Sonya Winton-Odamtten

Sonya Winton-Odamtten is a multifaceted American playwright, executive producer, documentarian, professor, and television writer and comprises half of the Emmy-nominated writing team alongside her writing partner, Jonathan I. Kidd. Together, they are known for their work on shows like NCIS New Orleans, ABC’s The Whole Truth, FOX’s Touch, and AMAZON’s Oasis (Pilot), and as the Co-Executive Producers of HBO's hit show Lovecraft Country (TV series).
==Early Life and Education==
Winton-Odamtten converted to the Jewish faith and grew up in Los Feliz, California. She later earned her Bachelor’s degree with honors from Spelman College, majoring in Political Science. Subsequently, where she crossed paths with her current writing partner, Jonathan I. Kidd.
==Theater==
In 2001, together with her writing partner, Jonathan I. Kidd, Winton-Odamtten founded the non-profit theater company Adam, Eve, & Steve Productions (AES) while at Yale. They directed and produced numerous successful theater productions and took a hiatus from their studies in 2003-2004 to complete the documentary "Battleground for a New Generation," focusing on youth mobilization during the Presidential election.
Winton-Odamtten and Kidd’s impact in the theatrical realm was recognized in 2006 when they participated in [ Suzan-Lori Park's 365 Days/365 Plays National Festival, staging productions at sites of historical significance in Los Angeles.
 
In 2007, Winton-Odamtten and Kidd contributed to the LAUSD after-school program “Beyond The Bell,” teaching theater to teenagers in South Los Angeles, which utilized intensive readings of the works of Shakespeare, Lorraine Hansberry, and August Wilson to help students create their own one-act plays addressing issues such as environmental justice, class inequality, and bullying.
==Career==
Transitioning from academia and theater to television, Winton-Odamtten and Kidd attended the Warner Brothers Television Writers Workshop in 2010, marking the inception of their television career. They achieved success with various shows, including ABC’s The Whole Truth, FOX’s Touch, and AMAZON’s Oasis (TV Series)." Notably, they sold several spec pilots, including: The 4th Reich (SHOWTIME) with Robert De Niro & Jane Rosenthal attached to executive produce , Rodeo Drive (WARNER HORIZON), "Southern Gothic" (LIFETIME) and "Trader" (HBO) with Tika Sumpter attached to star in and executive produce.
In 2016, Winton-Odamtten/Kidd's NCIS New Orleans episode "Rock-a-Bye-Baby" was nominated for a GLAAD Award<ref name="OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL EPISODE NCIS New Orleans" and in 2021, they received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series for Lovecraft Country.
In 2019, Winton-Odamtten/Kidd signed an overall deal with HBO, continuing their work as the Co-Executive Producers of the award-winning HBO series Lovecraft Country. Their ongoing term deal with HBO has been marked by achievements, including being finalists for the Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Dramatic Presentation in 2021, joining the Advisory Council of WarnerMedia Access Writers Program, joining the LA Theatre Works Board of Directors, receiving a pilot order from HBO for their series adaptation of Octavia Butler's final novel, Fledgling, with Issa Rae and J.J. Abrams among the exec producers and are actively engaged in the development, writing, and Executive Producing a new limited series, "Say Their Names," inspired by The Grim Sleeper murders and intricately explores the life of the esteemed activist Margaret Prescod.
==Philanthropy==
Beyond their professional pursuits, Winton-Odamtten and Kidd engage in philanthropy, exemplified by their recent initiative, Thus far, their outreach has fed hospital, nursing home, and health clinic staffs in Downtown Los Angeles, St. Louis, New York, Dallas, Houston, Durham, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Providence, Inglewood, Boston, Memphis, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Currently represented by WME, Anonymous Content, and JSSK (Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole LLP), Sonya Winton-Odamtten, and Johnathan I. Kidd continue to make significant contributions to the worlds of entertainment, academia, and philanthropy. 
==Filmography==
===Television===
Year	Show 	Writer 	Producer 	Credit(s) 	Episode(s) 	Notes
2020	Lovecraft Country	rowspan="2" 	rowspan="2" 	Co-Executive Producer 	"Strange Case" 	Season 1, episode 5
2020	Lovecraft Country	"Rewind 1921" 	Season 1, episode 9 	Co-Executive Producer 	 	
2019	Treadstone 	rowspan="3" 	rowspan="3" 	Supervising Producer 	"The Berlin Proposal" 	Season 1, episode 3
2019	Treadstone 	"The Kwon Conspiracy" 	Season 1, Episode 2 	Supervising Producer 	 	
2019	Treadstone 	"The Cicada Protocol" 	Season 1, episode 1 	Supervising Producer 	 	
2018	Trader 	 	 	Executive Producer/ Creator	 	Sold to HBO (Undeveloped)
2017	Oasis 	 	 	Co-Executive Producer 	Mini Room 	(Unreleased) Based on the film
2015	Wicked City 	 	 	Co-Producer 	"Blizzard of Ozz" 	Season 1, episode 6
2015	NCIS New Orleans 	rowspan="3" 	rowspan="3" 	Executive Story Editor 	"Rock-a-Bye-Baby" 	Season 1, episode 20
2015	NCIS New Orleans 	"La Carnaval De la Mort"	Season 1, episode 15	Executive Story Editor 	 	
2014	NCIS New Orleans 	"Chasing Ghosts" 	Season 1, Episode 9 	Executive Story Editor 	 	
2014	Killer Women 	 	 	 	"In and Out" 	Season 1, Episode 5
2013	The 4th Reich 	 	 	Co-Executive Producer 	Written on Spec "Pilot"	Sold to Showtime (Undeveloped)
2012	Touch 	 	 	"Story By" Credit 	 	Season 1
2011	Memphis Beat 	 	 	"Written by" 	"Body of Evidence" 	Season 2, Episode 7
2010	The Whole Truth 	rowspan="1" 	rowspan="1" 	"Story By" Credit 	"The End" 	Season 1, Episode 13
2010	The Whole Truth 	 	 	"Written by" 	"Perfect Witness" 	Season 1, episode 10
2010	The Whole Truth 	 	 	"Teleplay" Credit 	"When Cougars Attack" 	Season 1, Episode 5
===Theater===
Title 	Playwright 	Directed	Produced
"There Must Be A God Somewhere" 	Jonathan I. Kidd 	 	- (Adam, Eve, and Steve Productions)
"Shaka" 	Jan Henson Dow and Robert Schroeder	 	- (Adam, Eve, and Steve Productions)
"Matri-focal Concentric Zones of Violence Revisited: Part One"	Sonya Winton-Odamtten 	 	- (Adam, Eve, and Steve Productions)
===Acting===
Year	Show 	Role 	Episode 	Notes
1988	The Facts of Life	"Annie" 	"On the Edge"	Season 9, episode 21
1987	227 	"Carla Brown"	"Got a Job" 	Season 2, episode 13
Category:American playwrights
Category:Executive Producer
Category:Documentaries
Category:Television writers