Lucy McNally is a crime reporter turned comedy writer who relocated from Sydney to London five years ago. Her love of storytelling and characters led her to a 10-year career in journalism, reporting all over Australia for ABC News in crime, courts and politics. An unexpected and generous tax return saw her travel to New York for a course by Law and Order writer Alan Kingsberg, and confirmed her suspicions – screenwriting was the dream job. She started note-taking in drama rooms, and was hired as a comedy writer on news satire show The Feed (SBS). A sketch she wrote called Tinder Cops: SVU (Swipers Victims Unit) received two million views – the highest for the show at that time.
In 2019, Lucy moved to London with a (valuable) EU passport thanks to her Irish father. When she couldn’t get a job in scripted TV, she worked as a freelancer at BBC News. There she met another journo with comedy ambitions, and they started a sketch comedy group called PCB. A Valentine’s Day themed monologue Lucy wrote for Vaults Festival was selected as part of the 2020 event, and Lucy performed it on stage. Her next job was Researcher on Holby City, begging doctors to approve the slightly far-fetched medical storylines. A year on a hospital show gave her just enough industry knowledge to impress doctor turned hit show maker Jed Mercurio in a job interview, and she was hired as his Development Assistant.
She’s now the Head of Development at HTM Television and is thrilled to be learning from two of the best TV heads in the country – Mercurio and Hat Trick founder Jimmy Mulville. Lucy was Script Editor on Trigger Point (S1) before stepping up to Story Producer on DI Ray (S1) and the upcoming second series of Trigger Point, and the ITV thriller Payback. When she’s not interviewing ex detectives for research on police dramas and meeting exciting new writers, Lucy is penning her own scripts, a world away from corrupt cops and homicide investigations; scripts about extended adolescence, the desire for family approval and the quest for love. Her rom-com TV script, The Will is in development with Hat Trick Productions.