Spec Script Deal: “Foreign and Familiar”

Monarch Media acquires comedy spec script “Foreign and Familiar” written by Leah Kunnath. Via Deadline:

Loosely based on Kunnath’s own teen years, Foreign and Familiar tells the story of a rebellious first-generation Indian-American teen who embarrasses her traditional Indian family, resulting in her parents sending her to high school in India to learn more about her culture.

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Kunnath’s first comedy feature script earned her a fellowship position with the Blacklist’s Minority Report initiative, and was also a semifinalist at the Austin Film Festival.

I had the great pleasure of working with Leah on her MFA in Screenwriting thesis project — Spring and Fall quarters (2018), and Winter quarter (2019) — when she was at DePaul University.

She is a talented writer with a strong comedic voice. I’d love to see her in a TV writers room as I know she would shine in that environment.

And how’s this for a nifty plot twist: Leah is now repped by the management company (Aperture Entertainment) where she interned as part of DePaul’s L.A. Quarter program.

Congratulations, Leah!

By my count, this is the 29th spec script deal in 2021.

There were 19 spec script deals year-to-date in 2020.