do would have some sort of streak of humor in it.
You can be a successful woman and also be vulnerable, and that's important to show people.
I love women who don't apologize.
This is going to sound weird, but when I was a little kid, the Iron Sheik was really big in our house.
Some people don't have a sense of humor about certain things, and other people do.
If I waited to write only for a Persian lesbian, I'd still be waiting. But I can write for straight white men because those are the jobs.
I went to USC and got my first break writing for a kids' show called 'Pepper Ann.'
Sometimes you can feel the gears shifting in scripts, like really trying to make something work that feels sweaty for whatever reason. I really enjoy reading material that just flows - it's definitely a skill to make something feel effortless.
Find like-minded people who are on the same page as you, and then lift each other up.
Having a range of perspectives allows you to tell stories through a different lens and approach things from fresh angles. If you're straining everything through the same filter, you're always going to wind up with the same product.
Sometimes you can't really control the language around you. All you can do is follow your voice and your path - dedicate yourself to stories that matter.
When you take stock, there are so many more choices and points of view that are necessary.
Special things happen when you center people who haven't been centered before.
You can be layered and more than one thing - you can exist outside of the box.
When you start out as a TV writer, you get a lot of pressure from outside forces to fit into what they think people want.
Writing in another person's voice is a skill you have to develop when you're working on someone else's show. But if you can maintain your perspective, that's what will make you stand out.
I never had a backup plan. I've only been good at one thing. I admire people who are jacks-of-all-trades. That's not me.
