Joshua Senter
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Joshua Ray Senter (born 14 February 1979) is an American
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
and novelist known for his work on the television series ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
'' and his critically-acclaimed novel, ''Still the Night Call.''


Career

Senter was born in
Plato, Missouri Plato is an incorporated village in northwestern Texas County, Missouri, United States. It is located approximately 20 miles northwest of Houston and 10 miles south of Fort Leonard Wood on Route 32. The population was 82 at the 2020 census. As ...
, and his first
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
ambition was to become a
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animator. After he sent his portfolio of drawings to Disney at the age of seventeen, the company called to tell him they were impressed but were not currently hiring, and he should resubmit in another six months. During those six months, he decided to pursue film directing, his other passion, and sent a collection of homemade films to Art Center College of Design in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...
. He was one of fifteen film students selected that year, and one of the only students to have not already graduated from college. Senter redirected his pursuit of directing to writing, working on spec scripts, both feature length and for television. He soon landed his first job on the iconic lesbian drama ''
The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...
''. He followed up that incredible experience with a position as a writer on the ABC drama series ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
''. He wrote six episodes spanning the series'
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
,
second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
seasons, debuting with the episode " Goodbye for Now". He wrote many of Bree,
Lynette Lynnette, also spelled Lynette, is a feminine given name. People * Lynette Boggs (born 1963), American politician * Lynnette Brooky (born 1968), New Zealand golfer * Lynette Chico (21st century), Puerto Rican fashion model and actress * Lynnette ...
and
Mary Alice Mary Alice Smith (December 3, 1936 – July 27, 2022), known professionally as Mary Alice, was an American television, film, and stage actress. Alice was known for her roles as Leticia "Lettie" Bostic on the sitcom ''A Different World'' (1987 ...
's storylines, for which he drew much inspiration from his own mother. In 2006 Senter was nominated for a
Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...
for the episode " Don't Look at Me". In 2014 Senter helped write and produce a new series for ABC Family called '' Chasing Life''. His debut novel ''Daisies'', about the evolution of love in America, was released by
Diversion Books Diversion Books, originally founded as a digital publisher in 2010, is an American publishing company based in New York City. It publishes titles in physical, digital, audio, and other formats. The company specializes in non-fiction (history, pop ...
on July 22, 2014. In 2015 he began work as a writer and producer for the critically acclaimed
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
series ''
Finding Carter ''Finding Carter'' is an American teen drama television series that aired on MTV for two seasons from July 8, 2014, to December 15, 2015. The series stars Kathryn Prescott as Carter Stevens, a teenage girl whose life is torn apart when she disco ...
''. In 2015 Senter was placed on the Tracking Board’s Young and Hungry List as one of the top 100 writer’s working in Hollywood. In 2016, 2017, and 2018 he wrote pilots for ABC, FOX, and NBC respectively. A Valentine’s Day movie he co-wrote for Freeform, called ''
The Thing About Harry ''The Thing About Harry'' is a 2020 American romantic comedy television film. Written by Peter Paige and Josh Senter and directed by Paige, the film follows Sam (Jake Borelli), a young gay man who is reunited with his former high school bully Harr ...
'', aired in February 2020 and was nominated for a 2021 GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding TV Movie." On January 14, 2022, Senter's sophomore novel
Still the Night Call
' was released by Roubidoux Press to critical-acclaim. '' Booklist Reviews'' called it "A majestic and melancholy story of farm life, politics, and unwanted decisions in an amazing Ozark landscape." ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' gave it one of their coveted stars, and said it's "A candid tale that triumphantly understands the Midwestern psyche, delivering moments of beauty and tragedy." It was also named Best Indie Book of 2021 by ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
.'' In March 2022, The Eric Hoffer Awards bestowed an honorable mention upon ''Still the Night Call'' and named it a finalist for their grand prize. In May 202
IndieReader
awarded ''Still the Night Call'' Best Literary Fiction of 2022.


Personal life

Joshua enter grew up on a farm in Fort Leonard Wood near
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
,
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and was
homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
with his four sisters by his mother Brenda. Before the age of thirteen, his parents' fundamental
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
beliefs did not allow him to watch or their family to own a television, so instead he spent his time alone drawing, painting, throwing pottery and sewing: "Being alone so much probably helped me become a better writer since it’s just you and the page," he says of his childhood. He recalls in particular his first viewing of ''
Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...
'', which he says inspired him to become a filmmaker. Before heading for Hollywood, he and his youngest sister used his father's home video camera to make short films and music videos. He now resides in Los Angeles with his husband and their two cats.


References


External links


Official site and blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senter, Josh 1979 births Living people American soap opera writers American male screenwriters People from Texas County, Missouri American male writers American male television writers People from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri Screenwriters from Missouri