Will Berson is an American screenwriter living in Los Angeles, California. He wrote the screenplay and story ofJudas and the Black Messiah withShaka King, which was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2021.
Berson grew up in Harlem, New York City, in the same apartment his father did. His mother was a high school librarian, writer, and activist and his father was a psychologist and a minister at TheEthical Culture Society.[1] Berson attended The Bronx High School of Science and earned a BA fromHaverford College, majoring in Art History atBryn Mawr.[2] He was an actor in the Haverford/Bryn Mawr improv and sketch comedy group, The Lighted Fools.
After college, he returned to New York and worked as a writers' assistant onSpin City andWelcome to New York while studying and performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB). In 2001, he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a writers' assistant onScrubs, writing the season two episode, "My Drama Queen." He also wrote on the WB'sRun of the House, and Nickelodeon'sThe Mighty B! created by and starring Amy Poehler. He performed and taught atUpright Citizens Brigade, New York and Los Angeles.[3]
He transitioned into drama during the mid-aughts, based on his love ofThe Sopranos,Deadwood andThe Wire.[4] In 2010, he developed a pilot withDavid Milch about the founding and coeducation of the Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1893. In 2014, he sold a pilot to Spike TV withEdward James Olmos attached to star and produce. The story was based on King Lear, set inside a Big Pharma company. In 2017, he helped adapt and produce the Amazon pilotSea Oak, based on theGeorge Saunders short story. He co-wrote and co-producedJudas and the Black Messiah, released by Warner Bros. in 2021.
Berson was nominated for several best original screenplay awards forJudas and the Black Messiah, including by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,[5]Writers Guild of America,[6] andBlack Reel Awards.[7] He was also mentioned inVariety's 10 Screenwriters to Watch.[8]
The screenplay won theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture and the Writers GuildPaul Selvin Award.[9]
In 2014, Berson was nominated for a Writers Guild Access Project Award forElsinor, a drama pilot set up as a prequel toHamlet.[10]