Gretchen J. Berg (born February 8, 1971) is an American writer and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

. She has worked extensively with her writer and producing partner

Aaron Harberts Aaron Harberts (born January 20, 1973) is an American television writer and producer. He was a co-showrunner of CBS's '' Star Trek: Discovery'' with Gretchen J. Berg until their departure in June 2018. Harberts and Berg have been writing/producing ...

on a number of television series including ''

Pushing Daisies ''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life ...

'' and ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

''. She was also one of the

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

s of '' Star Trek: Discovery'' alongside Harberts until their departure in June 2018. In 2019, the team of Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts joined ''

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'' is an American musical comedy-drama television series created by Austin Winsberg that premiered on January 7, 2020, on NBC. The series stars Jane Levy as Zoey Clarke, a software developer who discovers she has t ...

'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

as writers and executive producers.

Career

Gretchen J. Berg was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, and went on to attend

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. While there, she met future writing and producing partner Aaron Harberts. Their first work was on ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

''. Together the pair created the series ''

Pepper Dennis ''Pepper Dennis'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from April 4 to July 4, 2006. It was announced on May 17, 2006 that ''Pepper Dennis'' would not be one of the WB shows transferred to The CW. ''Pepper Dennis'' w ...

'' on

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

and worked as

executive producer 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 (like copyrights o ...

s. Berg and Harberts were also co-executive producers on ''

'' and co-

s on the medical drama ''

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

''. In 2010, Berg and Harberts agreed a deal with the studio

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in 2010 under a two year deal, initially as executive producers on the

midseason replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a s ...

'' Off the Map''. The duo became showrunners of the drama '' GCB'', through their deal with ABC. Berg and Harberts worked with

Mark Gordon Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician who has served as the 33rd governor of Wyoming since January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as state treasurer; then-governor Matt Mead appointed him t ...

in pitching work to television studios in 2012, with sales to both ABC and

. Their deal with ABC was extended for a further two years in 2013, and moved to become executive producers from season three onwards of ''

'', where they previously had been consulting producers. Berg and Harberts were recruited as executive producers on '' Star Trek: Discovery'', under showrunner

Bryan Fuller Bryan Fuller (born July 27, 1969) is an American television writer and producer who has created a number of television series, including ''Dead Like Me'', ''Wonderfalls'', ''Pushing Daisies'', '' Hannibal'', and '' American Gods.'' Fuller worked a ...

. The trio had previously worked on ''Pushing Daisies'' together. They were two of several executive producers, alongside

Heather Kadin Heather Kadin (born August 7, 1972) is an American television producer and film producer. She co- executive produces '' Star Trek: Discovery''. Life and career Kadin was born on August 7, 1972, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Before being President o ...

and

Akiva Goldsman Akiva J. Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel '' Ba ...

. When Fuller stepped back from the

role on ''Discovery'', Berg and Harberts were promoted into the position together. But Berg and Harberts were later fired from ''Star Trek: Discovery'' due to alleged infighting and verbal altercations during production, with Harberts allegedly shouting expletives at a fellow writer. Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts' most recent project is the current

musical comedy-drama series ''

''. As an executive producing and writing team, Berg and Harberts help navigate the decisions Zoey must make regarding whether to reveal her secrets, and the resulting impacts on her relationships. The characters on this hour-long musical drama express their inner-most feelings and desires to Zoey through frequent musical numbers. The first episode aired January 7, 2020.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Gretchen J. 1971 births Living people American science fiction writers Northwestern University alumni Writers from Pittsburgh Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Showrunners Television producers from Pennsylvania American women television producers American women television writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters