John McNamara (born April 2, 1962) is an American writer, producer, showrunner and television creator. He attended

East Grand Rapids High School East Grand Rapids High School is a public secondary school located in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9–12 for the East Grand Rapids Public Schools. Athletics The EGRHS Pioneers compete in the Ottawa-Kent Conferen ...

located in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. While at NYU, he wrote two children's books published by Delacorte Press and a teleplay for the CBS Afternoon Playhouse.

Career

He is co-creator of a short-lived

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 television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

called ''

Profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory intere ...

'' which ran on the

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 ...

network in April 1996, as well as ''

Vengeance Unlimited ''Vengeance Unlimited'' is an American crime drama series broadcast during 1998–1999 on ABC which lasted for one season of sixteen episodes. The show starred Michael Madsen and Kathleen York. Premise Mr. Chapel was a mysterious stranger ke ...

'' for

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 1998 and '' Fastlane'' for Fox in 2002. In 1998, his McNamara Paper Products company had inked an exclusive deal with

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

to develop scripted programming. McNamara went on to executive produce several other television shows, including '' The Fugitive'' (a remake from 2000 to 2001 season) and ''

Eyes Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conve ...

''. After nearly a decade working at Warner Bros., he moved to

CBS Paramount Television CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

in 2006 for a two-year overall deal. In 2007, he served a stint as Consulting Producer on the series ''Jericho''. In 2010, McNamara joined the production of ''

In Plain Sight ''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office ...

'' as Executive Producer for Season 3. McNamara was the supervising producer for 23 episodes of the TV show '' Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. He worked on the NBC show ''

Aquarius Aquarius may refer to: Astrology * Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign * Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages Astronomy * Aquarius (constellation) * Aquarius in Chinese astronomy Arts and entertainme ...

'' that stars

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...

and on the Syfy series '' The Magicians'' based on the bestselling

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), '' The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technolog ...

novel of the same name. McNamara wrote and co-produced the feature film '' Trumbo,'' for which

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...

was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, as

Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), ''Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) ...

, one of

The Hollywood Ten ''The Hollywood Ten'' is a 1950 American 16mm short documentary film. In the film, each member of the Hollywood Ten made a short speech denouncing McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklisting. The film was directed by John Berry. After being na ...

blacklisted screenwriters. The film, directed by

Jay Roach Mathew Jay Roach (born June 14, 1957) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the ''Austin Powers'' film series, '' Meet the Parents'', ''Dinner for Schmucks'', '' The Campaign'', '' Trumbo'', and '' Bombshell''. Roach also ea ...

, was released on November 6, 2015.

Honors

His play "Present Tense" won the first annual Young Playwrights' competition and was then produced off-Broadway. '' Trumbo'' was nominated by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

for Best Adapted Screenplay and McNamara was awarded the WGAW's

Paul Selvin Award The Paul Selvin Award is a special award presented by the Writers Guild of America. It is given to the script that "best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties which are indispensable to the survival of free write ...

in 2016 which honors writers whose work “embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil right liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.”

Filmography

As a TV producer

*'' Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon'' (1989, ABC) (Co-Producer) *''

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. ''The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'', often referred to as just ''Brisco'' or ''Brisco County'', is an American weird western television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on the Fox network starting i ...

'' (FOX, 1993) (Producer) *'' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (ABC, 1993–1997) (Supervising Producer) *''

'' (FOX, 1996–1997) (Executive Producer) *''

Spy Game ''Spy Game'' is a 2001 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62 million in the United States and $143 million worldwide on a $115 million budget, and received mostly po ...

'' (ABC, 1997) (Executive Producer) *''

'' (ABC, 1998) (Executive Producer) *'' The Fugitive'' (USA, 2000–2001) (Executive Producer) *'' Fastlane'' (FOX, 2002–2003) (Executive Producer) *''

'' (ABC, 2005) (Executive Producer) *''

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

'' (USA, 2006) (Executive Producer) *''Them'' (FOX, 2007) (Executive Producer) *''

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

'' (CBS, 2008) (Consulting Producer) *'' The Philanthropist'' (NBC, 2009) (Consulting Producer) *''

'' (USA, 2010) (Executive Producer) *''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...

'' (NBC, 2011–2012) (Executive Producer) *''

Common Law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

'' (USA, 2012) (Consulting Producer) *'' The Magicians'' (Syfy, 2015) (Executive Producer) *''

'' (NBC, 2015–2016) (Creator, Executive Producer)

As a TV writer

*'' CBS Afternoon Playhouse'' (1983, CBS) *''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'' (1987, ABC) *'' Save the Dog!'' (1988, USA) *'' Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon'' (1989, ABC) *''

'' (FOX, 1993) *'' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (ABC, 1993–1997) *''

'' (FOX, 1996–1997) *''

'' (ABC, 1997) *''

'' (ABC, 1998) *'' The Fugitive'' (USA, 2000–2001) *'' Fastlane'' (FOX, 2002–2003) *''

'' (ABC, 2005–2007) *''Them'' (FOX, 2007) *'' The Philanthropist'' (NBC, 2009) *''

'' (USA, 2010) *''

'' (NBC, 2011–2012) *''

'' (USA, 2012) *'' The Magicians'' (Syfy, 2015) *''

'' (NBC, 2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, John Living people University of Michigan alumni American television writers American male television writers 1962 births East Grand Rapids, Michigan