NYWIFT Blog

By Tammy Reese

The 2025 Tribeca Festival is set to thrill audiences with the world premiere of Last Resort, a bold new thriller/sci-fi podcast series blending razor-sharp satire and psychological suspense. Among the dynamic cast are longtime collaborators and NYWIFT members Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen — an award-winning creative duo known for their boundary-pushing work across stage and screen.

In this exclusive interview, the real-life couple opens up about their experience working together as actors on Last Resort, a project helmed by fellow NYWIFT member Melanie Armer and writer/creator Chance Muehleck.

From their reflections on artistic community and inspiration, to the impact of premiering at Tribeca, Blank and Jensen give us a heartfelt, humorous, and deeply insightful glimpse into what makes Last Resort such a resonant and genre-defying story.

Congratulations on the World Premiere of Last Resort at the 2025 Tribeca Festival! How are you both feeling heading into this exciting moment?

ERIK: Great! “The Last Resort” was created by my long-time friends and collaborators Melanie and Chance. We’ve known each other for years and this was a wonderful opportunity to take the love and humor in our relationship and transform it into something as scary as it is funny.

What first drew you to the project? Was there something about the script or the story that immediately resonated with you?

JESSICA: Erik and I are hyphenate director-writer-actors and have worked together a ton for over two decades. (We are grateful to have won the NYWIFT Excellence in Directing award at the Woodstock Film Festival for our most recent feature!) But strangely, we have rarely worked together in an acting capacity! We are a writing team for film, TV and theater; we direct our films together; I direct our plays (including the ones that Erik acts in!) and are used to working together in all sorts of combinations, but this is one of the first times we’ve ever been cast opposite each other! And it was even better with another married creative duo at the helm. We had a blast in the recording booth.

(image courtesy of Jesica Blank and Erik Jensen)

Without giving too much away, can you share a glimpse of what Last Resort is about — and what makes it such a compelling piece of work?

ERIK: It reminds me of some of the writing of Alan Moore (Watchmen) or H.P. Lovecraft or Octavia Butler. It’s largely about forces larger than us mere mortals. Larger stuff is at work. It’s also a warning. We meddle with the universe at our peril sometimes.

JESSICA: But it’s also hilarious! One of the coolest things about Last Resort is that it combines big questions and genre elements with straight-up character-driven comedy.

What do you hope audiences take away after listening to Last Resort? Is there a specific emotion or reflection you hope lingers with them?

JESSICA: Jumping off what Erik said: when it’s done right, sci fi can ask big questions and grapple with big metaphysical things while remaining totally entertaining.

ERIK: It’s like root beer. Tastes great and leaves a lingering flavor after it’s over!

Tribeca is such a respected platform for creatives. What does it mean to you personally and professionally to have Last Resort premiere at this year’s festival?

ERIK: We are New Yorkers. This is a hometown thing for us. We’re especially psyched about the New York-based cast we got to work with. A lot of these folks have been part of our creative community for years, and that’s one of our favorite things about being based in New York — it’s really a community here, and if you stay in it long enough, you can build a family that you work with over and over again.

Tell us about your experience working on the film — what were some of the most memorable or transformative moments during production?

JESSICA: Well, I don’t want to speak for Erik-

ERIK: You do anyway, go ahead-

JESSICA: Now we’ve been found out-!

ERIK: Everyone knows already.

JESSICA: Well, this last election was particularly hard, as a lot of us are feeling.

ERIK: We were both pretty disturbed about Trump having any say so in our lives again.

JESSICA: Anyway, the day after the election Erik got to the sound booth and he was feeling pretty down. And we looked at Chance and Melanie and they helped us realize we are all in this together. They reminded us of the power of community and friendship. They gave us a reason to want to tell stories again that day. And that sticks with you.

(Image courtesy of Tribeca 2025)

For aspiring actors, writers, or creatives looking to follow a path similar to yours, what’s one key piece of advice you’d offer them?

ERIK: When you get stuck as a writer, open up a few pages of your favorite writing that resembles what you are working on. Type out four or five pages of that script or novel. Copy it down to the punctuation. I guarantee it will make things easier. Hunter Thompson used to copy F. Scott Fitzgerald for fun. That’s practical. If you are an actor, stop believing all things rest on you. They don’t. Every cast/crew member has your back. You are not alone. Find your community. I mean, Jess, what do you say to your Juilliard students?

JESSICA: So many things! I teach in the graduate Drama Division there — my job is to teach the actors story structure, craft, and how to make their own work. Whether you think you’re “just an actor” or know you’re a hyphenate, it’s crucial to learn how to build a creative practice that you are in charge of. Where you don’t have to get hired to make your work. Nobody is coming along to magically grant you access — but that’s not necessarily bad news. The best way I know to create a lasting, fulfilling life in this business is to hone your craft, find your people, and make stuff. Every day. Without waiting and without stopping. That’s what we’ve been doing for the last couple decades, and it’s the way Chance and Melanie work too.

Anything you’d like to say to the audiences getting ready to experience Last Resort for the first time?

ERIK: Get ready to be mystified. And check the customer ratings of your favorite getaways. If ghosts or supernatural voices are mentioned? Skip it. Go see a NYWIFT-supported film or podcast instead!

JESSICA: Ha! I think you said it, babe!

You’re both members of NYWIFT. What inspired you to join this incredible organization, and how has it supported your journey as creatives in the industry?

We’ve known about NYWIFT for years and some of our closest collaborators are deeply involved over there — NYWIFT does so much necessary and important work. We were blessed to be gifted a membership when our film BROOKLYN, MINNESOTA won NYWIFT’s Excellence in Directing Award at the 2024 Woodstock Int’l Film Festival. We are both deeply dedicated to equity and parity in storytelling — we look at that in everything, from the crews we hire to the stories we tell — and it feels great to be part of an organization that shares those values and works to make them real in the world.

How can fans, followers, and fellow creatives keep up with your upcoming projects and journey on social media?

We’re both most find-able on Instagram — Jessica is @jessicacblank and Erik is @ejensen123. We’ve got a ton of great stuff in the works — our NYWIFT-honored film BROOKLYN, MINNESOTA is on the festival circuit, we’re prepping a big comedy feature for production in 2025, and working on a musical commission for the Public Theater, and Erik has several TV acting gigs in the works.

Learn more about Last Resort at the Tribeca Festival here: https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/last-resort-2025

And be sure to check out the other NYWIFT Members at the 2025 Tribeca Festival! 

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen are a multi hyphenate creative team in film, television and theater. Plays include The Exonerated (Outer Critics Circle, Lortel, Drama Desk Awards), Aftermath (NYTW; two Drama League noms), How To Be A Rock Critic (CTG, Steppenwolf, Public Theater), The Line (Public Theater), and Coal Country (Public Theater, Cherry Lane/Audible; Lortel, two Drama Desk noms; original music by Steve Earle).

They’ve written TV for Fox, 20th TV, Gaumont, Levinson/Fontana, David Simon/Blown Deadline, and Ed Burns. Their first feature, Almost Home, was released in 2019 by Vertical; they are currently developing a biopic of legendary rock critic Lester Bangs.