About Us: Amy Berg

Amy Berg                                                                                                       Writer, Co-Executive Producer  

Growing up, I was one of those kids who lived in their head.  A Charlie Kaufman character, basically.  My classmates pegged me a loner, but that was never the case.  Truth be told, I was never alone.  I had my imagination to keep me company.

Teachers started encouraging my creative writing in third grade, and by fifth grade I was improv-ing my way through school plays.  But I'd always considered writing an outlet, not an occupation.  I even had designs on astrophysics as a potential career path, until I realized how much mathematics was involved.  ZOMG!

I went off to college still unsure as to what I wanted to do.  It wasn’t until an English professor smacked me upside the head that I finally made the choice.  She'd asked us to write a paper examining character motivations in HAMLET.  I decided to frame the paper as a scene from the actual stage play, wherein I was the director giving instruction to the actors playing each role.  The professor made me read it aloud in front of the class and then pulled me aside afterwards.  “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked.  “You should be in film school.”

I transferred the following semester.  

After graduation, I headed to Los Angeles with nothing but a suitcase and an empty rolodex (that’s like an iPhone contacts folder, for you kids out there).  The first script I wrote got me a meeting with Joss Whedon; the second script I sold to Nickelodeon.  As luck would have it, by the end of my first six months in town I was a working writer.

I scripted half-hour comedies for the first few years of my career, but my passion for science fiction soon took over.  I wrote a spec for LOST during its first season that propelled me into the genre.  I’ve since written for THRESHOLD, THE 4400, and most recently was a writer/producer on the first two seasons of LEVERAGE.  

I’m super excited to join EUREKA for season four.  It’s the first show I’ve been on that combines my true loves… comedy and sci fi.  More importantly, I’m working with a bunch of really awesome humans.  I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Comments

[Wackiland]

Amy - This is a great story! Big fan of you on Twitter and of the show....Very excited for the new season and from everything I'm hearing, I have good reason to be. Enjoy!

[Paula J.]

Very cool to hear how you got where you are today! Thank goodness for that English prof! Can't wait to see how you help make Eureka even better!

[bardic_lady]

Berg is the best ever! Eureka is lucky to have her!

[Marty]

Great news, great show. Congrats!

[#1Amy-Fan]

You're the best, Amy!

You want to get coffee with me when you're done with that pizza?

[TimR.]

Hey Berg! Loved your Leverage stuff, and been a fan of Eureka since day one, so I'm really happy that you're putting Sheriff Carter and the gang there through the wringer (with love, of course...). Don't be stingy with those BergHearts, either!!

Since filming begins in Vancouver on 18 March, any chance of sneaking down to Portland over that weekend to visit Rogers and the gang during ConCon? I know a lot of Leverage fans would love to meet you, and wish you luck with your Eureka adventures. Hope to see you there!

[Johnie]

Amy,

A writing process question. With each episode the characters become further defined. Is there some method of keeping track of character details like a biography book that is updated with each script? Is there a review of scripts to make sure they are consistent?

For instance a character states they are vegan in the first season but is seen eating a burger in the third season. Things like this make me yell at my TV like nothing else :)

[Vader's Mom]

Welcome! I've loved Leverage and look forward to all you will bring to my favorite town.

[Annaliese Eden]

I pretty much know the answer to this, but is there any chance of revealing what your thoughts and plans were/would have been for 4400? I was very attached to that show and when it ended leaving us hanging a bit...its just I have always wondered how it would have/should have ended.

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It is a harvest journey for me when after have a careful look of your blog.Maybe some other websites may have some spam information,but as to you,they were all filled with connotation which expended my horizon quite a lot.

[William Kovacevich]

Before getting your start with Nickelodeon did you ever work as a reader for shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation?