Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.hollywoodreporter.com
LuckyChap, senior vp TV
LOGLINE Developing (and producing) your future TV obsessions, including Andrew Garfield’sWild Things.
THE ARC Rather than follow her agent dad and comedy writer mom into the business, Berkus arrived at University of Michigan eager to be a lawyer. “Then I rushed the law fraternity and didn’t get in,” she says. “I mean, I whiffed it and was like, ‘Shit, now what do I do?’ ” The answer, it turns out, was to parlay her love of TV into a series of PA gigs on shows like The Mindy Project before talking her way into a job as the writers assistant on Girls and, later, with Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s company. From there, she logged six years at Imagine Entertainment, where she was intimately involved in a slate that included The ’Burbs and the upcoming Siegfried and Roy series starring Garfield and Jude Law for Apple TV. But LuckyChap came calling a year ago, and the L.A. native and new mom to daughter Roonie jumped at the opportunity to work at the Margot Robbie-led hit factory. In that time, she has built a roster of 10 to 15 projects, including a Life Is Strange series for Amazon Prime Video and a few more Dunham collaborations. Still, Berkus doesn’t take herself too seriously. “If I had to brand myself, I’d say I like to bring a levity to this business,” she says, “because I think sometimes, especially now, things can get really stressful and we lose sight of the fact that ultimately this is just one big party.”
PERSON IN HOLLYWOOD I’D TRADE PLACES WITH FOR A DAY “Nina Rosenstein, who does all of the HBO comedy specials. We’ve never met, but Nina, girl, if you’re reading this, let’s link and get our Freaky Friday moment started!”
WORST ADVICE I’VE GOTTEN ABOUT WORKING IN HOLLYWOOD “That having unapproachable girlboss ‘I’m smarter than you’ energy is cool. It’s not, it’s lame! Normalize the quiet power in validating others and having a fun vibe.”
THE BEST PLACE FOR A COFFEE MEETING IS “Nowhere are you crazy!! No more of these!!”
