Jane the Virgin Writer Talks about Her Path to Success

Corinne Brinkherhoff (COM’04) was a personal assistant to David E. Kelley (LAW’83), the creator of such hit series as Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, and Boston Legal. Her career in television was launched from there. Photo by Noah Webb

Wrapping up the annual Cinematheque series in May was alum Corinne Brinkerhoff, who has written and produced for a series of hit network TV shows in the decade since she graduated. Among the shows are the legal dramas Boston Legal and The Good Wife and the contemporary Sherlock Holmes crime drama Elementary.

Most recently, the Emmy-nominated Brinkerhoff (COM’04) has written and been co–executive producer of this season’s breakout hit Jane the Virgin, a comedy-drama about a 23-year-old virgin who becomes pregnant after she is accidentally artificially inseminated. Based on a Venezuelan telenovela, the show, which airs on the CW Network, has won a Peabody Award. “Immaculately conceived, it’s a smart, self-aware telenovela that knows when and how to wink at itself,” reads the Peabody citation. “Its Latina lead, Gina Rodriguez, is incandescent.” Rodriguez won a Golden Globe in January for her performance.

Brinkerhoff visited campus to talk about and show an episode of Jane the Virgin as part of the Cinematheque series, a College of Communication program that brings accomplished filmmakers to campus to screen and discuss their work.

The COM alum spoke to BU Today about her career path, what it’s like to be in the writers’ room, and when we might expect to see her new Boston-based murder mystery American Gothic (not based on the painting), currently in development at CBS TV Studios.

BU Today: I understand your path to becoming a TV writer and executive producer started during a BU alumni-networking trip to Los Angeles.

Brinkerhoff: It was exciting and encouraging to meet so many BU alums working in the industry. But the most serendipitous day was the visit to DEK Productions, the production company started by David E. Kelley (LAW’83). They had an actual internship program to apply to, so it was more than just an “industry contact” to have. It was a potential foot in the door. That summer, I did everything I could to get that internship. I called, emailed, faxed….It was bordering on harassment, but people say you have to be persistent, right? Finally someone got back to me and said they weren’t ignoring me; their internship coordinator was on vacation, so could I maybe cool my jets a little? Eventually, they brought me in for an interview. I remember I got points for stating on my résumé that I could make “a mean cup of coffee,” which was not necessarily true, but it at least signaled to them that I knew my place on the ladder (read: bottom rung).

In what ways did your COM master’s degree prepare you for writing for television?

I had very little grasp of the practical parts of the industry. I knew what TV I liked, the kind of writing I liked, but I had no concept of how it got to the screen. So it was enormously helpful to get a handle on the various parts of production and producing.

You cut your teeth on Boston Legal, writing a spec script you gave to Kelley. Your agent later suggested you interview for a writer’s job on The Good Wife. Did you have to immerse yourself in legalese for the job?

Not really. You very quickly develop a parlance in that kind of thing. My best friend is a lawyer, so I called her a lot at first—“What happens at an arraignment?” “What’s summary judgment?”—and then it all becomes part of your vernacular.

Plus, we always had writers on staff who were also lawyers—and we took a lot of creative license with the law. A good story always trumps what is technically correct. I wrote a chapter about this in a book called Lawyers in Your Living Room: Law on Television, which, not to brag, is currently the number 1,758,284th ranked book on Amazon. That suggests as many as six different people have read it.

How did you come to work on Jane the Virgin? Why did the show appeal to you?

When I heard the logline, I thought, how in the world can they pull that off? And then I read the script by Jennie Snyder Urman, whose writing I’d always admired. She had taken a pretty wacky premise and turned it into something hilarious and heartfelt and inventive, and I completely loved it. I had a pilot in contention at the same time and on the same network. I got the no on my pilot the same day Jennie got the yes, and luckily it worked out for me to hop over to her show.

Jane the Virgin fans might not know it’s based loosely on a Venezuelan telenovela. Have you watched the original series, and has it influenced your show’s plotline?

I’ve never seen the original. From what I understand, they’re wildly different on every level. Our Jane is 23; the original Juana is in high school, etc. The original is an actual telenovela. Jane is sort of a loving send-up of the telenovela. We get to use all the fun tropes, but we’re winking at the audience the whole time.

The show is known for fast dialogue and multiple subplots. What’s it like in the writer’s room and how do you keep track of it all?

It’s a really fun writers’ room. With these characters and these scenarios, you can pitch whatever insane idea you can dream up, and it’s almost never too out-there to be considered. That’s incredibly fun as a writer.

But it’s organized. We sit down and plot out the major arcs at the beginning of the season, and that gives us a blueprint to build on all year. As we’re building an individual episode, it does look chaotic. We shorthand the scenes on the board, and every story is in a different color, and by the time it’s ready to pitch, it looks very Beautiful Mind in there.

What was your reaction when you heard that the show had received a Peabody Award?

Thrilled! We all continue to be thrilled with the accolades the show is receiving. I’m especially happy for Gina on her Golden Globe. That girl is a national treasure. The whole cast is wonderful, and so is the crew. It’s an amazing group. And any recognition for the show is recognition for Jennie, who has brilliantly steered the ship all along. If it sounds like I’m fawning, I swear it’s sincere. I truly adore these people and this show.

When can we expect to see American Gothic, which is currently in development, on CBS?

It’s still in development, so there’s no order yet. Time will tell.