“The Next MacGyver” Competition aims to create a show with a female engineer protagonist, one that will encourage women and girls to pursue careers in STEM fields, particularly engineering. The five winners will win $5000 each plus will be mentored by successful Hollywood TV producers in developing their pilot scripts. The twelve finalists have proposed a wide array of shows, historical, science fiction, mystery. They show a lot of promise among them.
“The Next MacGyver” Concepts
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- The Mind Concept Art by Eric Tortora Pato Name: Nao Murakami Title: The Mind Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Crime Drama Logline: In the universe that’s just like ours, but slightly different, the minds of great scientists and innovators are stored within the super computer. When that technology gets stolen, an engineer forms a partnership with an android who can download the minds of the past.
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- SECs (Science and Engineering Clubs) Concept Art by Michael Penick Name: Jayde Lovell Title: SECs (Science and Engineering Clubs) Genre: High School Dramatic Comedy Logline: Emily, a beautiful but snotty teenager, must join the high school Science and Engineering Club to avoid getting expelled, after accidentally setting fire to the school gymnasium during a science fair. She helps the club achieve their dreams of one day coming first at FIRST, the national science and technology competition for teens. It’s Glee meets Mean Girls, with an educational element embedded in each episode.
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- Rule 702 Concept Art by Jiedi Chen Name: Beth Keser Title: Rule 702 Genre: Adventure / Procedural Logline: A young and beautiful engineering and science prodigy decides to forego corporate life to pursue a career as an expert witness. She spends her new life traveling across the country to testify in torn-from-the-headlines cases, but in each case she finds a mystery that requires a keen mind and scientific investigation to find the truth.
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- Q Branch Concept Art by Matthew Zikry Name: Craig Motlong Title: Q Branch Genre: Spy Action Logline: You know those gadgets that spies use on dangerous missions? The shoe phones, the laser pens, the gas pellets hidden in watches? Someone goes in the field and invents those. This is her story.
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- Q Branch Concept Art by Matthew Zikry Name: Craig Motlong Title: Q Branch Genre: Spy Action Logline: You know those gadgets that spies use on dangerous missions? The shoe phones, the laser pens, the gas pellets hidden in watches? Someone goes in the field and invents those. This is her story.
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- Kansas Concept Art by Kathy Liu Name: Shane Courtney Title: Kansas Genre: Science Fiction Drama Logline: Sophie Villeneuve, a celebrated French engineer, overcomes personal tragedy by immersing herself in creating the first human settlement on Mars.
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- Isabelle.exe Concept Art by Ruolin Li Name: Daniel Wright Title: Isabelle.exe Genre: Science Fiction / Drama Logline: Isabelle thinks she’s an ordinary college freshman, until an accident reveals she’s an advanced robot with programmed memories, but not a very well put-together one. With the help of fellow students and professors, Isabelle tries to learn how to keep herself functioning and figure out who created her, and why.
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- Imagineers Concept Art by Brian Rhodes Name: Wesley Burger Title: Imagineers Genre: Comedy Logline: An offbeat single-cam workplace comedy about a diverse group of quirky but brilliant Disney Imagineers who make dreams come true. Think Silicon Valley or The Office but aimed at teens and infused with official behind-the-scenes Disney material a la The Wonderful World of Disney. This is a fictional series that will cross over with real Disney properties, events, attractions, culture, and lore – making that classic mouse house magic freshly relevant in the current tech zeitgeist.
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- @Gnosis Concept Art by Matt Griffin Name: Judy Wu Title: @Gnosis Genre: Interactive Social Media Crime Drama Logline: It’s Veronica Mars meets Gossip Girl meets Hackers with a social media element. When the mayor’s popular daughter is abducted, five teenagers form an alliance to share clues via a Twitter(esque) alias (@Gnosis) to solve the mystery. They realize that there is a genius psychopath out there who is bent on destroying not only their town but their lives. Only by using their kick-ass brains can they outsmart the villain. The interactive Twitter element will be used to engage the audience during the show, week by week, to build the plot and create stimulating discussion.
