Rick Muirragui did everything right… moved to LA, got assistant jobs on well known shows, wrote tons of spec material, and wrote freelance episodes for the shows he worked on, but it was when he was accepted into the NBC Writers on the Verge writing fellowship that his career really took off!
Rick Muirragui grew up in Virginia, but traveled a lot because his father was in the US Army. After studying journalism and writing several spec features, he moved to Los Angeles and became interested in television.
He landed assistant jobs on well known sci fi shows Roswell and Firefly. One show led to another, and he wrote freelance episodes when he could. However, he was on several short-lived shows, and his first potential staff writing job got killed by the 2007 Writers Strike.
Rick decided his career needed a boost, so he applied to the NBC’s Writers on the Verge fellowship program in 2008. He got an agent through a script he wrote in that program, and finally landed a staff job on Men of a Certain Age. From there, he has written for Past Life, The Good Guys, and his current series, Suits.
In his interview, Rick discusses the “Dos and Don’ts” of writers room etiquette, the importance of outlining, and the destructive power of negativity vs. the constructive power of “what if.” In addition, he takes us through the process of a TV episode, from idea to finished script.
Follow Rick on Twitter: @the_real_rick
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First published January 27, 2013.