Alumni write and direct new TBS show “Wrecked”

BVNW graduates, brothers Jordan and Justin Shipley have written and directed the TV show “Wrecked” to be shown on TBS this Tuesday. The show tells the story of a plane crash in the Pacific ocean that forces a group of survivors to live on a deserted island.

On June 14 at 9 p.m. central time, the TV show “Wrecked”, by brothers Jordan and Justin Shipley, will air on the TBS network. Jordan and Justin, aside from being writers and directors of the show, are also graduates of Blue Valley Northwest.

Jordan and Justin credit their time at Blue Valley Northwest as a big contributor to their success. While they were at Northwest, they both participated in a variety of activities like newspaper and student government, and Justin said he thinks the BVNW English department had a strong influence on both of them.

“I think English is so strong at Northwest,” Justin said. “I mean there was a really strong English department all there forcing me to become a better writer.”

Justin said he graduated from BVNW in 2007, before attending Kenyon college, majoring in Drama, while Jordan graduated in 2008 and  went to KU where he majored in journalism. After graduation, he said they moved to Los Angeles where they began work on “Wrecked.”   

“I always knew that I wanted to write in TV and film, and Jordan [knew] that he wanted to do something comedic,” Justin said. “So I convinced him to write with me and we ended up writing the very first episode of ‘Wrecked’.”

The show follows a group of survivors after their plane crashes on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Jordan said all 10 episodes have been filmed on deserted locations on the beaches and in the jungles of Puerto Rico.

“The show is kind of a comedic ‘Lost,’” Justin said. “There is a plane crash and this group of strangers who are all kind of lovely idiots survive the crash and are forced to survive on this Island. They try to figure out how to get back home and they also try to figure out how to build this micro society.”

Jordan said once the script for the first episode was complete, the brothers sent it to Producer and Director Jesse Hara, who joined up as one of the producers of “Wrecked”. Justin said that he and first met Hara when Justin was in College and was part of a movie Hara was directing. He said the director has been a mentor to them throughout the whole process.

“When [Justin and Jordan] finished the draft… I sent it to a friend who had just started working at TBS.” Hara said. “I had sent him the script which I thought was really great, and he ended up calling me the next day asking if it was available and wanting to buy it.”

Hara said the two brothers have worked extremely hard, pointing out how rare their story is.

“By no means did this just fall in their lap” Hara said. “They worked harder than actually most people work, and they were dedicated and passionate for what they wanted. I think the reward they are getting they have created for themselves.”