About

ABOUT

*“There is no greater agony than bearing the untold story inside of you.”*
*- Maya Angelou*

Writer

I believe we all deserve to connect with someone on screen, to glean truths from the stories we’re told, and to sometimes have the chance to escape from our daily lives. As a writer, I aim to make that possible. I engender and connect worlds by creating and fostering characters and stories that are meant to entertain, and give insight to, the general public. I have the unique ability to absorb and empathize with what is happening in the world around me and to rework it in a manner that is engaging and relatable. I think that this work is so much more than thirty-minutes or an hour of laughter or sadness or any of the myriad of emotions we feel.

It’s about the ripple effect that it can have throughout viewers’ lives that may allow them to possibly understand themselves and/or others just a little bit better.

My view of media is enhanced and varied by a Ph.D in Communication focused on representations of Black women in film and television, and by being a first-generation American. I embrace and celebrate this idiosyncratic lens through which I see our world. We, as social beings, want and need connection. My goal is to create it on the page so it can come to life on screen and resonate in reality.

*“I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.”*
*- Audre Lorde*

Speaker

My foray into entertainment began with a fashion internship, “Sex and the City: The Movie,” and a conversation with my cousins about the updated Mammy character Louis from St. Louis. Together, they sparked my interest in studying how representation in television and film affected the audience and their lives as well as the machine that is “entertainment.” Then, at a certain point in my Ph.D. program, I realized that I wanted to make TV and film instead of teaching about them.

I began working towards becoming a staffed TV writer as I completed my dissertation and now I sit at the intersection of academia and industry at a time when gender, diversity, and inclusion are the headlining conversations. This unusual cross-section of expertise allows me to speak to entertainment in unique and interesting way. I love sharing what I have studied and learned on both sides of the entertainment aisle. What we know should never be siloed.

*“Don’t let anything stop you. There will be times when you’ll be disappointed, but you can’t stop. Make yourself the best that you can out of what you are. The very best.”*
*- Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander*

Biography

Dr. Nikita T. Hamilton defended her doctoral dissertation “Disturbing the Peace: Television, Disruption, and the Roles of Black Women” at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2017. Additionally, she earned a Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies from USC’s Graduate School. Nikita is a former Annenberg Fellow, PAGE (Publicly Active Graduate Education) Fellow, COMPASS (Consortium on Media Policy Studies) Fellow, and CUP (Council of Urban Professionals) Fellow whose research focused on representations of black women in television, cultural studies, and gender. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she double-majored in Communication and Psychology.

Nikita lives in Los Angeles where she writes, acts, and participates in conversations examining race and gender in entertainment. She started off in the industry as a Writers' Assistant for FX Networks and Marvel Television and later became a Showrunner's Assistant for ABC Studios and Universal Television. Nikita was first staffed in 2019 on Season 4 of Freeform’s “The Bold Type” and has worked on shows for ABC, HBO Max, and Amazon since then.

In addition to developing her own projects, Nikita likes to volunteer with organizations that help make writing more accessible to women and BIPOC writers whenever she is able. In 2021, she served as a Summer Screenwriting Mentor for Made in Her Image and in 2023 volunteered as a judge for the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge Pilot Accelerator.

Nikita is currently a Co-Producer on a first season Amazon project.