Stony Brook TV MFA: Seven Finalists and Two First-Place Wins

Stony Brook University's Master of Fine Arts program in television writing placed seven alumni among the finalists at the 2026 Austin Film Festival, a record number for the school. The group took home two first-place awards, extending the program's winning streak to a second straight year.

Dawn Kalani Cowle, Matthew McFadden, and Baylor Knobloch won the Scripted Digital Series Award for their work, Old Bogus Massacre. Variety included the series in its coverage of the festival's recipients. Cowle also captured the Comedy Teleplay Spec Award for her Hacks script, Chicken and Egg.

The 2025 festival set the precedent for this current cycle. Recent alumna Anna Zabel took the AMC One-Hour Pilot Award, while current student Cynthia He won the Best Drama Teleplay Spec Award. Artistic Director Christine Vachon received the Polly Platt Producers Award that same year.

A packed panel titled "Break into TV: Success Stories from a Top MFA Program" convened during this year's event. Showrunner Bash Doran, known for Fear Not, Beef, Boardwalk Empire, and Looming Tower, joined MFA Director Alan Kingsberg on stage. The discussion also featured Doran's producing partner and co-producer on Fear Not, Mallory Baysek, alongside 2025 winners Zabel and He.

Kingsberg attributed the accolades to the program's unique curriculum and faculty. He named Scott Burkhardt, Kris Lefcoe, Sharyn Rothstein, and Davita Scarlett as key contributors to the student success.

The program operates in the heart of Manhattan and maintains a partnership with Killer Films. It structures its small workshops to mimic professional writers' rooms and provides intensive one-on-one advising. The curriculum includes supporting classes with industry professionals aimed at helping students build career-launching portfolios.