Sierra Teller Ornelas
Sierra Teller Ornelas: Rutherford Falls Apr 30, 2021
By
Writer and producer Sierra Teller Ornelas learned some of the skills she needed to succeed in Hollywood in an unlikely place: growing up working in the booth at Native American art markets. Just being at art markets and being able to sell, and trying to quickly distill the story of your nation, your family, this piece that you re selling and explaining the importance of it, it really did help in terms of pitching, she told NPR s Ask Me Another host Ophira Eisenberg.
In addition to her career as an accomplished television writer, Ornelas is a sixth-generation Navajo weaver. Her mother s art has been displayed all over the world, and each piece could take years to finish. To help pass the time while she worked, Ornelas s mom would send her to the video store.
New Showcase Comedy Series Rutherford Falls by Navajo and Mexican American Showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas is a Breakthrough Moment in Indigenous Representation
April 29, 2021
Sierra Teller Ornelas. (Photo by: Reginald Cunningham)
“In 2021, it shouldn’t feel monumental to show Indigenous people as the funny, complex, and interesting people that we are,” said Navajo and Mexican American executive producer, co-creator and showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas. She is referring to her new comedy series,
Rutherford Falls, premiering Thursday, April 29 on Showcase, with back-to-back episodes at 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The groundbreaking series features one of the largest Indigenous writer’s rooms on television and is the first TV comedy to have a Native American showrunner.
LOS ANGELES (AP) â In Sierra Teller Ornelasâ family, those who could spin a good tale earned a seat at her grandmomâs expansive dining table, with lesser voices banished to the living room.
âThere was the feeling of holding court that was really big in my family,â said Teller Ornelas, who happily recalled another of the perks: âIf I was in trouble and I could say something funny, I would get in less trouble.âÂ
The Native American writer is now sharing her narrative gifts with the world at large in âRutherford Falls,â a new Peacock comedy she co-created and produces with Michael Schur (âThe Good Placeâ) and actor Ed Helms (âThe Hangoverâ).Â
does do that sometimes.”
“Like the, ‘Let me just break it down for you, because what you think this is is completely different than what it actually is, ” she continued. “We spend a lot of time, the Native writers especially, crafting that and talking about the fact that a lot of Native people are very critical of capitalism, and rightfully so. I think there are a lot of very entrepreneurial Native people. We’re not a monolith. Even within a tribe, there’s so many different types of Native people. One of the writers, Tazbah Chavez, brought up the concept of tribal capitalism and [how] that is different than traditional capitalism. And that led to this really interesting conversation.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) â In Sierra Teller Ornelasâ family, those who could spin a good tale earned a seat at her grandmomâs expansive dining table, with lesser voices banished to the living room.
âThere was the feeling of holding court that was really big in my family,â said Teller Ornelas, who happily recalled another of the perks: âIf I was in trouble and I could say something funny, I would get in less trouble.â
The Native American writer is now sharing her narrative gifts with the world at large in âRutherford Falls,â a new Peacock comedy she co-created and produces with Michael Schur (“The Good Place”) and actor Ed Helms (“The Hangover”).