Joshua Safran

Last updated
Joshua Safran
Alma mater New York University
Occupations
  • Producer
  • screenwriter
Notable work Soundtrack , Quantico , Gossip Girl and Smash

Joshua Safran is an American television screenwriter and executive producer.

Contents

Education

Safran attended the Horace Mann School prior to graduating from NYU Tisch with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in playwriting. [1] He has stated he is Jewish. [2]

Career

Safran was an executive producer and writer on The CW television series Gossip Girl and was the executive producer and showrunner for the second season of the NBC television series Smash . [3] He shared writing credits with director Shana Feste for the screenplay of the 2014 remake of the 1981 film Endless Love . [4]

Safran was the creator, executive producer and showrunner (seasons one and two) of the ABC thriller drama series Quantico . [5] [6] Recently, he was credited as the creator, executive producer and showrunner for the Netflix musical television series Soundtrack . [7] [8]

He is set to create, executive produce and showrun the 2021 sequel series Gossip Girl for HBO Max. [9] Safran is developing an untitled ghost drama for AMC with Annapurna Television. [10]

Personal life

Safran is openly gay. [11]

Filmography

Film

TitleYearCredited asNotes
WriterDirectorProducer
Endless Love 2014YesNoNo

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

TitleYearCredited asNetworkNotes
CreatorDirectorWriterExecutive
Producer
Gossip Girl 2007–12NoNoYes (18)Yes The CW Consulting producer (2007–08: 18 episodes), co-executive producer (2008–10: 21 episodes), executive producer (2010–12: 46 episodes)
Smash 2013NoNoYes (3)Yes NBC executive producer and showrunner (Season 2: 15 episodes)
Quantico 2015–18YesNoYes (7)Yes ABC executive producer and showrunner (Seasons 1–2: 44 episodes), consultant (Season 3: 13 episodes)
Soundtrack 2019YesYes (1)Yes (3)Yes Netflix executive producer and showrunner
Gossip Girl 2021YesYes (3)YesYes HBO Max executive producer and showrunner.

Related Research Articles

Miles Millar is an Australian-British screenwriter, showrunner, producer, creator, developer, and director.

Alfred Gough is an American screenwriter, producer, writer, director, showrunner and creator. He is best known as the developer of The WB/The CW's Superman-prequel television hit series Smallville. Alongside longtime writing/producing partner Miles Millar, Gough also co-created other television programs like AMC's 2015 wuxia-influenced dystopian television series Into the Badlands, MTV's 2016 epic fantasy television series The Shannara Chronicles and Netflix's Wednesday, the Tim Burton helmed Addams Family spin-off. Among his many feature film credits he wrote or produced are Shanghai Noon, as well as its sequel, Shanghai Knights, Spider-Man 2, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Hannah Montana: The Movie and Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Berlanti</span> American television writer and producer

Gregory Berlanti is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He is known for his work on the television series Dawson's Creek, Brothers & Sisters, Everwood, Political Animals, Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and You, in addition to his contributions to DC Comics on film and television productions, including The CW's Arrowverse, as well as Titans and Doom Patrol. In 2000, Berlanti founded the production company Berlanti Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Fontana</span> American writer and producer

Tom Fontana is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street and created HBO's Oz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terence Winter</span> American television and film writer (born 1960)

Terence Patrick Winter is an American writer and producer of television and film. He was the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014). Before creating Boardwalk Empire, Winter was a writer and executive producer for the HBO television series The Sopranos, from the show's second to sixth and final season (2000–2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenji Kohan</span> American television writer, producer, and director

Jenji Leslie Kohan is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator and showrunner of the Showtime comedy-drama series Weeds and the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black. She has received nine Emmy Award nominations, winning one as supervising producer of the comedy series Tracey Takes On....

<i>Gossip Girl</i> American teen drama television series (2007–2012)

Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students in Manhattan's Upper East Side whose private and social lives are chronicled by the unidentified blogger "Gossip Girl". The series was broadcast on The CW from September 19, 2007, to December 17, 2012, spanning six seasons and 121 episodes.

Alexander Woo is a Chinese-American writer and producer for television. Woo is the Executive Producer and Co-Creator of the Netflix adaption of “3 Body Problem.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sera Gamble</span> American television writer and producer (born 1983)

Sera Gamble is an American television writer and producer, best known for her work on Lifetime/Netflix's You, the Syfy's The Magicians and The CW's Supernatural.

Amy B. Harris, sometimes credited as Amy Harris, is an American screenwriter and producer. She is best known for producing the HBO series Sex and the City (1998–2004) and developing its prequel series The Carrie Diaries (2013–14), which aired on The CW.

<i>Gossip Girl</i> season 6 2012 season of television series

The sixth and final season of the American teen drama television series Gossip Girl premiered on The CW on October 8, 2012, and concluded on December 17, 2012, consisting of 10 episodes. Based on the novel series of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar, the series was developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. The CW officially renewed the series for a sixth season on May 11, 2012. The series finale was preceded by a special retrospective, including interviews with the cast and crew.

