![\"Gabe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image0-5-1.jpeg\")
Gabe Rotter with New York Islanders player Bob Nystrom and the 1981 Stanley Cup. Nystrom lived across the street from Rotter and his parents developed a close friendship. Photo provided by Gabe Rotter<\/p>\nGabe Rotter, a Woodbury native, has taken a major step in his career with the Netflix series \u201cThe Beast in Me,\u201d a show rooted in the very neighborhoods that shaped his childhood.<\/p>\n
Rotter said his love of storytelling began early.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember watching \u2018E.T\u2019. when I was 8 years old and being completely bowled over,\u201d Rotter said. \u201cI literally said to myself, \u2018This is what I want to do. I want to tell stories like this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
His passion for writing was quickly recognized. In fifth grade, Rotter entered a Halloween story-writing contest, crafting a tale with a twist ending that won him accolades from classmates and teachers alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing the reaction that it got was all I needed,\u201d he said. \u201cI was immediately hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabe Rotter with New York Islanders player Bob Nystrom and the 1981 Stanley Cup. Nystrom lived across the street from Rotter and his parents developed a close friendship. Photo provided by Gabe Rotter<\/p>\n
Rotter attended Syosset High School and credited his high school mentors for nurturing his talents. He said Jack DeMacy, who ran Syosset\u2019s TV and radio programs, and English teacher Elizabeth Leeds encouraged his creative pursuits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leeds, he said, once told him a story he wrote made her cry. \u201cShe actually said the words, \u2018You\u2019re a writer,\u2019\u201d Rotter said. \u201cThat really affected me, so I took it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to study at the University of Southern California\u2019s School of Cinematic Arts, majoring in critical studies. After an internship at Fox Studios, he landed a job as a production assistant on \u201cThe X-Files,\u201d quickly working his way up to writers\u2019 assistant, a formative experience that taught him the craft of television writing.<\/p>\n
Rotter spent years honing his skills, often facing rejection, but he emphasized the importance of perseverance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no shortcuts,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to do the work, and if you\u2019re committed and tenacious, you\u2019ll have a chance of succeeding. It took 25 years to get a show made that I wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rotter is the creator of the new Netflix thriller \u201cThe Beast in Me.\u201d Rotter initially wrote the script in 2016 during the presidential election. The initial inspiration came from an article about Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cThe Art of the Deal,\u201d who later expressed regret over glorifying Trump in his book.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was compelling to me,\u201d Rotter said. \u201cTony Schwartz had made a Faustian pact as a young writer, and years later, he felt guilty because of the impact of that work. I thought there was a TV series in that dynamic between a writer and someone whose life they\u2019re helping to mythologize.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"image6](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image6-rotated.jpeg\")
Behind the scenes of Matthew Rhys in \u201cThe Beast in Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first script took shape as a story about Aggie, a writer, and her obsession with documenting the life of a nearby gangster who wants to be remembered as one of the greats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rotter said the story drew heavily from his observations growing up on Long Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had come across folks who looked and sounded like they might be involved with the mob,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI was collecting stories, almost like a bird watcher, paying attention to details.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most memorable scenes in the show \u2014 the appearance of three large German Shepherds at Aggie\u2019s door \u2014 is based on a real experience from Rotter\u2019s childhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were eating dinner one night when these giant dogs started barking at our windows,\u201d he said. \u201cMy dad called the local police, and 10 minutes later, an SUV pulled up. Two intimidating men got out, scooped up the dogs, and handed my dad a business card with just a phone number on it. That really happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other scenes in the show also stem from true Long Island experiences. Rotter recounted witnessing a public incident in a restaurant years ago, where a famous actor confronted a woman allegedly taking pictures of him and his companion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt descended into absolute chaos,\u201d Rotter said. \u201cDays later, there was an article about it on Page Six.\u00a0Moments like that formed the scenes in the series, adding authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The journey from script to screen was long and complex. Though written in 2016, it was not until 2018 that Conan O\u2019Brien\u2019s production company expressed interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Early drafts evolved with input from Jodie Foster and Claire Danes before Netflix picked up the show in 2020. The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and multiple rewrites extended the development process, but Rotter said the perseverance paid off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Claire](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image2-3-rotated.jpeg\")
Claire Danes and Gabe Rotter on set of \u201cThe Beast in Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire Danes sticking with it after all of these contortions was a great gift,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Now that the show is released, Rotter said he feels \u201crelieved\u201d and gratified by its reception.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to hear from literally every person I\u2019ve ever met, telling me they watched the show and liked it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Rotter is already developing new projects, including another television series. Long Island, he said, will continue to inform his work. \u201c<\/p>\n
It\u2019s so deeply embedded in my personality and my way of thinking that a lot of what I do in the future will take place on Long Island,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Gabe Rotter, the path from Syosset classrooms to Netflix studios is a testament to talent, persistence, and the unique experiences of growing up on Long Island. His series, rooted in both local lore and personal memory, brings a piece of Long Island to audiences worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gabe Rotter, a Woodbury native, has taken a major step in his career with the Netflix series \u201cThe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[33963,33964,75,84,83,2451,9,24,63,8189,33965,20513,33966,33967,33968,33853,33969,17233],"class_list":{"0":"post-65040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-creator","9":"tag-gabe-rotter","10":"tag-manhattan","11":"tag-manhattan-headlines","12":"tag-manhattan-news","13":"tag-netflix","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-oyster-bay","18":"tag-oyster-bay-cove","19":"tag-show","20":"tag-syosset","21":"tag-syosset-high-school","22":"tag-the-beast-in-me","23":"tag-the-daily","24":"tag-woodbury","25":"tag-writer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}