We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Janine Sherman Barrois a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Janine, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think in order to have success you have to have passion for what you do. I love to write, so writing is not work, it’s truly a joy. If I didn’t love to write, I actually wouldn’t do this. It’s too hard, too heartbreaking and way too insular. I remember one New Year’s Eve my neighbors were having a party, my husband had already gone over and I was still in sweats writing. My mom came up and was like ,”You have to go to the party. Put the computer down, take a shower, get dressed and go …go live.” That is one of the big things you have to remember. You actually have to live in order to be a writer. You have to have experiences to draw from, which brings me to the second part. I think you actually have to have balance. The balance is what will give you the stamina to pursue your dreams. I have a rich life outside of the entertainment business with my family. I also love contemporary art. I sit on some boards and have a small group of friends who are my ride or dies who I can talk to any time of night. I think those relationships, those alliances are what will fuel you when you feel like giving up or the mountain is too steep. You don’t have to have 3000 friends but 3 or 4 who are rooting for you and who are there when you need a shoulder to cry on or scream at. It helps when you have chosen a high pressured career such as entertainment and are running a small production company.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am writer and showrunner under an exclusive multi-year deal with Warner Bros. through my company, Folding Chair Productions, to create and develop new series. Currently I am showrunning and executive producing on the upcoming Apple TV+ series “The Big Cigar,” based on the true story of Black Panthers’ Huey P. Newton’s escape from the FBI clutches under the guise of a fake movie production. Previously, I executive produced on all four seasons of Claws, the hit TNT dramedy starring Niecy Nash, co-ran and executive produced Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker, the award-winning Netflix limited series starring Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer, and was the creator of the highly acclaimed OWN series The Kings of Napa. I’ve also executive produced the Tribeca documentary, Hargrove, a vérité-style film chronicling the last year of trumpet legend Roy Hargrove’s life as he embarks on his final European summer tour.

I made my directorial debut with French Fries, a short I wrote as part of Refinery29’s Shatterbox Anthology series. Prior to that I was an executive producer on the CBS hit series Criminal Minds and on the NBC hit ER, where I worked on the show’s final four seasons. In the beginning of my career, I wrote on Third Watch, Eddie Murphy’s The PJs, The Jamie Foxx Show, and Lush Life.

I got my start after college when I got into the prestigious Warner Bros. Writing Program and rose through the ranks of the industry. With my Warner Bros. based production company, Folding Chair Productions, I primarily focus on inclusive storytelling with diverse characters and voices. My company’s name is inspired by the famous Shirley Chisholm quote, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Chisholm was the first Black female elected to Congress and became the first woman to run for President of the United States for the Democratic party.

I am truly proud of all the stories I have written and just want the opportunity to continue to make provocative, engaging stories for all platforms around the world.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I really want to continue to redefine and push how stories are told about BIPOC and women. I think we have just started to scratch the surface of this storytelling. I think as the future comes in and AI technologies are embraced, we will have enormous opportunity to tell a myriad of stories that have never been seen or heard of before and the global reach around the world will be undeniable. With stories on race being jeopardized and books being banned in this country, it’s imperative that storytellers continue to make work that shows all of our histories. The global audience is yearning for this and we as artists need to keep that as our North star.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is that you have to truly decided to embrace your calling. You are not pretending to be someone you’re not or do something you hate. You have literally made a pact with yourself to get up every day and create. I have worked on things that people have loved, cheered for, talked about for years but I have also worked on things no one saw, cared about or didn’t ever lift off past the script stage. This can be heartbreaking and when you face this adversity, you often want to give up. But as an artist, you have no choice but to keep going because despite the instability, fear, changing markets or economic downshifts, there is something in you that knows that you have to keep writing, keep trying to get it done. It is with that passion and heart that most of my artists friends move to. We can not control the outcome, we just have to engage in the process and continue to make things. It’s truly a privilege to try and know that even if there is defeat you get up the next day and keep going, keep trying, keep creating.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.FoldingChairProds.com
• Instagram: @JanineShermanBarrois
• Linkedin: Janine Sherman Barrois
• Twitter: @Jsbarrois

Image Credits
Jazmin Johnson did a few. The one where Im in front of all the posters, the one writing on the couch in the pajamas and the one writing at my desk and the one on the warner lot holding the notebook.