Bryce H. Zabel (born May 17, 1954) is an American television producer, director, writer, and occasional actor. With hundreds of hours of produced film and television credits, Zabel has scripted a trio of mini-series which aired in the U.S. market and were distributed worldwide. They include the medical thriller ''
Pandemic
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
'' (2007, Hallmark), the pirate adventure ''
Blackbeard
Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English Piracy, pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's Thirteen Colonies, North American colon ...
'' (2006, Hallmark), and the disaster epic ''The Poseidon Adventure'' (2005, NBC).
Education
Zabel attended
Hillsboro High School in
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, ...
. He earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in Broadcast Journalism at the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
in
Eugene. After graduation, Zabel stayed in Eugene and worked at television station
KVAL-TV
KVAL-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to dual NBC/The CW Plus, CW+ affiliate KMTR (channel 16) under a shared ...
and radio station
KZEL-FM
KZEL-FM (96.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The station airs a classic rock music format.
It has applied for a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) construction permit to move to a taller to ...
. As an adjunct professor, he taught a graduate-level class on Producing at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
(2006–07). He was also a CNN correspondent.
Career
In television, Zabel was showrunner (creator or developer/producer/writer) on the UFO-conspiracy series ''
Dark Skies
''Dark Skies'' is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that debuted on NBC on September 21, 1996, and ended on May 31, 1997, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel; 18 episodes and a two-hour pilot episode were br ...
'' from 1996–1997, ''The Crow: Stairway to Heaven'' from 1998–1999, and the Fox African-American superhero series ''
M.A.N.T.I.S.
''M.A.N.T.I.S.'' is an American superhero television series that aired for one season on the Fox Network between August 26, 1994, and March 3, 1995.
The original two-hour TV movie pilot was produced by Sam Raimi and developed by Sam Hamm.
The ...
'' from 1994-1995. He also wrote and produced on ''
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1994), and ''
The Fifth Corner'' (1992). Zabel was the lead writer and a producer on 2009's ''Animal Armageddon'', an eight-part non-fiction miniseries for
Animal Planet
Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...
. It deals with mass extinction events. The screenplay written by Bryce and Jackie Zabel, ''Miles From Nowhere'' completed filming in Los Angeles in the summer of 2008. It is the story of a high school athlete who decides to try for a sub-four-minute mile to deal with the death of a friend. The film stars
Treat Williams
Richard Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor, writer and aviator who has appeared on film, stage and television in over 120 credits. He first became well known for his starring role in the 1979 musical film '' Hair'', and la ...
.
As a feature film writer, Zabel has received writing credit on ''
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (1997) and ''
Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' (2001). He also wrote the first Sci-Fi Channel original film, ''
Official Denial
''Official Denial'' is a 1993 made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a televi ...
'' (1993).
A long-time member of the
Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
, he first worked as a director on the Los Angeles magazine series "Eye on LA" and ''
Willow: The Making of an Adventure''. He made his feature directorial debut in 2009 on ''Let's Do It'', a comedy about the first student film ever produced, back in 1929.
As an actor, he appeared as a reporter in the ''Dark Skies'' episode "The Warren Omission", and as a priest in the ''Lois & Clark'' episode, "All Shook Up".
In 2001, Zabel became the first writer/producer to be elected as Chairman and CEO of the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
, since his boyhood idol
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ' ...
. Elected the month before 9/11, he took office at a time when he was forced to twice postpone the
53rd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, November 4, 2001, seven weeks later than originally scheduled. The ceremony was rescheduled twice from its original date of September 16 at the Shrine Auditorium because of the September 11, 200 ...
. In 2006, he was interviewed about this decision by the Dallas-based Media Orchard :
"In 2001, the Emmys were scheduled for September 16th. So we cancelled them. What else could we do? Five days after 9/11 nobody was going to be in a self-congratulatory mood to celebrate on red carpets with little gold statues when thousands had died so tragically. We re-scheduled for October 7. Incredibly, that's the day the bombing campaign in Afghanistan began. We were forced to cancel again. I went out that morning before some 200 TV cameras with Les Moonves of CBS and we talked to the media about all this. I got a call from a friend who said, "Dude, you've been on TV more this weekend than the president." It was an amazing media carpet ride -- appearances on everything from ''Politically Incorrect'' to ''The Today Show''. Anyway, we tried again on November 4 and actually did the show. We were up against the seventh game of an exciting World Series but who cared?"
While leading the TV Academy the next year, he led the negotiations that resulted in the Emmy telecast license fee being increased by 250 percent. He left office in 2003, saying his one term was so eventful it felt like two.
Other work
Zabel has also created a film review site,
Movie Smackdown
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, that reviews two related films in competition against each other. The slogan is "Two Films - One Review - No Holds Barred."
Zabel co-authored with Richard Dolan the book A.D. (After Disclosure) 2012, which concerns the subject of an extra-terrestrial presence on Earth covertly interacting with humans and governments and what develops when this fact is made public.
Awards and nominations
In 2008, Zabel's Hallmark miniseries ''Pandemic'' (co-written with Jackie Zabel) won the Writers Guild of America award in the Original Long Form category. It was the third WGA award Zabel has been nominated for and his first win. Previously, he was nominated for Episodic Drama (''
L.A. Law
''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994.
Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...
''; "Justice Swerved") and Original Long Form (''
Dark Skies
''Dark Skies'' is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that debuted on NBC on September 21, 1996, and ended on May 31, 1997, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel; 18 episodes and a two-hour pilot episode were br ...
''; "The Awakening"). His other nominations were shared with
David E. Kelley
David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney, known as the creator of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' Picket Fences'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Publi ...
and
Brent V. Friedman. Zabel was also nominated for an
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
award for Best Television Episode (''L.A. Law''; "Justice Swerved") in 1991. The nomination was shared with David E. Kelley.
In 2014, his novel, ''Surrounded by Enemies: What If Kennedy Survived Dallas?'' (originally marketed under the title ''Winter of Our Discontent''), shared the
Sidewise Award
The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year.
Overview
The awards take their name from the 1934 short story " Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in ...
with D.J. Taylor's ''
The Windsor Faction
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''. Zabel won a second Sidewise Award in 2018 for his novel ''
Once There Was a Way
''Once There Was a Way'' is a 2017 alternative history novel by Bryce Zabel. It speculates what would have happened if the rock band, The Beatles, had stayed united for years after the date of their actual dissolution and disbanded years later o ...
''.
Personal life
Zabel is married to writer and producer Jackie Zabel, whom he met during a news conference in the office of the mayor of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. They have three children, including Jared and Lauren.
References
External links
Bryce Zabel's personal website*
''For What It's Worth'', Zabel's personal blog''Movie Smackdown!''''Instant History''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabel, Bryce
1954 births
Living people
American alternate history writers
American film critics
American male actors
American male novelists
American male screenwriters
American science fiction writers
American television directors
American television writers
Hillsboro High School (Oregon) alumni
American male television writers
People from Hillsboro, Oregon
Sidewise Award winners
University of Oregon alumni
University of Southern California faculty
Writers Guild of America Award winners
American male non-fiction writers
Screenwriters from California
Screenwriters from Oregon
Television producers from Oregon