Maegan Houang & Anchuli Felicia King

Screenwriters Maegan Houang and Anchuli Felicia King converse with hosts Viet Thanh Nguyen, pulitzer-prize winning author, and Philip Nguyen, Vietnamese-American studies scholar. ABOUT THE GUESTS: Maegan Houang is a writer/director based in Los Angeles and Michigan. She is currently a co-producer on The Sympathizer (HBO) and previously served as a story editor on Shōgun (FX) and a staff writer on Season 2 of Counterpart (Starz/MRC). She also co-wrote Jamojaya directed by Justin Chon (Blue Bayou, Gook), which premiered at Sundance, and is currently writing Nekrokosm (A24) for director Panos Cosmatos (Mandy). In 2018, she received a VSCO Voices Creator Grant to direct In Full Bloom starring Kieu Chinh (The Joy Luck Club). The short film premiered on Short of the Week and played at festivals including Fantastic Fest, Atlanta, Oak Cliff, Indie Memphis, New Orleans, LAAPFF and Sidewalk Film Festival. She recently directed two episodes of the WGA Award Winning Three Busy Debras (Adult Swim/HBO Max) Season 2. Her new short film Astonishing Little Feet starring Celia Au and Perry Yung (Warrior, The Knick) is currently on the festival circuit with screenings at the Hammer Museum, MoMA, Palm Springs ShortFest and the American Cinemateque. Maegan has also directed music videos for artists such as Mitski, Vagabon, Charly Bliss and Hana Vu. Her videos have been recognized by SXSW, Noisey, Fact Magazine, UKMVAs, Stereogum, Pitchfork, and Vimeo Staff Picks. Her work primarily focuses on the complexity of the Asian-American experience, intergenerational trauma and her own experience living as a mixed-race American. Anchuli Felicia King is a playwright, screenwriter and multidisciplinary artist of Thai-Australian descent. King’s plays have been produced by the Royal Court Theatre (London), Manhattan Theater Club (New York), Studio Theatre (Washington D.C.), American Shakespeare Center (Staunton), Melbourne Theatre Company (Melbourne), Sydney Theatre Company, National Theatre of Parramatta, Belvoir Theatre (Sydney) and La Boite Theatre (Brisbane). She is under commission with the Royal Court Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Atlantic Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company. Her play “Golden Shield” had its Off-Broadway debut at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2023. As a screenwriter, Felicia has written episodes on “The Sympathizer,” the TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel starring Robert Downey Jr and Sandra Oh (HBO), and “Mary and George” (AMC), a historical drama series starring Julianne Moore. She has also written episodes for "The Baby," a dark horror comedy produced by Sister Pictures for HBO/Sky, "The Twelve," a trial drama for the Foxtel Group and “Deadloch,” an Amazon original series. She has several original series in development, including projects with AMC, BBC Studios, A24, See Saw, CJ Entertainment and Warner Brothers. This episode is sponsored by AppLovin. AppLovin’s leading marketing platform provides developers a powerful set of solutions to grow their mobile apps. AppLovin’s technology platform enables developers to market, monetize, analyze and publish their apps. The company’s first-party content includes over 200+ popular, engaging apps and its technology brings that content to millions of users around the world. AppLovin is headquartered in Palo Alto, California with several offices globally. Learn more at ⁠⁠applovin.com⁠⁠.