 |
Chad Hodge (born 1977) is an American writer and producer who created drama series Runaway (2006), The Playboy Club (2011), Wayward Pines (2015), and Good Behavior (2016). [1] He wrote the Broadway stage adaptation of Irving Berlin's classic musical Holiday Inn and the film adaptation of YA trilogy The Darkest Minds (2018). He is a native of Highland Park, Illinois, and attended Northwestern University.
Hodge was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, as the oldest of five siblings. He was interested in the arts from an early age, starting with theater. At five years old, his first performance was in a local production of The King & I. While attending Highland Park High School, he played leading roles in Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour), Pippin (Leading Player), and Godspell (Jesus). In the summer of 1994, Hodge attended the NHSI Cherubs theater program at Northwestern University.
Hodge then attended Northwestern University and decided to pursue different avenues in the arts. Among several extracurriculars, he was the executive producer of campus television series University Place. In 1999, he graduated with magna cum laude honors and a bachelor's degree in communication studies and business institutions.
While at Northwestern, Hodge explored his interests through various internships, including Deloitte Consulting and The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago, and casting director Debra Zane in Los Angeles. While interning for Zane in the summer of 1998, Hodge read the screenplay for American Beauty by Alan Ball, which Zane was casting. Hodge has said the script inspired him to want to become a screenwriter.
Hodge's youngest sister Amy Hodge is also in the entertainment industry. She is VP of Original Programming at HBO.
After graduating from Northwestern, Hodge was an assistant at the William Morris Agency. He quit after three weeks when he realized he had no time to write. He got a job as a waiter and wrote whenever he could.
In 2001, he was hired by NBC to write a television pilot for their Saturday morning teen block as a vehicle for rising country music star Alecia Elliott. The show, All About Us, started airing in late 2001.
In 2003, Hodge segued to writing for primetime television drama, and wrote for several series including Veritas: The Quest (ABC) and Tru Calling (FOX). He also wrote the movie This Time Around for ABC Family.
In 2004, Hodge wrote the movie I Want to Marry Ryan Banks, starring Bradley Cooper, for ABC Family. The film is now available under the title The Reality of Love.
In 2006, Hodge created his first primetime drama series, Runaway (CW), starring Donnie Wahlberg, Leslie Hope, Dustin Milligan, and Sarah Ramos. It was the first drama series launched by The CW.
In 2011, Hodge created The Playboy Club (NBC) about the first Playboy Club in Chicago in the 1960s. The pilot was directed by Alan Taylor. The show starred Laura Benanti, Amber Heard, Jenna Dewan, Leah Renee, Naturi Naughton, Eddie Cibrian, David Krumholtz, and Jenifer Lewis.
Also in 2011, Out Magazine named Hodge [2] one of the "Out 100" in their annual list of the most influential LGBTQ public figures.
In 2015, Hodge created Wayward Pines (FOX) based on the best-selling novel by Blake Crouch. The event series starred Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, and Melissa Leo. The series was meant to be just ten episodes, [3] but it performed very well and FOX ordered a second season. Hodge, however, had moved on to create another series with Blake Crouch, Good Behavior, based on Crouch's short story "The Pain of Others."
In 2016, Hodge created Good Behavior (TNT) starring Michelle Dockery and Juan Diego Botto. The show was critically well-received and aired for two seasons. Hodge was nominated for the 2018 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Writing for the episode "The Heart Attack is the Best Way." [4]
In 2017, Hodge returned to his theatrical roots as co-book writer for the musical stage adaptation of Holiday Inn, the 1942 Universal film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. The musical had its first production at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut before opening on Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre.
In 2018, Hodge wrote the screenplay for feature film The Darkest Minds (20th Century Fox) based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Alexandra Bracken. The film starred Amandla Stenberg and Harris Dickinson.
Hodge wrote and executive-produced Netflix’s first gay holiday rom-com, Single All the Way, which premiered on the platform in December 2021. The plot follows Peter who, desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about his perpetual single status, convinces his best friend Nick to join him for the holidays and pretend they’re now in a relationship. But their plan goes awry when his family decides to play matchmaker. The film was directed by Michael Mayer with principal photography taking place in Montreal, Canada. The cast includes Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, Luke McFarlane, Jennifer Coolidge, Jennifer Robertson, and Kathy Najimy.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | The Darkest Minds | No | Yes |
| 2020 | Anita | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 | Single All the Way | No | Yes |
The numbers in writing credits refer to the number of episodes.
| Year | Title | Creator | Writer | Executive producer | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | University Place | No | Yes | co-executive | unknown episodes | |
| 2001 | All About Us | developer | Yes (2) | No | NBC | |
| 2003 | This Time Around | — | Yes | No | ABC Family | TV movie |
| 2003-2004 | Tru Calling | No | Yes (2) | No | Fox | |
| 2004 | I Want to Marry Ryan Banks | — | Yes | No | ABC | TV movie |
| Veritas: The Quest | No | Yes (1) | No | ABC | ||
| 2006 | Runaway | Yes | Yes (4) | Yes | The CW | |
| 2011 | The Playboy Club | Yes | Yes (2) | Yes | NBC | |
| 2015-2016 | Wayward Pines | developer | Yes (5) | Yes | Fox | |
| 2016-2018 | Good Behavior | Yes | Yes (7) | Yes | TNT | Nominated – Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama, episode: "The Heart Attack is the Best Way" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017 | Holiday Inn: The New Irving Berlin Musical | writer | live stage production Nominated - Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical |
Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for making original films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally.
