‘Pachinko’ Showrunner Soo Hugh, UCP Launch Asian Pacific Story Incubator (Exclusive)

Television writer/producer Soo Hugh, whose highly anticipated Pachinko adaptation will premiere worldwide on Apple TV+ on March 25, has unveiled details of her story incubator with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The Thousand Miles Project, which was first teased when Hugh’s overall pact with the studio was announced a year ago, will develop creators who want to tell stories about the Asian Pacific diaspora. During her initial deal talks, the former co-showrunner of AMC’s The Terror told UCP that working with international filmmakers is a priority for her, and it was the studio that suggested codifying the process as a formal program. (UCP also runs Vida creator Tanya Saracho’s Ojalá Ignition Lab for Latino television writers.)

“I’m blown away by the resources UCP and Universal have thrown at this,” Hugh tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We really did the R&D process for a year, and we are putting together a program that I really truly hope isn’t bullshit.”

Unlike many other incubator programs, Thousand Miles starts with a true first step — a two-day virtual workshop that will teach up to 20 participants (individuals or writing pairs) the fundamentals of TV writing and the business, through panels and lectures from industry professionals including writers, executives, managers and agents. “I would love to see people apply to this program who were like me, who had no idea how to even take that first step,” says Hugh, who worked in marketing and advertising before breaking into TV with shows like AMC’s The Killing and CBS’ Under the Dome. “We’ve created a program that is information-focused to expose people who don’t have that front-row seat yet to how the industry works. If we can just teach that first step from all these other people who have done it, they can figure out what path they want to take.”

Following the workshop, which will take place June 11 and June 18, participants will be encouraged to submit series concepts, and three will be chosen for a paid 24-week lab to develop a pilot script. Those three writers or writing pairs will receive guidance from Hugh and her team as well as general meetings with reps and producers.

“The goal is three shows made,” says Hugh, who adds that compensation for the lab participants is a crucial element of the program. “We wanted to choose a few projects we really believe in and give those writers a platform to say, ‘I am a paid writer.’ The key is to treat all three projects like legitimate studio projects.”

Applications will be accepted online from Feb. 1 through March 31. Writer-director Ria Tobaccowala will serve as program lead for the Thousand Miles Project.

“UCP is thrilled to collaborate with Soo and her team on the launch of the Thousand Miles Project,” UCP president Beatrice Springborn said in a statement. “This program will further her mission to elevate diverse voices and encourage a richer and more authentic landscape of stories. We look forward to championing Soo and the writers throughout the course of this project and beyond.”

In addition to Pachinko, Hugh also is writing Disney’s Flight of the Navigators relaunch and will produce an adaptation of Wisconsin Death Trip for Media Res and an Amazon feature penned by playwright Lynn Nottage and documentarian Tony Gerber. She is repped by WME, Management 360 and McKuin Frankel.

Jan. 28, 1:10 p.m. Added more information about UCP and statement from UCP president Beatrice Springborn.