The Last Heir: An Interview with Kurt Weichert

Please tell us about the projects you worked on before writing ‘The Last Heir’. How did you start, and how did you learn to write scripts?

Before The Last Heir, I wrote and produced Smothered by Mothers, an award-winning indie comedy that has streamed globally across platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Roku. That project earned 27 international awards and helped launch Weichert Media as a creator-owned production company. I also authored the sports satire books Sports Fan Chronicles and Sports and Riches, which developed a loyal following and were later adapted into a comedy pilot that won Best Writer and Best Screenplay at several film festivals. I learned to write scripts by writing everything—novels, screenplays, and pilot episodes—constantly. I studied the craft from both industry masters and festival veterans, then refined my own voice through relentless rewriting, collaboration with talented directors, and watching what worked on set versus what lived only on the page.

Tell us about ‘The Last Heir’. How do you describe it?

The Last Heir is a prestige drama that blends generational family trauma with high-stakes corporate power struggles. It's emotionally grounded yet cinematic in scope—think Succession meets Ozark, with a Southern Gothic edge. The story follows Emmitt Heed, a reluctant heir to a powerful family empire who’s haunted by tragedy, betrayal, and the weight of legacy. It’s a story about fathers and sons, the cost of silence, and how the past is never truly buried—especially when it’s written into your DNA and your company bylaws. There are ghosts here—emotional, generational, and even literal ones. I wanted it to feel like a modern myth set in the Deep South.

Please tell us about your favorite scriptwriters.

I admire writers who take bold risks with form and tone. Aaron Sorkin for rhythm and character combat. Vince Gilligan for long-form storytelling with precision.  Taylor Sheridan for sparse, emotional violence. And honestly, Quentin Tarantino, because he writes like he knows the audience is listening—and dares them not to look away.

If you were given a good budget, what would be your ideal project?

I’d produce The Last Heir as a limited series or feature, shot in the American South with a visionary director and an ensemble cast that can hold silence as powerfully as they deliver monologues. I’d pair it with a companion novel and transmedia campaign that immerses the audience in the Heed family’s world—archives, video reels, even branded podcast tie-ins.

Describe how you would ensure that production is on schedule. What steps would you take?

It starts in the script. Clean, direct, purposeful writing minimizes chaos later. I believe in preproduction as sacred space: cast early, rehearse with intention, storyboard in detail. During production, I rely on efficient call sheets, tight daily goals, and an open line between the director, AD, and producers. You build a team that respects the calendar and the story equally. And if you’ve done the prep, the schedule becomes your ally—not your enemy.

What was the hardest part of writing ‘The Last Heir’.

The emotional honesty. Writing The Last Heir required me to dig into personal themes—loss, inheritance, survival after trauma—and fictionalize them without flinching. I had to confront how much of myself was in Emmitt, the protagonist. Also, balancing the dual timeline structure, which spans generations and echoes The Godfather Part II, required rigorous pacing and restraint.

If possible, tell us about your next work. What plans do you have for your future work?

I’m developing Sawgrass Wars, a gritty crime saga set in the Everglades, and Aunt Dee Dee, Aunt Dee Dee is an acerbic dark comedy about a woman who’s been coasting on faux wealth, social delusion, and expensive Chardonnay for far too long. Her enemies are mostly imaginary, her allies are transactional, and her sense of taste is as inflated as her cheek fillers. I’m also expanding my Sports Fan Chronicles universe with Sports Fan Studio, a sports satire brand.