Shannon Marie Kahololani "Shannyn" Sossamon is an American actress. She has appeared in the films A Knight's Tale (2001), 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002), The Rules of Attraction (2002), The Order (2003), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), The Holiday (2006), Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006), Road to Nowhere (2009), The End of Love (2012), and Sinister 2 (2015).
Reed Edward Diamond is an American actor. He is known for the roles of Det. Mike Kellerman on Homicide: Life on the Street, Jason Pillar in season 8 of 24, and recurring character Laurence Dominic on Dollhouse. He also appeared in The Shield, Journeyman, Bones, The Mentalist, Franklin & Bash, and Underground. He had a recurring role on the first two seasons of Designated Survivor as John Foerstel, Director of the FBI, and portrayed Daniel Whitehall / Werner Reinhardt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Steven Conrad is an American filmmaker.
Blinding Edge Pictures is an American film and television production company, founded in 1998 by M. Night Shyamalan. The company is known for producing films, such as the Unbreakable series, Signs, The Village, The Happening, After Earth, The Visit, Old and Knock at the Cabin.
John Erick Dowdle is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for horror films. He usually works with his brother Drew Dowdle as a producer and co-screenwriter.
Donald De Line is an American film producer. He was formerly the head of production at Paramount Pictures. He began his career as a studio executive at Walt Disney Productions and its Touchstone Pictures division in 1985, eventually serving as Disney's vice-president of production. He is a native of La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. His well-known films have included Pretty Woman (1990), The Italian Job (2003), and Body of Lies (2008).
Charles Tahan is an American actor. Starting as a child actor, with appearances in the 2007 films American Loser and I Am Legend, he has progressed through teen and adult roles. His notable roles include Ben Burke in the Fox dystopian mystery thriller series Wayward Pines (2015–16), the young Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow in the Fox/DC Comics superhero drama Gotham (2014–17), and Wyatt Langmore in the Netflix original crime drama Ozark (2017–2022).
The Playboy Club is an American historical crime drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19 to October 3, 2011. Set in 1961, the series centers on the employees of the original Playboy Club operating in Chicago. The Playboy Club stars Eddie Cibrian, Laura Benanti, Amber Heard, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Naturi Naughton, Leah Renee, Wes Ramsey, Jenifer Lewis, and David Krumholtz.
Dylan Rhodes O'Brien is an American actor. His first major role was Stiles Stilinski on the MTV supernatural drama Teen Wolf (2011–2017), where he was a series regular during all six seasons. He achieved further prominence for his lead role of Thomas in the Maze Runner science fiction film trilogy (2014–2018), which led to more film appearances. He played Deepwater Horizon explosion survivor Caleb Holloway in the disaster film Deepwater Horizon (2016), fictional counterterrorist Mitch Rapp in the action thriller American Assassin (2017), and title character in the Transformers installment Bumblebee (2018). He also played the lead in the adventure film Love and Monsters (2020).
Wayward Pines was an American mystery science fiction television series based on the Wayward Pines novels by Blake Crouch. Developed for television by Chad Hodge, the pilot was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, with both as executive producers. The series premiered on Fox on May 14, 2015, and the first season concluded on July 23, 2015.
Dakota Daulby is a Canadian film and television actor, producer, director and screenwriter.
The Wayward Pines Trilogy (2012–2014) is a mystery/thriller/science fiction novel series by American author Blake Crouch. It follows U.S. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke as he unravels the mystery surrounding his unanticipated arrival in the small town of Wayward Pines, Idaho, following a devastating car accident. The novels are Pines (2012), Wayward (2013), and The Last Town (2014). In 2015, the novels were adapted into the television series Wayward Pines.
William Blake Crouch is an American author best known for his Wayward Pines Trilogy, which was adapted into the 2015 television series Wayward Pines.
Beau Christian Knapp is an American actor. He is known for his roles in The Signal (2014), Run All Night (2015), and Southpaw (2015). Knapp portrayed a lead villain in Death Wish (2018), the sixth installment of the Death Wish series. In 2021, he starred in the TV series adaptation of The Lost Symbol.
Darkest Hour is a 2017 British biographical film about Winston Churchill, played by Gary Oldman, in his early days as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War and the May 1940 war cabinet crisis, depicting his refusal to seek a peace treaty with Nazi Germany amid their advance into Western Europe. The film is directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten. Along with Oldman, the cast includes Kristin Scott Thomas as Clementine Churchill, Lily James as Elizabeth Layton, Stephen Dillane as Viscount Halifax, Ronald Pickup as Neville Chamberlain, and Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI. The title of the film refers to a phrase describing the early days of the war, which has been widely attributed to Churchill.
The Darkest Minds is a 2018 American dystopian science fiction film directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, written by Chad Hodge and produced by Shawn Levy and Dan Levine. The film stars Amandla Stenberg, Harris Dickinson, Mandy Moore and Gwendoline Christie. Based on Alexandra Bracken's 2012 young adult novel of the same name, it follows a group of children who are on the run from the government after obtaining superpowers due to a mysterious infection.
Julian Grey is an American actor. Most recently, Grey can be seen in The Matrix Resurrections (2021) as Brandon, the teenage son of Tiffany. Grey can also be seen in Blumhouse's The Craft: Legacy (2020) as Abe, the youngest son of Adam, and in Searchlight Pictures dark comedy Downhill as Finn, the fearless son of Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In television, Grey can be seen in AMCs Fear the Walking Dead (2023), Netflix award-winning limited series Godless (2017), and Fox's Wayward Pines (2016).
Dark Matter is an upcoming American science fiction television series created by Blake Crouch, based on his 2016 novel of the same name. It is set to premiere on Apple TV+.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
