McDonnell's career started with a bang when she was hired to help produce John August and Craig Mazin's "Scriptnotes" podcast. It was a good role to step into after earning her undergrad degree from Harvard and, subse- quently, an MFA though the Peter Stark producing program at USC. McDonnell transitioned from the podcast into a role as story editor on Disney+'s Marvel series"WandaVision," which really kicked off her industry writing career.

"'WandaVision' was my first professional writing job, and it was the room of a lifetime," she says. "Everyone was kind and hilarious and also genius - we had so much fun."

McDonnell has remained in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ecosystem, becoming the first writer brought onto Nia DaCosta's "The Marvels." She also served as a consulting producer, providing writing and onset services for "Agatha: Darkhold Diaries." These projects exemplify the nontraditional approach she likes to bring to boilerplate formats, be they sitcoms or superhero tentpoles.

McDonnell has been busy writing for the Apple TV+ series "Dark Matter," based on Blake Crouch's 2016 novel, and Amazon's "Tomb Raider." McDonnell's original script "Disordered" is also set at FX.

Despite her developing pedigree as a shepherd of familiar characters, McDonnell says she most frequently draws inspiration from her own life.