New Year’s Resolution: Having a Good Sense of Tumor

At the end of 2014, we asked for your creative New Year’s resolutions — we’ll pick several people to follow throughout 2015.Joseph Riedel (Croton-on-Hudson, New York) wrote:

I’ve spent the past few years studying Television Writing and Producing in Chicago but have recently moved back to my hometown in NY in the hopes of finding television work in the city. This plan was put on pause when right before my 25th birthday, I was diagnosed with a Chordoma (a cancerous tumor) growing near my brain.

In the new year I plan to write a web series about my current situation to eventually air online. It’s titled “Having a Good Sense of Tumor Humor” and will consist of 11 to 15 minute episodes that document a slightly fictionalized version of my life as I deal with my Chordoma.

Read an excerpt from the pilot.

Following surgery to remove the tumor, Riedel will spend the next couple of months recuperating, but he plans to stay busy. “I want to get the majority of [the series] written and committed to go to production while I’m in recovery,” he tells Kurt Andersen, “so by the time I’m up and about and back on my feet, we can just jump in and start producing.”

He’s assembled a cast and crew of friends, many with production and performance experience. As for who will play the part of his 16-year-old sister, that’s still up for grabs: “She’s a brilliant actress, but the question is does she want to play herself? I love her to death but I don’t always paint her in the best light in the series.”

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