Fictional Gamergate Series Adds Norman Lear and Brent Miller as EPs

Mind Riot Entertainment’s Gamergate series now has a pair of executive producers. According to Deadline, Norman Lear and Brent Miller have signed on to the project. The series is being co-created and co-written by Brianna Wu and J. Brad Wilke. Wu will also serve as an EP on the series alongside Lear, Miller, Jonathan Keasey, and Jeremy J. Dodd. The series was announced in October 2021, and does not yet have a studio or showrunner attached. In a statement to Deadline, Miller spoke highly of the project, and the important role of women in the video game industry. 

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Brianna Wu and Mind RiotEntertainment in telling these stories. The gaming industry has explodedover the past decade bringing in more revenue than sports and moviescombined worldwide. However, the number of female engineers in thegaming industry is less than 5%. One doesn’t have to be a gamer torecognize something is off with this percentage,” said Miller.

Brianna Wu has served in the video game industry as a journalist, developer, and programmer. Wu was one of several women that were harassed by the Gamergate campaign, and the series will provide a fictional take on the actual events. The Gamergate campaign began in 2014, when false allegations were made against game developer Zoe Quinn over her game Depression Quest. The campaign sprang up on 4chan and Twitter, with those that considered themselves “members” of the group claiming that they were concerned about “ethics in game journalism.” In actuality, Gamergate was a targeted harassment campaign against a number of women in the industry, and those that defended them. Many journalists and developers were doxxed and threatened with physical harm and death as a result of the campaign.

While Gamergate eventually fizzled out, its impact is felt nearly eight years later. An unfortunate number of women in the industry continue to deal with threats and harassment. Hopefully, the Gamergate series will be able to shine a light on these events, and prevent another harassment campaign on that scale.

Are you looking forward to the Gamergate TV series? Were you aware of the campaign when it happened? Let us know in thecomments or share your thoughts directlyon Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!