<i>Smash</i> season 2 Second season of the television series Smash

The second and final season of the American musical drama television series Smash premiered on February 5, 2013, on NBC and consisted of 17 episodes. On March 13, 2013, NBC announced they were moving the remaining season two episodes of Smash to Saturday nights at 9:00PM EST starting April 6 in order to play the full 17-episode order. The two-hour series finale aired on May 26, 2013, moving the show to a special Sunday slot.

Karl Gajdusek is an American screenwriter, producer, and playwright. He was the showrunner for the first season of the Netflix series Stranger Things and the co-creator of the TV series Last Resort with Shawn Ryan. They were both also executive producers for the series. Gajdusek also wrote for the series Dead Like Me and wrote the film Trespass (2011). He co-wrote the screenplay for the 2013 Tom Cruise movie, Oblivion, and The November Man, which was released in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslye Headland</span> American writer and director (born 1980)

Leslye Headland is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and playwright. She wrote the play Bachelorette and wrote and directed its 2012 film adaptation and the 2015 film Sleeping with Other People. She co-created the Netflix series Russian Doll, along with Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler. She also created the Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte.

John Wirth is a television showrunner, producer, and writer. From 2012 to mid-2016, he was the showrunner and executive producer for the American Western series Hell on Wheels. He is also credited as a co-creator, executive producer and writer for the Netflix series, Wu Assassins (2019). Since Season 2, he's been showrunner on the AMC series Dark Winds., developed by Graham Roland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Averill</span> American television writer and producer

Meredith Averill is an American television writer and producer. Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Averill graduated from New York University with a degree in screenwriting.

<i>Quantico</i> (TV series) 2015 American thriller drama TV series

Quantico is an American thriller drama television series which aired on ABC from September 27, 2015, to August 3, 2018, with 57 episodes broadcast over three seasons. Produced by ABC Studios, the series was created by Joshua Safran, who also served as the showrunner. Mark Gordon, Robert Sertner, Nicholas Pepper and Safran are its executive producers. Michael Seitzman replaced Safran as the new showrunner and an executive producer in its third season, with Safran remaining as an executive producer.

Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series developed by Joshua Safran for HBO Max. Based on the original CW television series of the same name, itself based on the novel written by Cecily von Ziegesar, it serves as a standalone series in a shared universe. The series is executive produced by original series co-creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, along with Safran, who was an executive producer on the first series and who also serves as showrunner. The series is narrated by Kristen Bell, who reprised her role as the voice of Gossip Girl, an anonymous and omniscient blogger. It features an ensemble cast led by Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak, Tavi Gevinson, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zión Moreno, Savannah Lee Smith, and Grace Duah.

<i>Dead Boy Detectives</i> (TV series) 2024 television series

Dead Boy Detectives is an American supernatural horror detective comedy-drama television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the DC Comics characters of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The series stars George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Briana Cuoco, Ruth Connell, Yuyu Kitamura and Jenn Lyon, and follows Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne, who decided not to enter the afterlife and instead stay on Earth to investigate crimes that involve the supernatural.

<i>Parish</i> (TV series) Crime drama television series

Parish is an American crime drama television series developed by Danny Brocklehurst and based on his BBC One series The Driver. Starring Giancarlo Esposito, it premiered on AMC on March 31, 2024. In October 2024, the series was cancelled after one season.

References

  1. Jones, Kenneth (January 21, 2013). "Stage to Screens: Joshua Safran, the new storyteller of 'Smash', talks about Season 2". Playbill.com . Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  2. Li, Shirley (November 6, 2016). "Quantico postmortem: Showrunner talks THAT bloody departure, the twins' latest switch". EW.com .
  3. Goldberg, Lesley (April 24, 2012). "'Smash' Taps 'Gossip Girl's' Josh Safran as New Showrunner". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  4. "Universal Sets Apropos Release Date For 'Endless Love' Remake". Deadline Hollywood . PMC. May 21, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  5. "Josh Safran, Mark Gordon Team for Quantico Drama at ABC (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. September 17, 2014.
  6. "'Quantico' Renewed For Season 3 By ABC, Josh Safran Steps Down As Showrunner". Deadline. May 15, 2017.
  7. "'Mixtape': Netflix Picks Up Fox Musical Drama Pilot To Series". Deadline Hollywood. July 2, 2018.
  8. Schwartz, Ryan (October 31, 2019). "Soundtrack: Jenna Dewan Music Drama Gets December Premiere Date at Netflix". TVLine. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  9. Bastidas, Jose (July 26, 2019). "'Gossip Girl' Creator Reveals HBO Max's Version Will Be More a 'Continuation' Than Reboot". Pop Culture. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  10. "'Quantico' Creator Sets Music Show at Fox, Ghost Drama at AMC (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. October 27, 2017.
  11. Kinane, Ruth (June 15, 2021). "Gossip Girl executive producer Joshua Safran on how his characters represent parts of his coming-out journey". Entertainment Weekly.