John Wells (filmmaker)
John Marcum Wells (born May 28, 1956) is an American producer, writer, and director. He is best known for his role as showrunner and executive producer of the television series ER, Third Watch, The West Wing, Southland, Shameless, Animal Kingdom, and American Woman, as well as the miniseries Maid and the upcoming series Rescue: HI-Surf. His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California. Wells is also a labor leader, having served as president of the Writers Guild of America, West from 1999 to 2001 and from 2009 to 2011.[1][2] Wells serves on the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Board of Governors.[3] In 2011, he developed the series Shameless on Showtime, which ran for eleven seasons ending in 2021.
John Wells
Producer, writer, director
1987–present
Early life[edit]
Wells was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Marjorie Elizabeth (née Risberg) and Llewellyn Wallace Wells, Jr., an Episcopalian minister.[4] He has English, Irish, Scottish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry.[5] Wells graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 1979. A studio theatre at Carnegie Mellon University bears his name. While at CMU, he was one of the earliest actors to work at City Theatre, a prominent fixture of Pittsburgh theatre.[6]
Career[edit]
Television[edit]
Wells was a producer on the 1987 film Nice Girls Don't Explode. He joined the writing staff of the short-lived CBS drama series Shell Game in 1987. He began writing for television with an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse entitled "Roughhouse" in 1988. His company, John Wells Productions (originally John Wells & Friends), began a longstanding relationship with Warner Bros. in 1986, which was one of the most highly successful television producers in the world.[7]
Awards and nominations[edit]
John Wells Productions won a Peabody Award in 1999[45] and 2000[46] for The West Wing and again in 2001 for Third Watch's '"In Their Own Words," which told the stories of real-life responders to the 9/11 attack on New York City.[47]
John Wells has been nominated for twenty-five Emmy Awards and received six wins including Outstanding Drama Series in 1996 for ER, Outstanding Drama Series in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 for The West Wing, and Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002 for The West Wing Documentary Special.
Wells has been nominated for six Producers Guild Awards and won three awards for his work on The West Wing and ER. He was honored with the Vision Award in 2000 as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award in Television in 2005.
In addition, Wells has been nominated for seven Writers Guild Awards and won the Directors Guild Diversity Award in 1997.
On May 18, 2014, Wells received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where he graduated from in 1979.