Ian Brennan (born April 23, 1978) is an American screenwriter, director and actor. He is known for his work on the American television shows ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'', ''
Scream Queens'', ''
The Politician
''The Politician'' is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1655.
Publication
''The Politician,'' along with another Shirley play, '' The Gentleman of Venice,'' was published by the bookseller Hum ...
'', and ''
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story''.
Early life
Brennan is the son of John and Charman Brennan. He is
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...
and his father was a Paulist priest. Brennan spent four years at
Prospect High School in
Mount Prospect, Illinois
Mount Prospect is a village in Elk Grove and Wheeling Townships in Cook County, Illinois, about northwest of downtown Chicago, and approximately 4 miles north of O'Hare International Airport. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total pop ...
during the mid-1990s, and was a member of the school
show choir
A show choir (originally known as a "swing choir") is a musical ensemble that combines choral singing with choreographed dance, often with an overarching theme. It is most relevant in the Midwestern United States and was popularized by the America ...
, which he did not find particularly enjoyable. He was friends with actress
Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, director, producer, and former child model. She is mainly known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy ...
. Brennan aspired to be an actor, and as his high school musical director was also the show choir director, he joined the choir to enhance his chance of being cast in musical productions. Brennan credits his high school theatre director John Marquette for inspiring him to act. The character
Will Schuester
William Michael Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional teacher character and one of the two main Protagonist, protagonists from the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox musical film, musical comedy-drama series ''Glee (TV series), Gl ...
in ''Glee'' is partially based on Marquette. Brennan went on to study theatre at
Loyola University Chicago.
He graduated in 2000,
and acted for a time in Chicago, studying at
The Second City Training Center
The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world famous The Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. Satelli ...
and working with the
Steppenwolf and
Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the la ...
s,
before moving to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to continue his acting career.
He has performed in
off-Broadway plays at the
Vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...
,
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.
Under the ...
and MCC Theatres.
His early writing experience was limited to sketch pieces in high school and college plays he describes as "terrible".
Career
Brennan conceived the idea for ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'' based on his own experience as a member of the Prospect High School show choir. He explained: "I find it interesting that there is something in everybody, a longing for something transcendent, particularly in a place like Mt. Prospect, a place that's very suburban and normal and plain. Even in places like that, there's this desire to shine. That's fascinating and very funny to me, especially when people try to accomplish this through show choir – which, to me, is inherently a little ridiculous."
In 2005, a choir director at Prospect High was accused of inappropriate behavior with a student and was later convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Brennan was inspired by these events,
and in August 2005, purchased a copy of ''Screenwriting for Dummies'' and wrote the first draft of ''Glee'', initially envisioned as a film rather than a
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
.
He completed the script in 2005, but could not generate interest in the project for several years.
Mike Novick, a television producer and a friend of Brennan's from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, was a member of the same gym as writer and producer
Ryan Murphy, and gave him a copy of Brennan's script.
Murphy had been in a show choir while at college, and as such felt he could relate to the script. Murphy and his ''
Nip/Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...
'' colleague
Brad Falchuk
Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer, best known for co-creating with Ryan Murphy the comedy-drama television series '' Glee'', the drama series '' Pose'', the horror comedy '' S ...
suggested that ''Glee'' be adapted to a television show format.
The script was entirely re-written,
and was picked up by
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
within 15 hours of being received. Murphy and Falchuk became the show's executive producers and showrunners, while Brennan is a co-executive producer and Novick is a producer. Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy wrote all of the show's episodes in the first two seasons, and were nominated for two 2010
Writers Guild of America Awards for ''Glee'', with nominations in the Best Comedy Series and Best New Series categories. ''Glee'' concluded after its sixth season, which aired in early 2015.
Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy created ''
Scream Queens'', a comedy-horror series set on a college campus and in a hospital, that aired from September 2015 to December 2016, and starred
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror and thriller genres, she has received various accolades, including a Young Arti ...
,
Ariana Grande,
Lea Michele,
Keke Palmer
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) ( ) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP I ...
,
Abigail Breslin
Abigail Kathleen Breslin (born April 14, 1996) is an American actress. She rose to prominence with the comedy-drama film ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006), for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at ...
, and
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
.
Personal life
Brennan lives in both
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. He married actress
Trilby Glover in September 2016 and the couple have two children, Blaise (born in April 2016) and Juno (born in August 2018).
Credits
References
External links
*
Ian Brennanat the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Ian
1978 births
Living people
American television writers
American male television writers
American television producers
American people of Irish descent
American Roman Catholics
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers
Screenwriters from Illinois
21st-century American comedians