“Universal humanistic storytelling”: Creators of ‘It’s Not Like That’ on Why More Heartfelt Productions Are Needed in Our Modern Age
Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson are the creators behind Wonder Project’s newest romantic comedy series, It’s Not Like That, which follows the relationship between a recently widowed pastor with three kids and a newly divorced mom of two.
“This is the kind of stuff we love to write . . . universal humanistic storytelling,” Deitchman said.
The pair enjoys showing the messy parts of life on screen, so when Wonder asked them to create a show along those lines, they jumped at the opportunity. The story came from a personal place. One of their college friends suddenly passed away from cancer around the same time a couple close to them abruptly split up.
One of the scenes in the first episode was taken directly from Deitchman’s own experiences and was the spark that brought the series to life. The duo continued to draw inspiration from their own lives and from the lives of their friends.
Working with Jason Katims as writers for the show Parenthood, they learned to “tell as little story as possible so that the small moments feel bigger,” Deitchman said. Robinson loved writing the scenes involving the kids and their perspectives, whereas Deitchman preferred writing the classic romantic comedy scenes.
Robinson mourns the lack of hopeful, heartfelt content in the world today, but she can’t put her finger on why more isn’t being produced. Deitchman theorizes that it’s challenging to get people to watch a show if there’s not a huge blockbuster threat looming at the center of the narrative (something this story essentially lacks). Consequently, it’s more difficult for studios to greenlight this type of project, because the payoff isn’t necessarily as big. Nevertheless, Deitchman remains positive: “Our goal is for families to watch this show together on the couch.”
Robinson and Deitchman couldn’t stop singing Wonder Project’s praises, gushing over the freedom they were given to create and expressing appreciation for the feedback they received throughout the process from both Wonder and Amazon.
They believe this story is unique, because the protagonist is a pastor. Creating the character presented some interesting challenges, and Scott Foley—the star of the series—did plenty of research before tackling the role.
The creators hope audiences fall in love with the characters and that viewers will “see some of themselves reflected in all this messy goodness.”
The first 3 episodes of It’s Not Like That are available with a Wonder Project subscription on Prime Video in the US, with new episodes released every Sunday.
