Steven Canals

Steven Canals (born September 14, 1980)[1][2] is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for co-creating and executive-producing the FX television show Pose.[2]

Steven Canals
Canals being interviewed for the Peabody Awards in 2019
Born (1980-09-14) September 14, 1980
EducationBinghamton University (BA)(MA)
UCLA (MFA)
OccupationScreenwriter, Producer
Years active2016–present
Notable work
Pose

Early life and education

Canals grew up in the Castle Hill Housing Projects in The Bronx, NY.[3] He began practicing filmmaking at the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice after school program. He co-produced his first documentary about gang violence with other classmates when he was 15.[2][3][4]

Canals graduated with a BA in cinema and MA in student affairs from Binghamton University in 2005 and 2008 respectively.[5] Canals received his MFA in screenwriting from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2015.[3][5]

Career

Prior to working in entertainment, Canals worked in university administration. He worked as a LGBT resource coordinator at SUNY-Cortland while completing his master's degree part time, where he was also residence hall director of Shea Hall and advisor to the university's gay-straight alliance for six years.[2][6][7] Allegheny College appointed Canals as associative director for gender and sexual orientation initiatives in June 2011.[6]

Entertainment

Canals was a staff writer on Freeform's Dead of Summer in 2016. His short film Afuera premiered at the LA Film Festival that same year.[8]

Canals developed the pilot script for television show Pose while studying at UCLA in 2014.[2][3] He was initially inspired by the story in Paris Is Burning.[9] He however found it difficult to get the script developed as industry executives found the subject matter about queer people of color and ball culture to be too niche.[3][10][9] Ryan Murphy, co-creator of Glee and American Horror Story, would later come on as a producer in 2016, along with his producing partner Brad Falchuk.[3][11] The first season premiered in June 2018 on FX.[10] The show is noted to have the largest transgender cast in television history.[10][11]

He was named a "writer to watch" by Variety in 2018.[4]

Canals signed an overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television in January 2020.[12]

Personal life

Canals is openly queer.[3]

He is of African American and Puerto Rican heritage.[3]

References
  1. Canals, Steven (2019-09-14). "My sister knows me so well!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! Thanks @michelle_canals for my @DonutFriend pic.twitter.com/5BqStY81j7". @StevenCanals. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  2. Kaplan, Ilana. "'Pose' Co-Creator Steven Canals Spent Years Hiding. Now Everyone Can See Him". GQ. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  3. Canals, Steven (2018-05-24). "FX's 'Pose' Creator on His Difficult Journey Bringing the Groundbreaking Trans Series to TV". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  4. Freund, Kelley. "Steven Canals says idea for Pose began at Binghamton - Binghamton News". News - Binghamton University. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  5. Gilroy, Maggie. "Steven Canals, co-creator of Emmy nominated 'Pose,' is a Binghamton University alum". Pressconnects. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  6. "Allegheny College Appoints Three Individuals to Positions Focusing on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence". Allegheny.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  7. "Cortland in the news - SUNY Cortland". www2.cortland.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  8. "Steven Canals's schedule for 2019 Austin Film Festival & Conference". 2019austinfilmfestivalconfe.sched.com. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  9. "Steven Canals Created 'Pose.' Still, He's Hollywood's Best-Kept Secret". www.out.com. 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  10. "Steven Canals on How Growing Up as a Queer Afro-Latino in 1980s Bronx Prepared Him to Write 'Pose'". Remezcla. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  11. "With the largest cast of trans actors in history, Ryan Murphy's Pose is a strut in the right direction". The Independent. 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  12. Thorne, Will (2020-01-21). "'Pose' Co-Creator Steven Canals Inks Overall Deal With 20th Century Fox TV". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
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