Name: Tracker! Meet Two Writers of the CBS’s Hit Series: Jai Franklin Sarki and Elwood Reid
Start: 2026-05-21T19:00:00-04:00
Location: City Opera House

$Tracker! Meet Two Writers of the CBS\u2019s Hit Series: Jai Franklin Sarki and Elwood Reid$

The National Writers Series explores all storytelling of all kinds, including writing for movies and television. We are thrilled to welcome two talents from the CBS hit action drama Tracker, who will talk about their writing lives, the endless hours spent in the writers’ room, and how a brainstormed idea goes from script to screen.
Elwood Reid transitioned early on from novel writing to becoming one of TV’s most successful writers. He is the executive producer and showrunner of Tracker and was also producer and showrunner for hits like The Chi, The Bridge, Cold Case, Big Sky, and story writer for The Old Man. Reid grew up in Ohio and played football at the University of Michigan, which inspired his novel If I Don't Six, loosely based on his own experience. He lives in Los Angeles and Livingston, Montana.
Jai Franklin Sarki is a writer for Season Three of Tracker and previously worked on NBC’s New Amsterdam. She will talk about the resilience it takes to succeed in the ultra-competitive world of screenwriting. Prior to becoming a TV writer, she held a variety of jobs–barista, cocktail waitress, assistant, commercial actor, handyman, Pilates instructor, and model … the list is long. Jai is a 2024 mentee of the Paramount Writers’ program and has completed the three-year UCLA Extension Novel Writing Program.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with live music, and the conversation begins at 7:00 p.m. This event includes a Q&A session and a photo line immediately following in the lobby. In-person and virtual tickets available.