Rachel Shukert on Adapting Stories and Finding the “North Star” | Women in Entertainment Podcast

What does it take to modernize a story people already love without losing its soul? Writer-producer Rachel Shukert joins Women in Entertainment for a warm, hilarious, deeply craft-forward conversation about building female-led worlds that feel timeless and true.

From overlapping NYU memories (and the oddly permanent “NYU smell”) to her early career writing sharp, personal essays in the pre-social-media internet, Rachel shares how quiet time helped shape her voice. That work led to books, options, and a leap into TV right as the industry’s early-2010s boom opened doors for writers outside the traditional track.

Rachel breaks down her approach to adaptation, whether it’s The Baby-Sitters Club or The Burbs, by focusing on what she calls the core “North Star.” She also reflects on the meta magic of the GLOW writer’s room, new-mom energy in Hollywood, and how her real life echoed storylines she helped write.

Listen to learn:

- How Rachel identifies the “non-negotiable” heart of an adaptation

- Why you can’t “talk yourself into” the right project

- The difference between story (emotional arc) and plot (the engine)

- How she builds character from life-wants, not episode-wants

- What she’s developing next—and why her default protagonist is a woman

The Women in Entertainment Podcast presents thoughtful conversations with leaders across entertainment from film and television, to media and gaming, and everything in between; as we talk about what it takes to make your mark in the industry, lessons these incredible people have learned along the way, and how they have found their way in an ever-changing environment.

With in-depth conversations and pre-submitted listener questions, each episode provides candid advice for navigating today’s entertainment industry, giving listeners an inside look at how key players got their start, and guidance for building the necessary toolkit to bring careers to life in film, TV, music, theater, graphics, writing, animation, and beyond.

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Listen on Audible: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a85..

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