The Creators and Writers

Valérie A. Brotski

Val’s background in television production and in the writers’ room has given her a unique perspective on how to keep storylines grounded and character-driven. An east coast transplant from Charlottesville, Virginia (UVirginia) by way of New York, Valerie studied television and screenwriting at NYU and UCLA. Many of her TV pilots, both dramas and comedies, have placed in semi- and quarterfinals of competitions. She has been a Second Rounder in the Sundance Episodic Story Lab three times for her dramas HOUSEWIFE MURDER PORN (2017), FLIGHT RISK (2016), and YOUTH (2015). DIARY OF A SOCIOPATH was a finalist on the 2016 WriteHer List and her series, PSYCHO KILLER, is currently in development with Michael Rosenberg/RoseyTV.

In L.A., her television career began as the assistant to a line producer at Fox Studios. She worked on several single-cam comedies: THE LOOP (Pam Brady and Will Gluck), UNHITCHED (Farrelly brothers), and THE OFFICE (Greg Daniels). She was hired as a writers’ assistant on DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (Marc Cherry), where she had two episodes produced. She wrote and directed a comedic short, MALE LESBIAN. She is a member of the WGA, WGA Committee of Women Writers, and UVirginia Entertainment Los Angeles (UVAELA) Writers’ Group.

Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough

​Gayla and Val met through the UVirginia Entertainment Los Angeles (UVAELA) Writers’ Group, where they have collaborated on multiple writing projects during the last 5 years. Val and Gayla have had pitch meetings together on their TV series concepts with FanFare Productions; Hypnotic; Timberman/Beverly; RoseyTV; JuVee Productions; and Momentum TV. 

Set in present-day Pasadena, California, the two families in the TV series are middle-class and struggling like much of America to make ends meet. Their solution to combine their resources and households provides them with real benefits (reduced financial burden, extra sets of hands to help with housework and child rearing, and additional adults for adult-conversation). With the new benefits also comes the challenges – more opinions to consider, different ways of tackling problems, the threats of jealousy, lack of privacy, and more conflict. In the #MeToo era, these parents struggle to raise independent and strong teenage girls who themselves are grappling with their own identities – a comedic and oft misunderstood nerd and a popular, biracial lesbian.

FAMILY AFFAIR shows us how two families’ friendships survive living with each other under one roof in our modern sharing economy.