Michelle Lesley Johnson

Michelle was once an academic coach for NFL- and NBA- bound student-athletes. A mix of Baltimore-born grit, some North Carolina-raised charm, and a unique ability to motivate high achievement. Let’s just say she CAN lead horses to water AND get them to drink.

She broke into the business by working every support staff job going—WPA, WA, SC—writing her first comedies House of Payne and Meet The Browns, both on TBS, and Let’s Stay Together on BET. Moving into writing drama, she’s a script coordinator on notable shows including The Handmaid’s Tale, Winning Time, The Acolyte and BMF.

Her drama pilot, “The Fifth Quarter,” earned a coveted First-Look Deal in the FOX Writers Incubator. That script also made the 2nd Round of the Sundance Episodic Lab. Another pilot “Hip Hop High” along with “The Fifth Quarter,” led to her selection as a Disney Writing Program Semi-finalist. She also has a feature film set up at Kronicle Media.

Michelle’s also an educator with an MA in Language, Literacy and Culture from Berkeley’s School of Ed. She’s an alumna of UNC (Communications) and The Cosby Screenwriting Fellowship through USC. And Script Anatomy! She’s taken Televisionary, Structure Lab and Genre Lab and was a Fellowship Bio & Essay Workshop student in ‘21 (her First-Look in the FOX Incubator came shortly aterwards in 2022).

Michelle is represented by Industry Entertainment.

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