Amanda overton: co-executive producer of arcane and producer & writer on severance season 1 on creating soul-stirring relationships that last an eternity

Written by: Milla Nguyen + Photography by: Evan Odinsoff + Videography by: Michael Kokorine

Amanda Overton’s Biography:

Amanda Overton began her career as a molecular biologist. Later, she realized she wanted to contribute to the arts and utilize her power of storytelling to open people’s minds. She decided to pursue her passion in film and television, eventually graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. During her time there, she created a teenage lesbian superhero webseries, Edge of Normal. Over the course of her career, she has worked in various writers' rooms and has served as a multi-faceted producer as well. Her portfolio includes HBO’s True Blood, and True Detective, Amazon’s Transparent, I Love Dick and The Tick, Netflix’s Marco Polo, Umbrella Academy, and more. However, most people know her for her legendary stint at Riot Games and Fortiche during the development of Arcane, a record breaking animated television series based on League of Legends. She is also a producer and screenwriter on Apple TV’s Severance season 1, followed by her time as co-executive producer of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

Author’s Note:

I had the most incredible opportunity to interview Amanda Overton, an esteemed producer and screenwriter. Honored is not enough to describe how I felt when conducting this interview. Not only has Overton worked on life changing stories, but she is humble and light-hearted about it, too. It is clear that her immense dedication to unconventional stories, LGBTQ+ representation, and the cultivation of diversity will significantly contribute to how audiences see characters portrayed on screen. As an enamored viewer of Arcane, the essential parts of the show move beyond the fantastic art, original music, and world building. While all of these aspects are amazing to see, the show's heart is centered on relationships. the Between characters’ Violet’s unrelenting redemption, Caitlyn’s fierce love, and Jinx’s paradoxes, audiences witnessed a universe they did not know was possible. They didn’t know they could relate to these characters so intimately. Overton carries this spirit within all her work, using her pen to draw a portrait of humanity, or at least, a better understanding of it. Her plans for future work are exciting, loud, and full of characters that break out of their own mold, “Pow-Pow” style.

The Science of Facts

Amanda Overton was born and raised in Colorado. She recalled camping with her family, hiking, and skiing throughout her childhood. She said, “Growing up there was active, joyful, and positive for me. My brother and I would ski and ride mountain bikes everywhere. It was a great experience.” In high school, she worked at a movie theater as a projectionist so she could see movies for free. In her spare time, she also played video games. While the media she consumed was entertaining, she didn’t see many Queer relationships that were portrayed multi-dimensionally screen. This thought stayed with her. on Later, she attended UC San Diego for college, where she studied molecular biology and worked at a genetics lab. Overton spent two years mapping genes in a plant for a research project, which felt very tedious to her. story. Overton reached out to the producer of Robinson’s next film, leading to an internship and assistant position under Angela Robinson. Over the next six years, Overton worked as a script supervisor on various television shows and feature films.

The Science of Storytelling

While she did not stay in the genetics field, she wanted to contribute to humanity in a different, creative way. She decided to attend USC’s School for Cinematic Arts to pursue her master’s degree. She created a web series called Edge of Normal for her thesis project, something no one had previously done before. She was heavily inspired by Angela Robinson’s D.E.B.S, a feature film that centered queer leads and queer romances without a traumatic backstory. Overton reached out to the producer of Robinson’s next film, leading to an internship and assistant position under Angela Robinson. Over the next six years, Overton worked as a script supervisor on various television shows and feature films.

Breaking Barriers with Arcane

From there, her career skyrocketed. Arcane, the animated series based on Riot Games’ League of Legends, was a critical and commercial success, with both seasons receiving near-perfect scores on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also a global phenomenon, reaching the top of Netflix's charts in numerous countries and won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program as well as multiple Annie Awards. She recalled being asked to join the development team for Arcane. While at the drawing board with the writers’ room, she wanted the creative choices to feel intentional and interwoven, especially when it came to the politics of the world and the power dynamics between the characters. She said, “In Runeterra, this is a world where magic dictated the power structure. We could imagine a world where racial and gender hierarchies don’t exist like they do in our reality. Characters weren’t judged for who they wanted to love.”

Overton has strongly advocated for multi-dimensional LGBTQ+ representation in stories. She mentioned how she was tired of seeing the same coming-out stories and traumas. She elaborated, “Alex Yee and Christian Linke, the other showrunners, knew that Caitlyn and Vi would be endgame. I knew I could help tell that story. I’m proud of what we did. People poured their hearts and souls into it, especially into the intimate details of that relationship.”

