Writing TV Movies Cohort Announced
The PSP announces the participants in the new Writing Television Movies training program, designed to meet the needs of BC’s thriving made-for-television movie industry. The cohort, all Scripted Series Lab alumni, are: Shauna Johannesen, Kaylyn Johnson, Sarah Kelley, Kay Metchie, Tammy Tsang and Richard Young.
During the course of this six month program, the six screenwriters will build on their existing training: learning specialized skills for the television movie format, writing an original script with the support of a development executive, and developing industry connections.
“BC is one of North America’s largest production hubs for romances, thrillers and holiday movies made for television,” said Emma Bishop, PSP’s Program Manager. “By training screenwriters to write for this segment of the industry we broaden their skillsets and increase their ability to work in their home province. I am excited to support these talented writers through the inaugural program.”
The Writing Television Movies program is generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation, Creative BC & the Province of British Columbia, Champlain Média, the BC Film Foundation (administered by Creative BC) and Front Street Pictures.
The development partners are Champlain Média, Front Street Pictures, Lighthouse Pictures, Muse Entertainment, and Reckless Pictures.
Cohort Biographies
Shauna Johannesen
Shauna Johannesen is a writer, playwright, actor, and filmmaker whose stories navigate identity and belonging with deep heart and dark humour. Since graduating the Scripted Series Lab in 2022, Shauna has worked in development rooms, done script consultation, developed new projects, written and toured shows with the Symphony – including her latest show M is for Mystery which premieres in November – and joined the crew of Pacific Theatre as their Community Engagement Manager.
Kaylyn Johnson
Kaylyn Johnson is an alum of the 2023 Scripted Series Lab. Post-PSP, Kaylyn has put her background as a criminal defence lawyer and Crown Prosecutor to work in the writing rooms of procedural TV shows, including Family Law, Allegiance, and Private Eyes West Coast. 2026’s writing-related highlights include: her half-hour comedy, Juice, placing as a GEMFest Quarterfinalist and an Austin Film Festival Second-Rounder; her one-hour crime drama, 222, receiving the Rogers-BSO Script Development Fund; and the selection of her half-hour dramedy, Little Criminals, for the upcoming Script Development Program at the Female Eye Film Festival.
Sarah Kelley
Sarah Kelley is a proud member of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation in Golden Lake, ON. She’s a writer, an actress and an award-winning filmmaker for her short film, Good Grief. Sarah participated in the Scripted Series Lab in 2021 and in the first cohort of the PSP’s Indigenous Screenwriter’s Lab in 2024. She has developed two pilot projects through the Bell Fund Development Slate. Sarah gained early experience in the writer’s room as an intern on Family Law and later joined Murder in a Small Town as a Writer’s Assistant under Ian Weir, where she was promoted to Story Editor for Season Two. Last December, she developed her feature Dream Walkers through the Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters Lab. Most recently, she signed on to Marie Clement’s feature film How We Stand as an Associate Producer.
Kay Metchie
Kay Metchie started as a Script Supervisor before becoming a Supervising Producer for MOWs. In recent years, she’s worked as a writer on the show Sight Unseen, and story editor on Wild Cards and Yaga. She’s also fortunate to be the script coordinator on season 1 and 2 of the Amazon show Carrie. In 2026 she directed her first MOW, A Castle of Our Own, for the Hallmark Channel. She recently got to shadow a director on the Canadian classic, Murdoch Mysteries. She’s directed and produced multiple shorts that have played across North America with her most recent short, Split Ends, showing at the 2026 Chilliwack Film Festival and the 2026 Whistler Film Festival.
Tammy Tsang
Tammy Tsang is an award-winning screenwriter, born and raised in Vancouver. Her story experience includes When Calls the Heart, When Hope Calls, and the development rooms of Comback Road led by Jennica Harper, Vestige led by Jonathan Lloyd Walker, and Indigenous series Hey Cuzzin’. An alum of the 2022 Scripted Series Lab and the 2022 Rogers-BSO Film Development Fund, Tammy developed Tabletop Club, a kids comedy series through the IPF Short Form Series Development Program and a feature film with ReelWorld’s Emerging20 program. Working with director and producers Jason Karman and Kristyn Stilling, she has developed the Telefilm funded feature, Cold Start. Tammy has written numerous short films that have premiered all over the world, notably winning a Leo Award and multiple awards in the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon’s Ultra Short Category including Best Screenplay.
Richard Young
Richard Young is a two-time Canadian Screen Award-winning writer and actor. Writing credits include the television series Overlord and the Underwoods, Dino Ranch, and 16 Hudson, the digital series Sudden Master and dramatic short Maternal. His writing accolades include Coverfly RED List, Just-For-Laughs ComedyPRO Pitch Finalist, ScreenCraft Sci-Fi and Fantasy Screenwriting Competition Finalist/Honorable Mention, and Austin Film Festival Screenplay Semifinalist. His Indo-Caribbean short film Rising Tide won the US-based Tasveer-Netflix Film Fund and recently premiered at the Seattle Tasveer Film Festival. He’s an alumnus of the 2026 Scripted Series Lab and the BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Bootcamp taught by Anthony Q. Farrell.
Photo: Top L-R Shauna Johannesen, Kaylyn Johnson, Sarah Kelley. Bottom L-R Kay Metchie, Tammy Tsang and Richard Young.