Sarah Gertrude Shapiro is an American filmmaker and television writer best known for co-creating the Lifetime television series UnREAL with Marti Noxon.[1]
Early life
Shapiro was born in Santa Barbara, California, to mother Diane Wolf (née Wallace) and father Perry Shapiro,[2] a professor.[3] She has a sister, Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza, who is an academic. Shapiro is Jewish and grew up celebrating the High Holidays and Passover.[4]
Shapiro said she started writing when she was five years old, a book called Ergant Cries Ignored.[5][6] At the age of 16, after attending a film class at Santa Barbara City College, Shapiro decided she wanted to be a director.[1]
In Los Angeles, Shapiro found work on the reality TV show High School Reunion, unknowingly signing a contract with the production company that allowed them to move her to different shows at their discretion, and which committed Shapiro to "unlimited renewable options for perpetuity."[9] Shapiro would eventually become a producer on The Bachelor TV franchise, a role she strongly disliked, but which would play an influential part in her later career.[1] She worked on the show for four seasons over the course of two years, going from associate producer to field producer.[9]
In 2005, seeking to leave reality television and end her restrictive non-compete employment contract (which was only effective in California), Shapiro moved to Portland, Oregon,[10] where she worked at the advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy.[8] Shapiro was familiar with Portland from having interned at Portland's Northwest Film Center during college, where she met filmmakers Miranda July and other local artists and filmmakers.[10] Initially she planned to be a kale farmer.[1]
At Wieden + Kennedy, Shapiro worked as a director, creating content in the form of short forms and documentaries.[1] Wieden + Kennedy was an early supporter of her creative endeavors, allowing Shapiro to take leave and providing funding for a Kickstarter campaign for Sequin Raze.[10] Shapiro worked on Sequin Raze, which she called a passion project, for four years while working at Wieden + Kennedy.[11][12]
A mentor at the ad agency in Portland, Sally DeSipio, connected Shapiro with Lifetime, where she pitched the show without an agent, and was paired with writer Marti Noxon.[10]
On July 30, 2013, Lifetime placed a pilot order on UnREAL, inspired by Sequin Raze. The pilot was written by Shapiro and Marti Noxon and was produced by A+E Studios. On February 6, 2014, UnREAL was green-lit, with a 10-episode series order,[15] and premiered in June 2015.[9]
Shapiro is credited as co-creator, writer, and supervising producer on the show. On July 6, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season of 10 episodes, to premiere in 2016.[16] She spoke about the creation of the series in a lengthy 2016 profile with The New Yorker writer D.T. Max.[17]
Shapiro's previous job working as a field producer on the American reality dating series The Bachelor was the inspiration behind both the short film as well as the Lifetime series.[18] She talked about her journey navigating the world of Hollywood in an independent Tedx TED Conference.[5]
Shapiro is also a visual artist who created and wrote the music for a hand-animated film called I Wish I was an Animal,[8][20] which was released on Doggpony Records.[21]
Filmography
2015-2016: UnREAL - TV series (executive producer, created by, written by, teleplay by)
2013: Sequin Raze - TV short (producer, director, writer)
2012: 2nd Best - short (director, writer)
2005: Battlegrounds: King of the Court - TV series documentary (story producer)
2002-2004: The Bachelor - TV show (associate producer, segment producer, field producer)