{"id":78127,"date":"2019-02-07T18:25:37","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T23:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/andi-macks-jonathan-hurwitz-on-writing-one-in-a-minyan\/"},"modified":"2019-02-07T18:25:37","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T23:25:37","slug":"andi-macks-jonathan-hurwitz-on-writing-one-in-a-minyan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/andi-macks-jonathan-hurwitz-on-writing-one-in-a-minyan\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Andi Mack’s’ Jonathan Hurwitz on writing ‘One in a Minyan’"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘Andi Mack’s’ Jonathan Hurwitz on writing ‘One in a Minyan’<\/b><\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Disney ABC<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Editor’s Note: Jonathan’s piece is referencing Friday, February 8th’s episode of <\/em>Andi Mack and contains spoilers. Don’t miss “One in a Minyan” Friday, February 8 at 8pm on Disney Channel and join the discussion on social using hashtag #AndiMack!<\/em><\/p>\n

Writing \u201cOne in a Minyan\u201d by Jonathan Hurwitz, Guest Contributor<\/p>\n

For this episode of \u201cAndi Mack,\u201d three things needed to happen: Cyrus\u2019 family would sit Shiva after the passing of his beloved Bubbe Rose, Cyrus would discover Jonah having a panic attack, and Cyrus would, at some point, come out to Jonah. As we brainstormed story details for the episode, it became clear to me that one more thing needed to happen: I needed to write this episode! As someone who\u2019s Jewish, has dealt with long-term anxiety, and has come out to his friends and family, I had a very personal stake in this one. So you can imagine how I felt when the story breaking was complete and our showrunner, Terri Minsky, turned to me and asked, \u201cDo you want to write this episode?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYES!!!\u201d I said (read: squealed).<\/p>\n

This episode soon became a collaboration with Terri, the other writers, and our Disney Channel executives and consultants\u2014 all of whom sought to ensure that we treated the portrayal of the Shiva, Jonah\u2019s panic attack, and Cyrus\u2019 coming out with the deepest care and respect.<\/p>\n

\"\"In the Jewish tradition, Shiva is the ritual period of mourning, which takes place in the house of the bereaved. The challenge here was to respect the gravity of the tradition while simultaneously mining its potential for lightness, humor and positivity. Enter Grandma Hurwitz (hi, Grandma!), who spoke to me at length about our family\u2019s relationship to the tradition, which she views as a celebration of life\u2014 simply a time for friends and family to come together in support of one another. Viewers who have never attended a Shiva are able to experience this tradition through the lens of Andi, Buffy and Jonah, all of whom are attending a Shiva for the first time. One of my favorite moments in the episode is when Jonah joins Cyrus in singing the Mourner\u2019s Kaddish. While there\u2019s undeniable comedy in Jonah\u2019s earnest effort to follow along, there\u2019s also palpable emotion as Cyrus, watching Jonah participate, realizes just how lucky he is to have such an eternally supportive friend.<\/p>\n

This Cyrus\/Jonah moment ultimately led us to the question that interested me the most: \u201cWhy does Cyrus feel the need to come out to Jonah?\u201d Because he doesn\u2019t have to. It\u2019s up to Cyrus to decide who he wants to tell (if he even wants to tell anybody), and when. \u201cComing out\u201d is a choice, an idea that Andi points out to Cyrus. After seeing Jonah show up for him, and witnessing the vulnerability Jonah displays in opening up about his panic attacks, Cyrus realizes that he, too, wants to find the courage to open up.<\/p>\n

In the writer\u2019s room, I shared a personal story about how nervous I was to come out to a college friend back in 2010. While grabbing burgers one afternoon, he asked me to pass the ketchup, so I handed him the bottle while mumbling the words, \u201cI\u2019m gay<\/a>.\u201d He looked up at me, said \u201cCool,\u201d then proceeded to put ketchup on his burger as if I hadn\u2019t just revealed my most personal, deepest truth. I remember thinking: \u201cThat\u2019s it?! After a ten-year journey to come out to myself, I finally come out to my friend and all I get is a \u2018Cool?!\u2019\u201d But what I ultimately realized was that my friends and family loved me unconditionally before I\u2019d even learned to truly love myself. With this story in mind, we crafted Cyrus having a similar revelation after coming out to Jonah\u2014 who, in truth, seems to be more overwhelmed by what food to choose from the buffet! \u00a0 In spite of Cyrus\u2019 nerves about telling Buffy, Andi, and now Jonah, he continually underestimates how much people accept him for who he is. No matter how \u201cweird\u201d or \u201cdifferent\u201d he feels (his words from Season One), his friends will always be right by his side, loving and supporting him.<\/p>\n

Through Cyrus\u2019 journey both in this episode and the series at large, I hope that audiences understand this\u2014 that we’re all worthy of being heard, seen, and loved by the friends and family with whom we surround ourselves. Even when they\u2019re distracted by the gefilte fish.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Hurwitz is a writer living in Los Angeles. Most recently, he was the Writer\u2019s Assistant on Disney Channel\u2019s \u201cAndi Mack,\u201d where he received a Writers Guild Award nomination for his episode, \u201cFor The Last Time.\u201d He\u2019d like to thank Beyonc\u00e9 for her continued support.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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February 7, 2019<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Issues:\u00a0<\/div>\n