Diving deeper into the show, she explained that the Arcane scripts were not typically formulaic. For example, the first three episodes of season 1 focused on Violet and Powder as children and their complicated past, a choice that most network studios would advise against. When it comes to the writing, Overton said, “What makes good writing is strong emotions. Sometimes, when you feel uncomfortable, you have to lean into that. You want people to have a visceral reaction when they watch your work. I was reluctant when Christian Linke pitched that Vi should hit Powder at the end of episode three. I voiced my concerns. Then, I realized that this moment is what defines Violet’s life. She has to make up for it. In season 2, Caitlyn hits Vi. We see they have all made mistakes, and suddenly, you don’t feel so alone in the world anymore.” Overton specifically wrote the episode; “Everyone Wants to be My Enemy” in season 1. We discussed what themes were most important to her when building out the episode's story. She said, “When you put together people who are so different from each other, you have to find a way for them to respect each other. For Vi, she’s had to fight for every scrap her whole life. Caitlyn is a Kiramann; she’s had everything handed to her. I look for the spine of the show. In this case, it’s about two sisters who are trying not to repeat the mistakes of their father figures and end up on the opposite sides of a war.

Caitlyn and Vi are also on opposite sides of that same war.” I asked if there was a memorable moment she had with fans after the show was finished. She said, “I saw the finale for the first time in a stadium with thousands of people. They gasped, they cheered, they cried. They were on the edges of their seats. It was gratifying to see.” She also attended Comic Con in Brazil, where she was interviewed on stage about Arcane. She vividly remembered seeing a giant mural of the characters and speaking about her vast portfolio of work. With the new announcement of future Arcane seasons and new characters, I asked what Overton was most excited for. She mentioned she wanted to explore Freljord, a kingdom in Runeterra ruled by a matriarchy. She said, “I’m also interested to see what Ionia is like. That area is inspired by Eastern culture. I do Kung-fu and Tai chi. So seeing that on screen would be so cool.”

Severance: Mind & Memories; Script & Soul

Amanda Overton produced the widely popular television series Severance, created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller. Severance surpassed Ted Lasso and other popular Apple TV+ series and set new streaming records for the platform. Overton said, “Severance was incredible. In the writers' room, we wrote ten episodes in total, but the network asked us to make nine the finale. The suspense of the reveals made it worth all the work.”. Delving deeper into the show's themes, Overton asked, “If we severed someone’s memories, what remains?”. She was specifically drawn to Burt and Irving’s relationship, two older gentlemen who work at the Lumon corporation who have never been in love and don’t know what homophobia is. She said, “With those two, we were able to write a sweet high school romance between these men. I’ve never seen that on television before. That was a standout moment.”

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is an American television series created by Chris Black and Matt Fraction and produced by Legendary Television. Based on Godzilla by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the sixth installment and second television series in the Monsterverse franchise. The series stars Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe alongside Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell in the shared role of Lee Shaw. Overton was the co-executive producer on the show. I asked her about her experience working with cultural consultants and bridging aspects of Asian culture into the story. She said the writers’ room was ethnically diverse which helped broaden perspective. At the start of the story, Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro (Ren Watabe) are half-siblings who embark on a journey to find their missing father. Overton mentioned the writers had to find ways to connect the siblings’ memories to their father. She continued, “In Japan, a lot of television advertisements have a little jingle or song. I asked our Japanese consultants about their experiences growing up, and they confirmed that people in Japan widely knew these commercial tunes. In the show, the siblings would sing these jingles, too. It was a funny, heartfelt thing.”

Her World Beyond the Writer’s Room

When Overton is not on set and not in the writers’ room, she enjoys travelling to gain perspective. In between her college and graduate school years, she moved to Italy, where she took in the culture, learned the language, and immersed herself in the history. She said, “Travelling allows you to see the world outside your own. All artists and filmmakers can gain perspective. In Europe, they invest time and money into preserving priceless works of art, which we don’t do anymore. At the same time, their culture is so different than here. Not all of it is great. In my opinion, traveling allows you to reaffirm what you had and encourages you to leave a certain mindset behind.” In her free time, she enjoys being outside and breathing in nature. She loves to spend time with her family, specifically her son. Even to this day, she finds herself playing video games to gain inspiration. She said, “The action of suturing yourself into the main character of a video game keeps you on the edge of your seat. You’re responsible for keeping them alive. There’s something satisfying about that experience.” It was also an honor to photograph and capture Amanda Overton at Riot Games headquarters in Los Angeles. While we talked with her about the show, we walked through themed offices, past statues with props, and character posters of Riot’s games. In the employee gaming room, she sat on a stool, punching the buttons of an arcade game with a smile on her face.

Future Plans & Values

As the entertainment industry continues to change, Overton emphasized the importance of training next-generation filmmakers. She said, “Studios should see that we have to invest in new voices through apprenticeships. I try to mentor young writers and teach them on how to write scripts. There’s only so much of my story I can tell. I need others to tell their stories and I want to support that. The more diverse stories, the better.” Overton is booked and busy. She has an original science fiction pilot at Netflix in the works. She will also be co-showrunning a new animated series for Prime Video. Finally, I asked if there was anyone she would like to thank for supporting her in her career. She said, “My mom. She is my best friend and biggest emotional support. She stuck with me and fights for me; however, I have been different. Anyone I can help fight for is because of her.”