How Two Chapman Humanities Grads Landed Writing Jobs on ABC’s ‘Black-ish’ For Graham Towers ‘08 (MA/MFA ‘12) and Ben Deeb ‘09, diverse journeys lead to insight and opportunity.

November 4, 2020

It all started with short films starring cartoon animals.

While their film school peers in a Visual Storytelling course were crafting sensitive tales full of dream sequences and dark storylines, Graham Towers ‘08 (MA/MFA ‘12) and Ben Deeb ‘09 were amusing each other with their comedic stories. One of their films was about a sentient banana and his gorilla friend.

“Graham and I were just goofier,” Deeb recalls. “Our sensibilities kind of lined up.”

At Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, a writing friendship was forged. Then, as that bond grew to become a professional partnership, Towers and Deeb widened their perspective thanks to classes in Chapman’s Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

At its core, the collaboration is about telling incisive stories that still make each other laugh.