Former Colorado WR now a writer for CSI: Cyber

“When you’re the writer of the episode, you are also the on-set producer for that episode,” McKnight explained. “I had the opportunity to not only go through the job of writing the script, but going through the notes with the network, the studio and with Jerry Bruckheimer Television — that whole process.”

Then came the task of going on-set with the cast and crew. That meant working directly with people such as Ted Danson, Oscar winner Patricia Arquette, Kelly Preston and director Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink, The Replacements).

“It was interesting,” McKnight said. “You grow up having watched a lot of these people. But in a work environment like that, there’s so much on the line … you realize there’s this responsibility on your shoulders and you have to get to work. You want to be the one that makes it better, not the guy that messes it up.”

“There were a lot of all-nighters,” he said. “It was a grind, but I was able to be in the writer’s room and be in that environment. I got the opportunity to learn what it takes in the process of creating episodes, creating storylines, how to execute them on the page — all those kinds of things. It was great hands-on experience and I got to meet a lot of very talented people.”