Meredith Averill is an American television writer and producer. Born in

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...

, Averill graduated from

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 ...

with a degree in

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

Career

Averill began her career as an assistant to TV writer/producers

André Nemec André Nemec (born 1972) is an American writer, showrunner and producer. His screenplays include '' Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol'' and ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. He is also the co-creator of CBS's summer hit series ''Zoo'', as ...

and

Josh Appelbaum Josh Appelbaum is an American television writer, screenwriter, showrunner and producer. Biography Appelbaum is from a Jewish family.Samurai Girl'', ABC's ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

'' and ABC's '' Happy Town''. Averill then spent three years on CBS's ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

'' as a writer and producer. In May 2013 she signed an overall deal with

CBS Television Studios 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 ...

, where she was the creator and executive producer of

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

science fiction teen drama ''

Star-Crossed "Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers who, for some external reason, cannot be together. The term also has other meanings, but originally means that the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or ...

''.Daniel Doperalski
"10 TV Writers to Watch"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', June 11, 2013. After Star-Crossed's cancellation, she then went on to work as a Co-Executive Producer for the CW's ''

Jane the Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telen ...

'' and CBS's ''

Pure Genius ''Pure Genius'' (originally titled ''Bunker Hill'') is an American medical drama television series created by Jason Katims that aired on CBS from October 27, 2016 to January 26, 2017. The series stars Augustus Prew as James Bell who is a Silicon ...

''. She served as the co-showrunner/executive producer for Netflix's series ''

The Haunting of Hill House ''The Haunting of Hill House'' is a 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. A finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century, it has been made ...

''. In 2018, Averill came on board as the Co-Showrunner/Executive Producer for Netflix's adaptation of ''

Locke & Key ''Locke & Key'' is an American comic book series written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez, and published by IDW Publishing. Plot summary This plot is presented in chronological order. During the American Revolution, a group of ...

'', which she developed for television along with

Carlton Cuse Arthur Carlton Cuse (born March 22, 1959) is a screenwriter, showrunner, producer, and director, best known for the American television series ''Lost'', for which he made the ''Time'' list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. ...

and Aron Eli Coleite. In December 2020, Netflix announced it had picked up ''

'' for a second and third season and signed Averill to a three-year overall deal.

Filmography

Television

The numbers in writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Awards

Averill is a two-time Golden Globe nominee and a four-time nominee of the Writers Guild of America Award. She was chosen as one of Variety's Top 10 TV Writers to Watch for 2013. In 2019, she was awarded the

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since 1 ...

for Superior Achievement in a Screenplay for an episode of ''

'' she wrote entitled "The Bent-Neck Lady."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Averill, Merrill Living people American women television writers American women screenwriters People from Pottsville, Pennsylvania Showrunners Television show creators Tisch School of the Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people)