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Women Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker

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Today’s Women Behind the Scenes spotlight is shone on TV producers and screenwriters Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker, who have been writing partners for a number of years.

The ladies both got started as writers on the 2000 TV movie called Unauthorized Brady Bunch: The Final Days. That same year they moved over to the long-running supernatural series Charmed, working on the show first as writers and executive story editors through 2002 and then in 2003 they were co-producers.

Monica Owusu-Breen (left) and Alison Schapker (right)

Monica Owusu-Breen (left) and Alison Schapker (right)

That fall the ladies joined the spy drama Alias as executive story editors and writers. The next season they were promoted to producers and by the show’s final season both Monica and Alison were supervising producers, writing about a dozen show’s over the three years they worked on the series.

In 2006, Monica and Alison were brought in to develop the first season of Brothers & Sisters, working as writers and supervising producers. That same fall they worked as supervising producers on the ABC juggernaut Lost, but returned to Brothers and Sisters the next season, as they were promoted to co-executive producers. In the third and fourth season of Brothers & Sisters, they held the position of executive producers.

They both left Brothers and Sisters at the end of the show’s fourth season and were hired as writers and co-executive producers on Fringe, staying with the show in those positions for a few seasons.

Most recently, Monica joined the staff of the new NBC drama Revolution where she is working as a co-executive producer and writer. You can follow Monica at Facebook here.

Using her favorite online handle, Rueben is an East Coast-bred gal who is now a permanent Californian and a lifelong tv-oholic. She watches at least 25 TV shows a week, goes to the movies as often as possible, listens to music every waking moment, reads every day and “plays” on the internet every chance she can. Some of her current favorite TV shows are Outlander, Sweet Magnolias, Wednesday, The Mandalorian, The Equalizer, Fire Country, Matlock, Miss Scarlet, Hudson & Rex, SkyMed, The Rookie, Bridgerton, Virgin River, The Witcher, Leverage: Redemption and School Spirits. She is looking forward to new episodes of Reacher and 1923; the finale episodes of Cobra Kai and the debuts of the new dramas The Hunting Party and Suits LA. Follow her on Bluesky @ruebensramblings.bsky.social or contact her at rueben@nicegirlstv.com. Please also check out Rueben's Ramblings website for even more entertainment news.