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Local duo making presence felt in new comedy ‘Telenovela’

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It’s often said two heads are better than one.

But in the case of Chrissy Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein — best friends and longtime creative partners whose television writing and producing credits include “Cougar Town,” “My Name is Earl” and most recently Eva Longoria’s “Telenovela,” — it’s not so easy to tell where one head, and the thoughts therein, ends and the other begins.

“We have one of those crazy, sick….” Pietrosh begins.

“…intertwined lives,” Goldstein finishes.

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They met their husbands on the same dating website and both got married in Philadelphia, where Goldstein grew up, because Pietrosh’s husband hailed from there as well.

“When my husband proposed to me he brought Jessica a ring, too, because he knew he had to propose to her too,” recalls Pietrosh, herself a New Jersey native. “We were a package deal. We go together.”

Today, the local duo (Pietrosh lives in La Cañada Flintridge, and Goldstein in La Crescenta) operate Tall and Short Productions and serve as showrunners for “Telenovela,” which means they, along with Longoria herself, are responsible for creating and managing each episode.

The 37-year-olds recognize working on a comedy show they adore, with a dream cast and even dreamier lead star and creator, is the fulfillment of a shared dream whose roots go back more than 15 years.

“I feel like we’ve been saying 15 years for the past five years,” Pietrosh jokes of their long association.

Television comedy writing and producing duo Jessica Goldstein, left, and Chrissy Pietrosh are currently working on "Telenovela." Their past work includes "Cougar Town" and "My Name is Earl."

Television comedy writing and producing duo Jessica Goldstein, left, and Chrissy Pietrosh are currently working on “Telenovela.” Their past work includes “Cougar Town” and “My Name is Earl.”

(Roger Wilson / La Canada Valley Sun)

Their paths crossed in Illinois during the late ‘90s, when they were both enrolled in Northwestern University’s Radio, Television and Film program. Despite their commonalities, they didn’t really forge a friendship until a mutual friend insisted they get to know one another better. They did, and from that point their paths became inextricably interwoven.

Goldstein and Pietrosh found a satisfying creative outlet in writing for and performing in a televised student comedy sketch show called Northwestern Sketch Television (NSTV), where as women they were among the minority.

“That’s where the two of us realized we had the same sense of humor,” Pietrosh says. “It’s also the show that gave us the confidence to do this (career).”

At the time, neither of them knew much about how to break into TV comedy writing. Goldstein recalls expressing her interests to a befuddled college counselor, who advised her to look up career options on the Internet.

“I realized I needed to come out here and take a risk,” she says.

Pietrosh agreed. In August of 2000, the duo decided to make the 1,800-mile journey to Southern California, where the lure of Los Angeles, Burbank and Hollywood beckoned. They packed the contents of their lives into their purple cars (another coincidence) and carried walkie talkies to keep in touch with each other along the way.

They didn’t know it at the time, but the repartee they developed on that extended road trip laid the foundation for how they would later brainstorm and write comedy together.

Almost afraid of the grown-up responsibilities that awaited them, they dragged out the cross country-trek to two weeks, inspecting America’s nooks and crannies and speaking candidly to the strange cast of characters they met along the way. Whenever someone asked them what brought them around these parts, they unequivocally answered “We want to write for TV.”

Today, Pietrosh’s key piece of advice to those looking to break into the industry is to be very specific about one’s dream.

“If you want to be a TV comedy writer, then say that,” she suggests.

When Goldstein and Pietrosh reached Los Angeles, they settled into a Los Feliz apartment complex and sought temporary jobs that got them on the Warner Bros. Studio lot.

“We gave ourselves a five-year goal and said if we’re not close to it in five years, we’ll try something else,” recalls Goldstein, who worked as a casting assistant for WB while Pietrosh held down a gig there as a production assistant. “We were aiming for as close to TV comedy as we could get.”

As they began to meet separately with the same contacts and wrote comedy together on the side, the idea to form a partnership naturally evolved. Once their talents were paired, things took off at a fast clip.

A co-worker of Pietrosh’s handed work the pair had written to his boss at WB, who was impressed. Within about a week they had an agent lined up and began writing episodes for the 2002 series remake of the ‘60s sitcom “Family Affair,” starring veteran actors Tim Curry and Gary Cole.

They worked as co-executive producers for “My Name is Earl” and “Cougar Town” and in 2014 inked a two-year deal with Universal TV, under which they would help develop new products.

“Chrissy and Jessica are an inspired writing team with a unique comedy voice that fits perfectly for the type of shows we’re producing,” Universal’s then-Executive Vice President Bela Bajaria said in a statement announcing the deal. “Our future couldn’t be brighter with both of them on board.”

Life since then has been especially good for the duo, as professional good fortunes continue to be paired with personal ones. After both trying to conceive for years, and undergoing in vitro fertilization, Pietrosh and Goldstein began to realize their dreams of motherhood.

Today, Goldstein has two children — Lucas, 4, and 17-month-old Arlo — with husband Camilo Zaks, while Pietrosh is raising Bea, 5, and 3-year-old twins Gus and Archie with her husband, Jeremy McDowell.

They acknowledge they are able to have it all only because of the sacrifices their spouses have made, and because they conveniently took turns being pregnant, yet one more perk of partnership.

“I can’t even imagine how people do it by themselves,” says Goldstein, whom Pietrosh’s children lovingly call “Tia,” sharing her appreciation for having a built-in therapist, fashion consultant and friend.

“Our husbands could not be bigger cheerleaders, but even they don’t know,” she added, pointing to Pietrosh. “The only person who really knows what I did this year is her.”

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine

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