Urman got her start in television writing in 2003, working as a staff Writer on the ABC Comedy, Hope & Faith. She worked with the show for a period of three years, first as a Writer, then as a story Editor, and in her final year, she became the executive story Editor. In an interview with the Alumni of Princeton, Urman explains "[the] ladder you climb when you're a TV Writer. You start as a staff Writer and go through each level until you become an executive Producer." The hierarchy is as follows: writer's assistant, staff Writer, story Editor, executive story Editor, co-producer, supervising Producer, co-executive Producer, executive Producer, and lastly, show-runner. This lateral progression in the industry was exemplified by Urman's entry into the world of television as a staff Writer for Hope & Faith. Over the following three years, she was promoted to story Editor and then executive story Writer. Verini notes that her success in just over a decade is a result of her "entry into the industry [that] coincided with the heyday of TV 'dramedy." Verini describes this as "an amalgam to which [Urman's] instincts are particularly suited."