Bold, Emotionally Grounded Storytelling with Cinematic Scope
The mission
From the Front Lines to the Screen
We build prestige, character-driven narratives rooted in real-world stakes. Founded by an emergency medicine physician and crisis expert, Strongwork Productions develops original intellectual property born directly from the front lines of the human experience.
the founder
John Shufeldt
John brings a rare blend of creative vision and intense, lived experience to television. While emerging in the entertainment space, he has spent decades on the frontlines of human crisis as a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician, a licensed attorney, and a former Medical Director for the Phoenix Police SWAT team.
Crucially, John is the founder of Tribal Health, an organization dedicated to delivering essential clinical services directly to Indigenous communities. His deep, ongoing relationships within Native American healthcare—and his firsthand witness to the systemic and personal challenges faced by these communities—directly inspired his latest project, Empathy.
Drawing on his multifaceted life, John is building prestige, character-driven narratives that speak authentically to writers, filmmakers, and audiences alike.
in Development
Empathy
Based on the forthcoming novel by John Shufeldt.
A dark, grounded medical drama about Michael Condon, a gifted, half-Diné emergency physician who survives his own suicide attempt only to wake to a life in ruins.
Stripped of his status, his family’s trust, and the emotional detachment that once made him an exceptional doctor, Michael begins experiencing a terrifying new reality: he feels the physical pain of his patients as if it were his own.
To survive his shifts and his own mind, Michael is forced to confront his buried trauma, his professional failures, and the profound human suffering he spent years trying to surgically detach from. Set against the stark beauty of Arizona and the Navajo Nation, Empathy is a story of accountability, redemption, and the cost of truly feeling.
COLLABORATE & CONTACT
COLLABORATE & CONTACT
Strongwork Productions is actively seeking a Native American Co-Writer to adapt the upcoming novel, Empathy, into a prestige television series format.
While this project draws heavily on real-world dynamics within emergency medicine and Native American healthcare, we are looking for a collaborative voice to help authenticate Michael’s journey, his Diné heritage, and the emotional weight of his unique affliction. (Note: The writer does not specifically need to be a member of the Navajo Nation).
If you are a writer drawn to dark, character-driven drama, we want to hear from you.