Written by Caroline ’14 and Remy ’14

Emily Goldwyn ’07 and Sasha Spielberg ’08 recently collaborated to write the pilot episode of Girls Without Boys, a half-hour sitcom about three smart girls from a single-sex school adapting to life with boys; ABC is currently developing the new series, which is based on the two alums’ experiences at Marlborough.

The daughters of Hollywood’s John Goldwyn and Steven Spielberg, respectively, Goldwyn and Spielberg said that the pilot accurately reflects the rigorous academics at Marlborough while making fun of the students’ discomfort around boys.

“These girls are so smart because their classes are so rigorous… and they’re super confident when it comes to academics… but when it comes to boys, they’re totally clueless,” Goldwyn said.

Goldwyn and Spielberg were good friends throughout their time at Marlborough. Goldwyn was a member of Drama Ensemble and Chamber Choir, whereas Spielberg spent most of her time in the Visual Arts Department. Goldwyn said that her teachers influenced her decision to pursue writing.

“Dr. Cottingham is the reason I’m a writer… Her class in 11th grade was the most enriching writing class I’ve ever taken,” Goldwyn said.

After studying screenwriting at Brown University, Sasha attempted to write a pilot about Marlborough on her own. However, when she could not find a suitable angle for the series, she turned to Goldwyn.

“I approached Emily about [the idea], and the second she was involved, the pilot was written… Together, we just kind of like clicked,” Spielberg explained.

If the series is picked up, Goldwyn and Spielberg said that they plan to use many Marlborough traditions as plot points. Specifically, they mentioned possibly doing episodes about the 7th grade trip to Catalina, Casino Night, Mascot Day and the school plays.

Goldwyn and Spielberg admitted that a few of the series’ characters were influenced by people they knew during their time at Marlborough. The duo hopes to parody some of the teachers they had at Marlborough; a character resembling History and Social Sciences instructor John Langdon was mentioned as a possibility.

Spielberg stressed the fact that they hope to portray the School in a positive light, as they enjoyed their experiences at Marlborough immensely.

“Our idea is really a love letter to Marlborough,” Spielberg said.

As for how they expect other Marlborough alumae and current students to react to the series, Goldwyn and Spielberg said they think that anyone in the Marlborough community will be able to relate to the show.

“We hope other people feel like we did [Marlborough] justice,” Goldwyn said.