Philip Segal

Last updated

Philip Segal
Born1962 (age 6162)
Alma mater San Diego State University
Occupation Television producer

Philip David Segal (born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England [1] in 1962) is a British-American television producer. He emigrated to the United States "at the age of fifteen or sixteen", where he gained a degree in Telecommunications from San Diego State University. [2] After graduating he started work in the US television industry, first as a casting assistant and then as a literary agent, working at Fenton Feinberg Casting and the ICM TV Literary Department training program. [2]

In 1985, he was appointed Director of Drama Development at Columbia Pictures. He then moved to ABC Television as a programming executive, and says he worked on shows such as Twin Peaks , Thirtysomething and China Beach . [1]

In 1989, he went to the BBC where he had a chat about the TV industry and asked about work on different shows, one of the ones he was most interested in was science fiction series Doctor Who . Nothing came of this conversation but a week later Doctor Who was officially cancelled while the BBC searched for an American company to make a new series as a joint venture.

In 1991, he joined Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, where he became Vice President of Amblin Television, overseeing the production of seaQuest DSV , Earth 2 and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles . [3]

Segal contacted the BBC, applying for the distribution rights of a new series of Doctor Who under Amblin. Collaborating with fellow English expatriate Peter Wagg (producer of Max Headroom ) they created the early drafts of what eventually became the Doctor Who television movie in 1996. Segal received an executive producer credit on the movie. In 2000, Segal co-wrote the book Doctor Who: Regeneration with Gary Russell (HarperCollins, ISBN   0-00-710591-6), the making-of book about the movie. [4]

Segal won the best director of a short film award from the NY International Film & Video Festival in 2000 for his short story The Other Side of Monday. Other directing credits include: a single episode of Mutant X according to IMDB and one episode of Andromeda for the Tribune Action Hours, and the feature film Hobbs End which he also co-wrote with Eric Truheart. In 2000 he became senior VP for scripted programming and development at Tribune Entertainment, overseeing Andromeda, Beastmaster and other shows. [3]

After a period working at Bunim-Murray Productions as Executive Vice-President, Segal joined Original Productions in 2006 as an executive producer. [5] He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Original in 2012 but left the company in 2017 when Original's parent company, Fremantle, decided not to renew his contract. His credits include Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men for The History Channel , The Colony , Pitchmen , Swords: Life on the Line for Discovery Channel, 1000 Ways to Die for Spike, Black Gold for Tru TV, Wildlife Warriors and Cut in Half for National Geographic Channel, and Storage Wars for A&E. Segal lives in Glendale, California and in Medford, Oregon.

Related Research Articles

<i>Doctor Who</i> British science fiction TV series

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.

Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues. In films, the executive producer generally contributes to the film's budget and their involvement depends on the project, with some simply securing funds and others being involved in the filmmaking process.

Verity Ann Lambert was an English television and film producer.

<i>Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death</i> 1999 Doctor Who charity special

Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death is a Doctor Who special made specifically for the Red Nose Day charity telethon in the United Kingdom, and was originally broadcast in four parts on BBC One on 12 March 1999 under the title Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. Later home video releases are formatted as two parts and drop the "and" in the title. It follows in a long tradition of popular British television programmes producing short, light-hearted specials for such telethon events.

A showrunner is an established writer and the top-level executive producer of a television series production, who outranks other creative personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over the production, and the executive producer's role is limited to investing. The role of showrunner is not present on all television series, especially outside the US; this article describes the nature of the role where it is present.

<i>Doctor Who</i> (film) 1996 British television movie

Doctor Who, also referred to as Doctor Who: The Movie or as Doctor Who: The Television Movie is a 1996 television film continuing the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was developed as a co-production between Universal Studios and BBC Worldwide. It premiered on 12 May 1996 on CITV in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 15 days before its first showing in the United Kingdom on BBC One and two days before being broadcast in the United States on Fox. It was also shown in some countries for a limited time in cinemas.

<i>A for Andromeda</i> British television science fiction drama serial

A for Andromeda is a British television science fiction drama serial first made and broadcast by the BBC in seven parts in 1961. Written by cosmologist Fred Hoyle, in conjunction with author and television producer John Elliot, it concerns a group of scientists who detect a radio signal from another galaxy that contains instructions for the design of an advanced computer. When the computer is built, it gives the scientists instructions for the creation of a living organism named Andromeda, but one of the scientists, John Fleming, fears that Andromeda's purpose is to subjugate humanity.

Doctor Who in Canada and the United States refers to the broadcast history of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who in those countries.

Doctor Who is a British television science fiction series, produced and screened by the BBC on the BBC TV channel from 1963 to 1964, and on BBC1 from 1964 to 1989 and since 2005. A one-off television film, co-produced with Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox Television, was screened on the Fox Network in the United States in 1996.

Philip Michael Hinchcliffe is a retired English television producer, screenwriter and script editor. After graduating from Cambridge University, he began his career as a writer and script editor at Associated Television before joining the BBC to produce Doctor Who in one of its most popular eras from 1974 to 1977. In 2010, Hinchcliffe was chosen by Den of Geek as the best ever producer of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Robinson (producer)</span> British-Cambodian producer and director

Matthew Robinson is a British-Cambodian television and film executive producer, producer, director and writer. After graduating from Cambridge University. he directed many episodes of popular British television dramas and soap operas in the 1970s and 1980s. He became the first producer of the series Byker Grove (1989–1997), and was also made the executive producer of EastEnders (1998–2000).

Barry Leopold Letts was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of Doctor Who from 1969 to 1974.

Antony Root is a British television executive and producer. He has worked in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. He was formerly Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Production for HBO Europe and Head of Original Production for WarnerMedia EMEA. He retired from this position in March 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Landgraf</span> Chairman of FX Networks

John Phillip Landgraf is the Chairman of FX Networks. He is also a member of the Peabody Awards board of directors, which is presented by the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Previously he was President and General Manager of FX Network, a position he held since 2005. TV critic Alan Sepinwall jokingly refers to Landgraf as "the Mayor of TV".

Robert Hewitt Wolfe is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as a writer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and for developing and producing the series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.

<i>Painkiller Jane</i> (TV series) American-Canadian science fiction television series

Painkiller Jane is a superhero television series based on the comic book character of the same name. Airing on the Sci Fi Channel in the US starting April 13, 2007 and Global in Canada, it starred Kristanna Loken as the title character. The show was canceled after one season of 22 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninth Doctor</span> Fictional character from Doctor Who

The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Shindler</span> British television producer and executive

Nicola Shindler is a British television producer and executive, and founder of the independent television drama production company Quay Street Productions, having founded and run Red Production Company from 1998 to 2020. She has won eleven BAFTA TV Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puneet Sira</span>

Puneet Sira is a British and Bollywood feature film director and producer who formed The Foundry which is actively developing original IPs in house and producing feature films, television series, animation projects and its multi award winning podcasts.

References

  1. 1 2 Burk, Graeme; Robert Smith (2013). Who's 50: The 50 Doctor Who Stories to Watch Before You Die—An Unofficial Companion. ECW Press. pp. 319–321. ISBN   9781770411661.
  2. 1 2 "TWIN PEAKS Series Retrospective: Episodes 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5". University of Southern California School of Cinema.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. 1 2 "Philip Segal". Variety. 27 December 2000. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. Maddox, David (2000). "Doctor Who Regeneration: The Story Behind The Revival Of A Television Legend (review)". The SF Site. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  5. "Philip Segal". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 6 November 2013.[ dead link ]
Preceded byas Producer Doctor Who Showrunner
1996
Succeeded by