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- Enhanced Concept Art by Peter Bollinger Name: Sam Ruano Title: Enhanced Genre: One-hour Drama Procedural Logline: Enhanced deals with crimes and criminals of the late 21-st century where technology, biology and robotics have given rise to a new breed of criminal. The show follows the career and personal life of bioengineer Claire Parish, as she adapts to life as a newly recruited FBI field agent. Selected for her expertise in the field, Claire helps her team investigate crimes perpetrated by individuals with artificially enhanced abilities amidst a growing climate of civil unrest and techno-paranoia
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- Doctor Tailor Concept Art by Mina Price Name: Kristen Bobst Title: Doctor Tailor Genre: Drama – Procedural Logline: Former fashion designer Tilly Tailor became a wearable technology engineer after clothing saved her life. Working as a consultant for the FBI, she helps solve crimes and foil wrongdoers by examining, creating, and hacking articles of clothing. She gives “dressed to kill” a new meaning.
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- Ada and the Machine Concept Art by Zoe Chevat Name: Shanee Edwards Title: Ada and the Machine Genre: Historical / Steampunk Logline: In 1832, 17-year-old Ada Lovelace, the real-life daughter of the poet Lord Byron, meets the first computer engineer, a young and dashing Charlie Babbage. A highly skilled mathematician, Ada generates logarithms and creates programs for Charlie’s wild new calculating machines. Together, they adventure through the steam age, obsessed with creating a super machine that can be programmed to “think” like a human.
“The Next MacGyver” finalists are:
| NAME | LOCATION | GENRE | SERIES TITLE |
| Kristen Bobst | Marina Del Rey, California | Drama / Procedural | Doctor Tailor |
| Wesley Burger | Long Beach, California | Comedy | Imagineers |
| Shane Courtney | Fayetteville, Arkansas | Sci-Fi / Drama | Kansas |
| Shanee Edwards | Culver City, California | Historical / Steampunk | Ada and the Machine |
| Beth Keser | San Diego, California | Adventure / Procedural | Rule 702. |
| Jayde Lovell | New York, New York | Comedy / Drama | SECs (Science and Engineering Clubs) |
| Craig Motlong | Seattle, Washington | Spy / Action | Q Branch |
| Nao Murakami | Seattle, Washington | Sci-Fi / Crime Drama | The Mind |
| Sam Ruano | Ontario, Canada | Drama / Procedural | Enhanced |
| Miranda Sajdak | Los Angeles, California | Historical Drama | Riveting |
| Daniel Wright | Queensland, Australia | Science Fiction / Drama | Isabelle.exe |
| Judy Wu | San Mateo, California | Interactive Crime Drama | @Gnosis |
The judges and mentors* for “The Next MacGyver”
• Wanda Austin, Aerospace Corporation president and CEO; member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
• Madeline Di Nonno, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
• America Ferrera*, actress/producer (Ugly Betty, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
• Clayton Krueger*, senior vice president of television at Scott Free Productions (3001: The Final Odyssey)
• Maja J. Matarić, professor and Chan Soon-Shiong Chair in Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics; vice dean for research at USC Viterbi School of Engineering
• Lori McCreary*, CEO and founder of Revelations Entertainment; president of Producer’s Guild of America (Madam Secretary, Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman)
• Gabrielle Neimand*, head of Take Fountain Productions; producer (The Last Exorcism, The Thing)
• Roberto Orci*, writer/producer (Star Trek, Scorpion, Sleepy Hollow, Hawaii Five-O, Fringe)
• Debbie Sterling, founder and CEO of GoldieBlox
• Valerie Weiss, biophysicist; founder, PhD Productions
• Lee Zlotoff, MacGyver creator
• Anthony E. Zuiker*, creator and executive producer of the CSI franchise, including CSI: Cyber
