Speakers

Nichelle Tramble Spellman is Creator / Showrunner of the Apple drama series, TRUTH BE TOLD, starring Octavia Spencer, Aaron Paul, Lizzy Caplan, Elizabeth Perkins, Ron Cephus Jones, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Beach, Traci Thoms and Annabella Sciorra.

Prior to TRUTH BE TOLD, Nichelle spent three seasons on the critically-acclaimed CBS drama THE GOOD WIFE. She also worked on FX’s JUSTIFIED, and, most recently, served as a Consulting Producer on SNOWFALL Season Four. Nichelle is also the author of the novels THE DYING GROUND and THE LAST KING, published by Random House/Ballantine.

TRUTH BE TOLD debuted on the Apple TV+ platform on December 6, 2019.

Sarah Kucserka is an award-winning television writer who has worked on shows including BROTHERS & SISTERS, CHICAGO FIRE, BULL, and the Golden Globe-winning UGLY BETTY, for which she received a WGA Award for Best New Series. Originally from the Bay Area, Kucserka attended Syracuse University before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her career as a screenwriter. She’s currently an Executive Producer and Co-Creator of the hit Hulu series HIGH FIDELITY, based on the book by Nick Hornby and starring Zoe Kravitz.

Phil Breman currently serves as Vice President of Current Programming at NBC Entertainment where he oversees all creative and production elements of a number of NBC’s drama and comedy series such as ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST, MANIFEST, THE BLACKLIST, WILL & GRACE, and A.P. BIO to name a few. In this capacity Mr. Breman has partnered with a wide variety of high profile creative talent such as Shawn Ryan, Eric Kripke, Jeff Rake, Shawn Hayes, Tina Fey and many others.

Prior to NBC, Mr. Breman ran live action series development for the Disney Channel where he developed over a dozen globally successful series such as GOOD LUCK CHARLIE, JESSIE, AUSTIN & ALLY, KC UNDERCOVER and more. Mr. Breman is also a former sit-com writer who has written and produced over one hundred episodes of network television. He was a writer/producer on the Paramount Television/WB sit-com RAISING DAD starring Bob Saget, Kat Dennings and Brie Larson, and the NBC/WB sit-com, FOR YOUR LOVE with Holly Robinson Peete and James Lesure.

Prior to joining the Hollywood executive ranks, Mr. Breman was a co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Be Jane, Inc. – a multi-media and lifestyle brand that serviced the women’s home improvement industry. Mr. Breman led a creative team that launched numerous TV and web-based series with Scripps, Discovery and MSN.com; created a line of books and instructional CDs through Random House and Time Warner; and produced hundreds of hours of customized content for corporate partners such as Bank of America, The Home Depot, Target and Lowe’s. Beyond overseeing all creative development, Mr. Breman also helped raise $6M in venture capital and steer the company to over $2M in annual sales within its first two years.

Mr. Breman is also a former sit-com writer who has written and produced over one hundred episodes of network television. He was a writer/producer on the Paramount Television/WB sit-com, RAISING DAD starring Bob Saget, Kat Dennings and Brie Larson and the NBC/WB sit-com, FOR YOUR LOVE with Holly Robinson Peete and James Lesure. Mr. Breman is a Warren College Honors Graduate of the University of California at San Diego.

Corey Mandell is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written projects for Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, Harrison Ford, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, John Travolta, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Family, Working Title, Paramount, Live Planet, Beacon Films, Touchstone, Trilogy, Radiant, Kopelson Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures.

Corey is a distinguished instructor at UCLA, where he earned his MFA. He also teaches screenwriting and television writing at Film Independent, Harvardwood and through private workshops across the world.

Corey’s students have gone on to sell or option scripts to Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, MGM, Universal, Showtime, FX, Netflix, NBC, AMC, MTV, Amazon, Hulu and HBO. Others have been staffed on such shows as COMMUNITY, BIG LITTLE LIES, THIS IS US, JUSTIFIED, PLAYING HOUSE, MR. ROBOT, THE MENTALIST, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD, YOU’RE THE WORST, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, TREME, MOZART IN THE JUNGLE, BOJACK HORSEMAN, THE BLACKLIST, JANE THE VIRGIN, THE LEFTOVERS, 30 ROCK and STRANGER THINGS.