Glenton Richards ’06
The moment Glenton Richards ’06 knew he wanted to write happened on a visit back home during college. He was rewatching his childhood favorite movie: The Three Musketeers.
“I was just like, how come they never made a sequel?” he recalled. “It would have been so fun to continue the journey of those characters.”
The question bloomed into a realization.
“A light bulb went off in my head,” Richards said. “I was just like, oh my gosh, I want to write.”
And write he did. Today, he has amassed credits on television shows such as Fargo, The Expanse and American Crime, and he recently penned his first novel, The Honor Society.
“Working in the entertainment industry was something that I had not really thought about growing up, but it was something that I was like, oh, this kind of really clicks for me,” he said.
Glenton Richards ’06 pictured with others in the writers’ room on The Expanse (2015).
Richards was initially interested in TCU because it was close to family, and he fell in love with it for its beautiful campus that “felt like home.” Once enrolled, Richards threw himself into student life. He joined the Student Government Association and was a founding member of the Student Filmmakers Association in 2006. His academic path, though, took a few turns before landing in what is now the film, television and digital media department.
“I started taking classes there and really fell in love with TV and film,” he said.
The Importance of an Internship
Soon, it was time for an internship. Breaking into entertainment meant a choice all too familiar to many aspiring writers: move to a big city and chase unpaid internships or find work locally. Fortunately, a networking connection landed him a summer internship on the Dallas set of children Barney & Friends.
His title? Dinosaur wrangler.
“Every morning, I would go in and help dress the little dinosaurs,” Richards said. “They’d come in, I’d open the back of their costume, they’d step in, I’d zip it up and put the head on. Then, I’d walk them to set.”
This opportunity pulled back the curtain on how television worked – the kinds of lessons internships are designed to teach. While he enjoyed his experience there, he still wanted more.
“I didn’t want to just work on a children’s show. I wanted to work in a writer’s room.” he said.
Glenton Richards ’06 at book signing event in Grapevine, Texas.
While he eventually made it to the writer’s room and his career grew, an idea kept tugging at him: a story about a student who discovers his boarding school is secretly training teenage spies. Richards wrote it first as a screenplay. Then he wrote it again. And again.
The story kept outgrowing the format. Advice from his supervisor at the time, award-winning writer and author Noah Hawley, encouraged him to consider a different approach altogether: a novel.
The result is his debut novel, The Honor Society, which follows Archie Adams, a student who discovers his school is no ordinary boarding school. Behind its ancient halls and watchful security lies The Honor Society – a secret program training kids in courage, cunning and codebreaking.
Scattered across the novel’s characters, he said, are fragments of himself.
“It is said that writers all have split personalities, but we’re able to channel it into stories.”
The Next Chapter
Now, things have come rather full circle as The Honor Society is now available at the TCU Campus Store. An audiobook version is currently in production, and Richards has plans for more volumes following Archie from eighth grade through 12th.
Whether it’s Archie’s future possibilities or Richards’ own journey to get where he is, Richards’ reflection is simple.
Glenton Richards ’06 pictured with Billy Bob Thornton on the set of Fargo (2014).
“Never give up. It sounds cliche but it’s true.” he said “There’s a lot of people that have ideas for things, but finishing an idea is very challenging. Being persistent and believing in yourself are good skills to have. Give yourself small wins and allow yourself a chance to celebrate them.”