Jim Michaels (born September 12, 1965, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

) is an American

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 ...

. He is the son of Anna Mae and Robert Michaels and was raised in the suburbs of

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

and Arlington Heights. Michaels graduated from

John Hersey High School John Hersey High School (also referred to as Hersey or JHHS) is a four-year public high school located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago in the United States. It enrolls students from Arlington Heights as well as parts ...

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a municipality in Cook County with a small portion in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 77,676. Per the ...

, and attended the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

and graduated with a degree in business. Michaels started and ran the in house computer graphics department at

MCA/Universal MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

Studios. Michaels subsequently moved into television production, eventually producing the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

series '' Midnight Caller'' and ''

Reasonable Doubts ''Reasonable Doubts'' is an American police drama television series created by Robert Singer, which broadcast in the United States by NBC that ran from September 26, 1991 to April 27, 1993. Synopsis ''Reasonable Doubts'' is primarily about ...

''. Michaels other series included; '' Charlie Grace'' 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 ...

; ''

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

Dr. Vegas ''Dr. Vegas'' is an American drama television series created by John Herzfeld and Jack Orman, starring Rob Lowe and Joe Pantoliano that ran on CBS from September 24, 2004 to September 6, 2006. It aired in Ireland on TG4, and on Challenge in th ...

'' for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

; ''

Odyssey 5 ''Odyssey 5'' is a Canadian science fiction series, which was shown in 2002 on Space in Canada and on Showtime in the United States. The premise involves five space travelers who witness the destruction of the Earth; they are given the opportu ...

''; for

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

; and '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Michaels is a member of the Producers Guild of America,

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

and has guest lectured at the Academy of Art,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and

NYU 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 ...

. Michaels worked with

Ali LeRoi Ali LeRoi (born February 12, 1962) is an Emmy-award-winning"Ali LeRoi"
''Emmys'' website, the Academy ...

and

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

producing the television series ''

Everybody Hates Chris ''Everybody Hates Chris'' is an American television semi-autobiographical sitcom that is inspired by the memories of the teenage years of comedian Chris Rock. The show is set from 1982 to 1987, although Rock himself was actually a teenager from ...

'' for all four seasons, and joined the production team at ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' for the 2009–2020 seasons.

Early life

He is the son of Anna Mae and Robert Michaels and was raised in the suburbs of Des Plaines and Arlington Heights. Michaels graduated from

John Hersey John Richard Hersey (June 17, 1914 – March 24, 1993) was an American writer and journalist. He is considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling techniques of fiction are adapted to n ...

Michaels graduated from the

in Evansville,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He has 2 siblings, Steve and Christine.

Supernatural

Jim Michaels became the co-executive producer of the TV series ''

'' with Warner Brothers Television in British Columbia at the beginning of Season 5, a role which was previously filled by

Kim Manners Kim Manners (January 13, 1951 – January 25, 2009) was an American television producer, director and actor best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''Supernatural''. Early life Kim Manners was raised in a show business family. His fathe ...

for seasons 1–4.

Career

The Chicago native landed his first producing gig on the

series '' Midnight Caller'' starring

Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the T ...

. He next served as a producer co-producer of the NBC series ''

'', a one-hour drama starring

Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor. He is most famous for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs in '' NCIS''. He also appeared in a wide variety of roles since the early 1970s. After spending the majority of ...

and Academy Award winner

Marlee Matlin Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a ...

. For three seasons beginning in 1993, Michaels was co-producer of '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. That year he had an offscreen role as the aquatic theater's announcer in the movie ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures ...

''. Some of Michaels' other producing credits include '' Charlie Grace'', a one-hour

detective drama starring

as a private detective raising a 12 year old

LeeLee Sobieski Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta "Leelee" Sobieski (born June 10, 1983) is an American artist and former actress. She achieved fame in her teens with roles in films such as '' Deep Impact'', ''Eyes Wide Shut'', '' Joy Ride'', '' Here on Earth'', a ...

. Jim Michaels also produced ''

Escape from Atlantis ''Escape from Atlantis'' is a board game that portrays the sinking of Atlantis and the attempts by the population to escape the sinking island. It was originally released in the United States under the title of ''Survive!'' and first published in ...

'', a two-hour cable movie for Starz/Encore. Michaels' next project was the CBS series, ''Turks'', starring

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

followed by ''Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family'' series for the USA Network. Michaels subsequently produced ''

''pilot for

, the ''

''series for Showtime followed by ''

'' for CBS. Michaels produced the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nominated

inspired series ''

''. This show set the record for highest rated comedy ever to air on the UPN/CW network. With the canceling of ''Everybody Hates Chris'' after 88 episodes, Michaels joined the producing team at ''Supernatural'' in the beginning of season 5 for Warner Bros. Television where he continues to see it to the end of the final season 15 until he moved into a new role as a producer of the next TV series which is set to be announced at the end of ''Supernatural''. Michaels, along with

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (né Duke; February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Samwise Gamgee in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003), Mikey Walsh in ''The Goonies'' (1985), Daniel Ruettiger in ''Rudy'' (1993), Doug ...

, just completed a documentary, '' Remember the Sultana'', with the help of over 930 Kickstarter contributors about the largest maritime disaster to ever happen in America. Michaels' been a featured keynote speaker all over the United States for various organizations including the AFCI and many Universities including UCLA, Academy of Art University and NYU. He is a longtime member of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...

(PGA). Michaels is also a member of the

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

(Emmy's) as well as

Screen Actor's Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

(SAG-AFTRA) and the

(DGA). He has produced projects that have filmed in nine US states and two Canadian provinces. Illinois, Hawaii, California, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, Florida, Ontario, British Columbia and Utah.

Awards

A veteran of the TV and movie business, who produced shows such as '' Midnight Caller'', ''

Lois and Clark ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' is an American superhero television series based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. It stars Dean Cain as Clark Kent / Superman and Teri Hatcher as ...

'' and ''

'', Jim Michaels joined Supernatural in Season 5. Michaels is very engaged with fandom on social media, and was named by

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

as one of the "Top 20 Show Runners To Follow on Twitter". People's Choice Award 2017 People's Choice Award for Sci-Fi/Family TV Series

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaels, Jim 1965 births Living people Businesspeople from Chicago Television producers from Illinois People from Arlington Heights, Illinois People from Des Plaines, Illinois