George Mastras, Jr. (born April 10, 1966) is a Greek American author, screenwriter, director, and television producer. He has worked on all five seasons of the
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
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** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
drama ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
''. He won the Pen USA Literary Award in 2009, won a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
in 2013 and 2014 as one of ''Breaking Bad''s producers, was nominated for the
Edgar Allan Poe Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
, and won three
Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards, for his work on the series. Mastras is also the author of the novel ''Fidali's Way'' (Scribner 2009).
Biography
Mastras began writing for television in 2006 for the series ''
The Evidence''. He wrote the first-season episode "Stringers". In 2007 he became a writer for the short-lived science fiction series ''
The Dresden Files
''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/ mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books.
The books are wr ...
'' and wrote the episodes "The Boone Identity" and "The Other Dick".
Mastras joined the writing staff of the
first season of ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' in 2008 as a story editor. He wrote the first-season episode "Crazy Handful of Nothin'". The first season writing staff were nominated for the
Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for best new series at the
February 2009 ceremony.
Mastras won the PEN Center USA West Literary Award for best teleplay for "Crazy Handful of Nothin'". Mastras was promoted to executive story editor for the
second season. He wrote the second-season episodes "Grilled" and "Mandala". Mastras was nominated for the 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Episode for "Grilled." The second season writing staff were nominated for the WGA award for Best Drama Series at the
February 2010 ceremony for their work on the second season.
Mastras was promoted to producer for the
third season and continued to write episodes. During the third season, he wrote the episode "I.F.T." and co-wrote "Kafkaesque." Mastras was individually nominated for the 2011 WGA Award in the Best Episodic Drama category for his episode "I.F.T.". He was also nominated for the 2011 WGA Award in the category of Best Drama Series along with the third season writing staff.
Mastras was awarded WGA awards in 2012, 2013, and 2014 along with the writing staff for the fourth and fifth seasons, respectively. He was nominated for Emmy Awards in the category of Best Drama (2010) in connection with his work as a writer/producer of the third season, and also for the fourth season (2012). Mastras was promoted to co-executive producer for the fifth season in 2012 and 2013. During the fifth season, he wrote and directed the episode "Dead Freight," for which he was individually nominated for the 2013 WGA Award in the Best Episodic Drama category and the
.
Mastras is the author of the novel ''Fidali's Way'' (Scribner 2009), a literary thriller that takes place in the war-torn Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Kashmir, where he has traveled. Mastras grew up in Boston, received his B.A. from Yale, and a J.D. degree from UCLA Law. Prior to writing, he worked as a criminal investigator for the public defender’s office, a counselor at a juvenile correctional facility, and a defense litigator in New York and Los Angeles. Mastras was awarded the ABC/Walt Disney Studios Writer's Fellowship in 2005.
Personal life
Mastras is the younger brother of
Maria Jacquemetton
Maria Jacquemetton (née Mastras) is a Greek American television writer and producer. She graduated from Lehigh University in 1983. She served as a producer for the first season of ''Mad Men'' and co-wrote, with Andre Jacquemetton, three episodes ...
(née Mastras), a
producer and scriptwriter for
''
Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...
''.
["Emmys: Sibling Writers Compete as 'Mad Men,' 'Breaking Bad' Vie for Top Drama".]
''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', 8/20/2013. Retrieved 4/09/2013.
External links
*
George Mastras's website
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mastras, George
1966 births
People from Wellesley, Massachusetts
American male screenwriters
American television writers
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
Living people
American television directors
Television producers from Massachusetts
American writers of Greek descent
Writers from Boston
Yale University alumni
UCLA School of Law alumni
American male television writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from Massachusetts
Screenwriters from Massachusetts
21st-century American screenwriters