Soon after Tanya Saracho got the green light to write a pilot for her first TV series, she contracted a dangerous spinal infection that left her stuck in bed for months. But Saracho rallied and her show 'Vida' has just premiered on Starz. A former Chicago-based playwright, Saracho tells us about her tough first experiences as a TV writer and how she ended up running the first all Latinx writers room in cable.

The new series ‘Vida’ on Starz follows two sisters returning home to East LA after the sudden death of their mother, Vidalia. They soon learn that their madre had some big secrets and some big debts, and that their old neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying. ‘Vida’ was created by first-time showrunner Tanya Saracho, who started as a playwright in Chicago. When an agent convinced her to try writing for TV, her first experience on ‘Devious Maids’ was less-than-ideal.  Saracho tells us how she went from being a token diversity hire to running premium cable’s first all Latinx writers room for ‘Vida.’

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