It’s been my luck while working in this industry to have met some truly incredible artists who are also remarkable human-beings. When it comes to writer/director, David Weil, of the upcoming sci-fi anthology “Solos”--this couldn't be more true.

Over the course of our thirty-minute zoom interview, we talked about Weil’s directing debut, lessons he learned from his first tenor as a showrunner during the filming of Amazon’s “Hunters”, and setting intentions for the page.

“My intention in writing Solos was for the audience to feel connected and a little less alone.”

The seven episode, one actor, one location, monologue fueled series was birthed out of isolation during the Covid-19 lockdown. After signing an overall deal with Amazon Studios via the success of “Hunters”, Weil wanted to take a swing with a more experimental showcase.

“I was breaking the rules, but also adhering to them as well. We meet these characters and come to know them through a monologue, a story. The three act structure was important. I approached each episode as a feature with peaks and valleys, cliff hangers, character reveals and/or plot twist at the end of each act.”

Weil is also an accredited director for three of the episodes, along with showrunning.

“I am an observer. So, when it came to directing, my greatest strategy was to say “What do you need from me?” “What can I offer you?” These actors are such masters of their crafts and because we only had three days to shoot each episode, a lot of the work had to be done during prep. The benefit of directing these episodes, particularly Tom (starring Anothie Mackie), was that I wrote it, so I knew what I was after.”

In terms of outlining a series with one actor and a singular location, Weil took a more less traditional approach.

“I am not an outliner. I am a straight to the page, vomit draft---more like a scriptment type. I like to see where the story takes me and outlining doesn’t allow me to discover. I have these five beats per episode that I want to hit and that may change on the page if I outlined.”

When asked what advice he would offer his younger writer self, Weil had a refreshing answer.

“Take a breath,ya know? All of the nos will lead to a yes. I cannot tell you how many nos I had over the last ten years. Every script that is passed on will one day have its moment. Just write the next script, after the next one. I am at a moment now, where I am pulling out these old scripts and saying “Take another look at this thing. Maybe there’s something there?” Everything you write has a purpose.

Solos is a masterpiece of creation, a soul crushing journey of storytelling, and one of the most visual stunning series I have ever seen. Critics and fans alike are sure to sing its praises when the show premieres on Amazon Prime on May 21st, 2021.