Brysen Boyd, SoA '20, achieves success in the writer's room of HBO's "Succession"

Upper West Side NY

15 February, 2022

2:42 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY BELLA PECHATY FEBRUARY 13, 2022, 9:05 PM Family betrayal is nothing to the Roy family of HBO's hit show "Succession." The latest blow in a series-long feud amongst the Roy siblings is an overblown defamation letter drafted by Shiv Roy against her brother Kendall, which she tries to corner her other brothers Roman and Connor into signing. "I'm not signing this," Roman says. He thinks for a moment then says, facetiously, "It makes me feel unwell. [Kendall] taught me how to aim my pee-pee in the toilet." That joke, along with several others from Succession's third season, was the handiwork of Brysen Boyd, SoA '20, a Writing Fellow for the show's team. The show grapples with the immoral power struggles of a one-percent family with an iconic brand of searing satire. Last year, Boyd was invited to add his voice to the mix as part of a series fellowship. With nine years of playwriting experience, Boyd's writing is intensely personal and often revolves around bottled scenes of interpersonal conflict or recollection. Some of his creative nonfiction and flash fiction work serve as lyrical expressions of his emotions or memories, like cooking for his grandmother. Though some of his recent work involves writing with a more biting tone, Boyd's inspiration has always stemmed from a deeply intimate place. "I write because I love to write, and it's the only thing that has ever made sense to me," Boyd said. "And what I naturally gravitate towards is my feelings and love." At just five years old, Boyd knew that he wanted to write for television. Growing up outside of Seattle, he was an avid television watcher and developed a taste in programming that ranged from "Sex and the City" to "The Sopranos." More than just entertainment, television offered escape. "I had quite a difficult childhood," Boyd said. "[Television shows] were very important to me because I was not the happiest nine year old." Boyd graduated from Columbia's School of the Arts in 2020, and with the pandemic in full swing, he entered the job market at a time that was intimidating for any recent graduates, let alone young creatives. He had a degree in creative nonfiction writing, but Boyd realized that the smartest career move would be to return to his first creative love: television. HBO itself was a network that Boyd grew up on; his parents first used the network to watch boxing, and he continued to watch its programming long after leaving the house. Shows like HBO's "Enlightened" and "Girls," which premiered around the time Boyd's grandmother passed away, became meaningful to him for more than just their quality of writing. With no television credits behind his name, Boyd knew that a position writing for HBO would be extremely unlikely—but it would also be the career chance of a lifetime. The first in his family to attend college, Boyd received his undergraduate degree at Boston College. He reached out to over a hundred of its alumni for support and career opportunities during his job search. Eventually, a vice president at HBO responded, saying she could put him in contact with a team working on a show in New York City. "When the HBO VP told me that she was gonna put me in contact with the New York show, I did not expect it to be 'Succession,'" he said. "It was the most excited I've ever been and also the most nervous I've ever been. Going to Columbia was nerve racking … but being with the showrunner of the show for the first time was quite possibly the most nervous I've ever been." After speaking with some of the producers and showrunners at "Succession," Boyd was brought onto the team after the show created a unique position for him, naming him the inaugural "We Here For You" Writing Fellow. His background in playwriting also came in handy, as he described the atmosphere of the set as being similar to the "black box theater" where some of his plays were performed. His time on the show gave him a hands-on education in television, where he sat in on production and writing meetings, and watched the operations of an active set on a high-budget show. As part of his learning process, Boyd was eventually asked to provide feedback on a scene's progression or a character arc. A lot of the show's appeal comes from its characters, all undeniably immoral but still managing to capture the viewer's attention each week. Writing an effective anti-hero is a difficult task for a writer, but character building is something that Boyd believes can make or break a show. "I love shows that invest in their characters," he said, "[Shows with] characters that aren't afraid to want to be in love ... The reason why I love working on 'Succession' so much … is not because of the 100 million dollar budget … The reason why I loved working on it so much is because all the writers were so invested in rewriting the script and trying to tweak it until it's as strong as possible." Though television writing and the entertainment industry at large is a notoriously competitive working environment, Boyd found the team to be supportive during his time on the show. Once his role concluded, he gifted the writing team with homemade tamales. However, most entertainment spaces continue to fall short when it comes to representation and diversity. Boyd said that it is unlikely for him to write something starkly political, though the current inequity of the industry means that his identity is often highly politicized. "I'm Black and Mexican, proudly, and gay, obviously. My identities are very important to me, diversity is very important to me," he said. "I went to Boston College, and Columbia. I work in theater, and I worked on a show where all the main characters are white. So I am not unused to being in white spaces." "Succession" won Outstanding Drama Series at the 2020 Emmys, and is expected to win again this year. Historically, this award has never been given to a show run by a person of color. By the time he creates his own show, Boyd hopes this will not be the case. "It makes me very sad that the spaces that I want my work to be in are not as diverse as they should be," he said; however, he hopes that diversifying creative teams behind shows will create change from the inside out. "If I were to win an Emmy one day, I pray that I'm not the first one to win it," he said. "Succession" and shows like it may not have been cast with diversity in mind, but making spaces for writers like Boyd shows commitment to and interest in new perspectives and identities. Inviting a recent graduate like Boyd, who has a promising career ahead of him, puts a vital new voice into the industry. "I'm quite young, I realize, and I have a lot more to do," he said, "but I'm quite proud of what I've done so far." Seeing Roman deliver his joke on screen was a full-circle moment for Boyd. His first piece of work airing on television on one of his favorite network's most popular shows meant that his first ambitions had achieved their first success. "I can actually have a career at this. Five-year-old me wasn't so stupid," Boyd said. Staff writer Bella Pechaty can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @bella_pechaty. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.