Ida Yazdi: From Blueprints to Screenplays

Photo courtesy of Ida Yazdi

Meet Ida Yazdi, an Iranian writer who got her start in the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program. With a background in architecture, Ida pivoted to TV writing, focusing on crafting stories that straddle the line between comedy and drama. She explores themes of reinvention, growth, and humor, often emphasizing Middle Eastern and Muslim perspectives. After her time in the program, Ida worked as the script coordinator for City of Fire and was most recently staffed as a writer on the NBC sitcom Extended Family.  

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your journey as a writer? 

I’m currently based in Los Angeles, but I’m from Iran. We moved from Iran to Birmingham, Alabama. I spent my formative years there and then eventually moved up to the East Coast. I stayed a little in New Jersey, then New York, and then finally found myself in Los Angeles.  

My background was in architecture. I was an architect for a few years before I pivoted toward film and TV. I moved to L.A. a few years ago to focus on TV writing. I really love writing dramadies or grounded, emotional comedies. I focus on people who, like me, have had to reinvent themselves, what that looks like, and finding the humor in that. There’s a lot of stories that focus on what coming of age looks like as a teenager. I like to write about what coming of age looks like in your late twenties, or your thirties, or your forties. I explore what falling on your face looks like when you’re trying to start over—what that looks like as well as the humor and pain of it all. I especially like to focus on Middle Eastern perspectives and Muslim voices.  

You’ve lived in a lot of places that are vastly culturally different. Were those shifts hard?  

Over the years, transitioning between worlds has gotten easier, but it can be exhausting. 

What sparked the shift from architecture to TV writing?  

I have always loved film and TV. I come from a family of storytellers. No one does it professionally, but storytelling is very important to our culture. I never saw it as a viable career option, though. It’s just not the kind of family I grew up in. I have always loved architecture, so to please both my parents and the creative side of me, I decided to pursue that.  

I had this itch to pursue writing in film and TV that kept growing. I wasn’t creatively fulfilled in architecture. It’s not a harsh transition between the two. There are so many parallels between architecture and writing. There’s a lot of structure and form with both.  The way I approach writing is similar to the way you approach designing a building.  

Anyway, I realized it was now or never. I tried the thing that would please my parents, and that didn’t work out. So, I said to myself, “You know what? I’m going to give this a shot. I’ll apply to graduate school. If I get in, then that’s a sign I should pivot and try this thing out”. I got into Columbia, and so I did it.  

What was your first job in entertainment?  

My first job was actually through the Writers Guild Foundation. I got it through the [Writers’ Acccess Support Staff] Training Program.  

When I pivoted, it was the year before COVID, and then I graduated during the pandemic. I didn’t know anything or anyone in this industry. I knew I wanted to write for a television show, and you always hear support staff is a great way to get your feet wet. It is a really great learning experience. You get to learn from the best. But then, I quickly found out how difficult it is to get those support staff roles. Then, I found the [Writers’ Acccess Support Staff Training] program through the Writers Guild Foundation. It was in its first year, and I feel very fortunate to have gotten in. Through this program I got my first real job in this industry as the script coordinator for City on Fire for Apple TV.  

How did the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program prepare you for that position? 

Script coordination is a really tough job. You would think that training would be mandatory since there’s a lot on the line. You're kind of like a one-person department. You're the liaison between the writers, production, the studio, and the network. I’m very thankful for this training because it really prepared me to take on the job.  

Working on City on Fire was a little different because it wasn't a traditional writers’ room. The two showrunners, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, wrote every episode. [For] every draft they would write, I would proofread the revisions and check for continuity. I worked very closely with them to get the revisions ready to send out. I also did the credits and got the credits paperwork ready. I would distribute everything to the studio, the network, and to our production crew out in New York. It’s not a 9 to 5 job, especially when you’re in production. It’s around the clock. You’re always on call.  

The program really prepared me to do the job, but the first couple of weeks were intimidating. The great thing about the program was that it gave me a network of people to reach out to. I never felt stuck or unprepared because not only was the training so detailed and helpful, it also gave me that network.  

My second writers’ room, Girls on the Bus, which hasn’t premiered on Max yet, was more of a traditional writers’ room with nine writers. I was a script coordinator for that as well. After that, I got staffed on a show for NBC called Extended Family.  

Is there any TV show or movie that, looking back, made you want to become a writer? 

It’s so funny because the answer I’m going to give is Mad Men, but my work is not reflective of that. Mad Men was the show that I pulled all-nighters to in studio and architecture school. I had two screens up. One was AutoCAD and the second screen was Mad Men. Sometimes it’d be two in the morning, and I’d completely stopped working because I was sucked into Mad Men. I’d stay up watching it until six in the morning. It's the show I keep going back to. I’ve learned so much from how the characters were written and how their relationships were developed.  

If you could be in the room and work on any TV show, past or present, what would it be? 

Oh my God, Beef. That show came out earlier this year and I’ve already watched it four times. I love that show so much. It’s exactly what I want to write. The tone of that show is so delicious. I like to write that blend between comedy and drama. I love how the rage the characters feel sometimes stems from being first-generation. It was an incredible show. It would be a privilege to walk past that writer’s room.  

Last question: when working in entertainment there’s always talk of “getting your foot in the door” and breaking in. Do you think you’ve broken in yet? 

I do think I’ve broken in, but I don’t think it stops there, honestly. I used to think, “Oh, once I break in, I can finally take a deep breath”. That’s not really the case. I feel so, so lucky and fortunate. I can’t believe where I am today. I definitely do think that I have [broken in], and, honestly, a huge part of it is because of the [Writers’ Access Support Staff Training] program. I’m not just saying that. I really mean it. So, yes, and I’m very grateful.  

Is there anything else you’d like to add before I let you go? 

I love to sing the praises of this program. I really mean it. Every door that has been opened has been because of this program. I feel very fortunate to be a staff writer now, and that I have representation, and all these things. They’re all because of the [Writers’ Access] Support Staff Training Program. Debbie and Clay are like my guardian angels. I love them. They’re amazing, and I learned so much from them. I went from knowing no one in this city, no one in this industry, to suddenly being in this cohort and having this network. It made it less lonely and more hopeful that I could make writing a career. I love this program. I’m very grateful. I’ve learned so much.  

This interview has been edited and condensed by Kera McKeon.