Greg Berlanti
Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. 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, Titans, and the Doom Patrol. In 2000, Berlanti founded the production company Berlanti Productions.
Greg Berlanti
Northwestern University Bachelor of Science School of Communications 1994
1998–present
2
In the 2017–2018 television season, Berlanti tied Jerry Bruckheimer's 2005–2006 record in having 10 different live-action scripted television series airing on various networks and digital platforms[1] and took sole possession of the record, with 14 airing in the 2018–19 television season, having signed the most expensive producer deal at that time (June 2018) with Warner Bros.[2][3] In the 2019–20 television season, with one cancellation and two new series, Berlanti increased the record to 18.[4][5] Berlanti also directed the 2018 film Love, Simon, a gay romantic comedy-drama which grossed $66 million worldwide.[6][7]
Berlanti was named on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.[8]
Personal life[edit]
He was born in Suffern, New York. His parents are Barbara Moller Berlanti and Eugene Berlanti. He attended Rye High School in Rye, NY graduating with the class of 1989. Greg has one sister, Dina and two nieces.[75] He has Italian and Irish ancestry.[76] He described his early life in an August 2004 interview with Entertainment Weekly: "We were Italians in a town of WASPs" and his family was not "doing as well as 90% of the community." The Berlanti Productions production logo, which follows each episode of shows he produces, features a family with their backs to the audience and the spoken quote, "Greg, move your head!" This is an homage to Berlanti's father, Gene, who would yell at Greg when he was blocking the television screen. Berlanti, a Delta Tau Delta alumnus graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1994.[77]
Berlanti has been in a relationship with ex–LA Galaxy soccer player Robbie Rogers since mid-2013.[78][79] On December 31, 2016, Rogers and Berlanti announced they had become engaged.[80] Their wedding occurred on December 2, 2017.[81] They have two children born via surrogacy, a son in 2016 and a daughter in 2019.[82][83]
Philanthropy[edit]
Northwestern Endowment[edit]
In 2020, Berlanti gifted $2 million [105] through his organization, the Berlanti Family Foundation, to his alma mater, the Northwestern University School of Communication, to establish a new dramatic writing professorship. The new professorship was named the Barbara Berlanti Professorship in Writing for the Screen and Stage after Berlanti's late mother, who he described as a "lifelong champion of the arts."
The professorship helped to increase the teaching capacity and number of courses offered in the school's Department of Radio/Television/Film (RTVF). Berlanti also previously gave an endowment to Northwestern's playwriting program.
Berlanti's latest endowment to Northwestern marks the Berlanti Family Foundation's largest charitable contribution for a single organization to date. Berlanti said he "aims to help Northwestern continue its great legacy of fostering the next generation of humane, diverse, courageous and bold storytellers." [106]
Fuck Cancer[edit]
Berlanti is a board member[107] of Fuck Cancer, a health organization working for early detection and prevention of cancer. Launched in 2009, Fuck Cancer aims to engage millennials through social media to have a conversation about early detection and acute awareness of cancer.
Annual Barbara Berlanti Gala[edit]
In 2018, Berlanti and husband Robbie Rogers chaired Fuck Cancer's inaugural Barbara Berlanti Heroes Gala, named in honor of his late mother. Berlanti Productions was also a sponsor of the event.[108]
Kristin Chenoweth headlined the event, while co-founder Yael Cohen Braun and board member Stephen Amell were the headline honorees at the event.[109]
Berlanti said that his mother Barbara was the most charitable person he ever knew and that there was no better way to honor her than a night of fun and giving back to this incredible organization.