I hadn't heard that, but it's interesting, now that I look at the HW/EP timeline and compare that with various interviews.
Young was supervising producer under JFP and Pratt.
Then Young/Sussman became co-EPs while Sussman was HW.
Then Sussman exited and Young became HW and sole EP.
Sussman said in her exit interview that she created Teriah (their first kiss aired just before she was fired). Mal Young used to boast that he was responsible for the first lesbian kiss on a UK show, and I think he even had that boast on his twitter profile at one time. (It was on the show Brookside that Young produced). But Sussman wrote Teriah, and from what she said, it was her idea. Maybe Young ran with it, but it was her idea.
Sussman mentioned in her exit interview that her writing of Dina was an Alzheimer's story (although the diagnosis was not mentioned during episodes credited to Sussman as HW). (I wonder if perhaps she was writing the gradual decline and erratic behavior that families don't recognize for what it is, and things can progress for a while -- before the family finally brings their loved one to the doctor much later on.) When Mal took over as HW, he immediately began to emphasize Dina's Alzheimer's illness and did interviews about it, and the Alzheimer's Association certainly thought it was all his idea. Mal said it was important to him because it happened to his mother in real life.
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janea4old ·
