Screenwriter, television producer and the current showrunner of CBS series Blue Bloods, Kevin Wade, visited the Valenti School of Communication on Friday, September 22.

According to CBS.com, Blue Bloods tells the story of a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Under Mr. Wade’s leadership, the show has become New York City’s newest television institution and one of the top-rated shows in America, with an average of 13 million weekly viewers.

Valenti students were impressed with Kevin Wade. Leveraging his perspective as a writer, he has developed his sense of style and continued to produce great art with efficiency. Describing his job as a ‘‘showrunner,’’ Kevin Wade addressed the job as “a little bit of everything”. He advised young future writers not to forget who they are writing for.

“Your audience, it’s not the buyers, it’s not studios, it’s not the television network. When you sit down to write, your audience is about six people: your three best friends, your parents who really believe in you, your teacher/mentor and your soul mate. If you can keep in mind, it will make you honest, focus and write things that are truthful to you,” said Kevin Wade.

Graduated with backgrounds in theater and writing, Kevin Wade has spent over twenty years writing various movies and plays. His first screen credits ‘Working Girl’ earned him the nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. Prior to Blue Bloods, Kevin Wade also wrote for the famous Maid in Manhattan and the ABC drama series Cashmere Mafia.

The event kicked off with an intimate interview filled with honest advices between Kevin Wade and Dr. Temple Northup, director of the Valenti School of Communication. During the Q&A section that followed his talk, Kevin Wade answered Valenti students’ questions on writing process, production cost and management while encouraging aspiring writers to be proactive, take charge and find every possible channel to showcase their works.

“The thing I appreciated the most throughout the event is the constant universal idea of whatever you can produce, just play with it, make it into something and put it out there,” said Stephen Pepper, a media production student at the Valenti School of Communication.

Kevin Wade will continue to finish shooting for the newest season nine of Blue Bloods coming on in September 2018.