The script for I Was a Teenage Smuggler is being written by Joanna Calo, Carlos López Estrada (both pictured), and the story's reporter, Kevin Sieff. They will also executive produce alongside This American Life's Ira Glass and Alissa Shipp.
Estrada is also directing the pilot and producing through his Antigravity Academy. Calo is the co-showrunner, executive producer, writer and director of FX's The Bear, which just finished its successful second season and is expected to be a major player at the upcoming Emmys. She is currently adapting the book Suburban Hell for Legendary. Her other writing credits include Hacks, Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club (2020), Amazon's Undone, and BoJack Horseman.
Estrada’s debut film Blindspotting premiered opening night at Sundance 2018 and was subsequently released by Lionsgate. He was nominated by the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film. His second film, Summertime, opened Sundance 2020 and was released theatrically the following year. His documentary film Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
On the TV side, Estrada directed an episode of FX and Marvel’s Legion and is currently developing an original comedy show at FX in association with This American Life. He is currently writing and set to direct the reimagining of the Japanese anime Your Name for Paramount and Bad Robot.
Sieff is an international investigative correspondent at the Washington Post focusing on the places where sports intersects with politics, crime and culture. He served previously as the paper’s Mexico bureau chief, Africa bureau chief and Afghanistan bureau chief. Before joining the Post, he worked in the Washington bureau of the Financial Times and covered immigration from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. He started his career at the Brownsville Herald in Texas.
