Monica Owusu-Breen 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 ...
and
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.
...
.
Early life and education
Owusu-Breen has described herself as "half-
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, half
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
ian".
She was born in England and lived in Spain as a child, where she learned to speak English from watching television. She moved to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
with her family at the age of eight.
After graduating from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, Owusu-Breen coordinated the production of music videos. She attended a PhD program at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
and obtained a degree in television and media studies.
Career
Owusu-Breen is known for her work on television series including ''
Charmed
''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...
'', ''
Alias
Alias may refer to:
* Pseudonym
* Pen name
* Nickname
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film
* ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006
* ''Alias the ...
'', ''
Brothers & Sisters'', ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and ''
Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
''. She often collaborates with screenwriter
Alison Schapker.
Her television career began when she was asked to write scripts as she was procrastinating while writing her PhD dissertation. This led, within two years, to a writer's position for ''Charmed''. In the beginning of her career, Owusu-Breen chose to go only by "Breen" "just so no one made assumptions about anything" when she submitted scripts.
''Alias''
In 2003, Owusu-Breen joined the
espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
series ''
Alias
Alias may refer to:
* Pseudonym
* Pen name
* Nickname
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film
* ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006
* ''Alias the ...
'' in its
third season as an executive story editor and
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
. At the beginning of
season four, she was promoted to
producer, And by the
final season, she had been named supervising producer. During her three-season span, Owusu-Breen co-wrote
eleven episodes total. The installments are as follows:
* "
A Missing Link" (03.04)
(co-written by executive story editor Alison Schapker)
* "
After Six" (03.13)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
Unveiled" (03.18)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
Blood Ties" (03.20)
(story co-written by Schapker, teleplay by co-producer J.R. Orci
Jorge Richard Orci (born 1975) is a Mexican television writer and producer.
Life and career
Orci was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother. His mother fled Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power. He was raised in Mexico Ci ...
)
* "
Détente
Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...
" (04.07)
(co-written by producer Schapker)
* "
The Orphan" (04.12)
(co-written by co-executive producer Jeffrey Bell)
* "
Search and Rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
" (04.21)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
Prophet Five
Alliance of Twelve
The Alliance of Twelve is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series ''Alias''. It is involved in the trade of intelligence and weapons as well as in blackmail. SD-6 is one of its subsidiary cells ...
" (05.01)
(co-written by supervising producer Schapker)
* "
Bob
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
* Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
*Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname ...
" (05.08)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
30 Seconds" (05.13)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
Reprisal
A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extreme ...
" (05.16)
(co-written by Schapker)
''Brothers & Sisters''
In 2006, Owusu-Breen was brought on to develop the
first season of the
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 ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
''
Brothers & Sisters'', as a writer and supervising producer. She then went on to become co-executive producer at the beginning of
season two Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album)
* ''2econd Season
''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk.
Release
It was released on November 4, 2008.
Guest Performers
The album features gu ...
, and then held the position of executive producer throughout seasons
three
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
and
four
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
. At the conclusion of the fourth season, Owusu-Breen left the series. The
eleven episodes she co-wrote are as follows:
* "Sexual Politics" (01.12)
(co-written with supervising producer Alison Schapker)
* "The Other Walker" (01.16)
(co-written with Schapker)
* "Bad News" (01.20)
(co-written with Schapker)
* "Home Front" (02.01)
(co-written with co-executive producer Schapker)
* "Two Places" (02.06)
(co-written with Schapker)
* "Holy Matrimony" (02.09)
(co-written with Mark B. Perry and Schapker)
* "Prior Commitments" (02.16)
(co-written with Schapker and co-executive producer Greg Berlanti
Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...
)
* "Troubled Waters, Part 1" (03.16)
(co-written by Sherri Cooper-Landsman)
* "Mexico" (03.24)
(co-written with executive producer Schapker)
* "The Science Fair" (04.12)
(co-written with Schapker)
* "Time After Time, Part Two" (04.19)
(co-written with Schapker)
''Lost''
In Fall 2006, Owusu-Breen joined the
third season crew of ABC's ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', as a writer and supervising producer. She left the series in February 2007. She co-wrote one episode while working on the series, with supervising producer
Alison Schapker, "
The Cost of Living".
''Fringe''
After her departure from ''
Brothers & Sisters'' in Spring 2010, Owusu-Breen was hired as a writer and co-executive producer 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 ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
thriller ''
Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
''. At the time, going into its
third season. After the completion of the
fourth season, Owusu-Breen departed the series. Episodes she contributed to included:
* "
The Plateau
''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 ...
" (03.03)
(co-written by co-executive producer Alison Schapker)
* "
Marionette
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...
" (03.09)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
Bloodline
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
" (03.18)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
The Last Sam Weiss" (03.21)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
One Night in October" (04.02)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
Enemy of My Enemy
"Enemy of My Enemy" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the Fox science-fiction drama television series ''Fringe'', and the series' 74th episode overall.
The episode was co-written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker, while bein ...
" (04.09)
(co-written by Schapker)
* "
A Better Human Being" (04.13)
(Owusu-Breen and Schapker co-wrote a teleplay based on a story by executive story editors Robert Chiappetta
Robert Chiappetta is an American television writer and lawyer.
Career
Chiappetta, along with his writing partner Glen Whitman, served as executive story editors on the FOX crime/ mystery series ''Fringe'', and contributed several scripts to th ...
and Glen Whitman
Douglas Glen Whitman is an American television writer and a professor of economics.
Academic career
Whitman is a professor of economics at California State University, Northridge, where he has been on the faculty since 2000. He has also serve ...
)
''Revolution''
In summer 2012, Owusu-Breen joined the crew of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
dystopian
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
/
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
series ''
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
'', as a co-executive producer and writer. Episodes she has contributed to include:
*"No Quarter" (01.03)
''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''
Since 2013, Owusu-Breen has been a writer and co-executive producer on ''
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''.
* "
The Well
The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL, was launched in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annual income of $2 million. ...
" (01.08)
* "
Seeds
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...
" (01.12)
* "
The Only Light in the Darkness
"The Only Light in the Darkness" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American television series ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Log ...
" (01.19)
* "
Making Friends and Influencing People
"Making Friends and Influencing People" is the third episode of the second season of the American television series ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and ...
" (02.03)
''Midnight, Texas''
Owusu-Breen adapted
Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in Mystery fiction, mysteries. She is best known for her book series ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', which was adapted as the TV series ''True Blood''. The ...
's book ''Midnight, Texas'' into NBC's
supernatural drama series of the same name.
She exited after the first season
* "Pilot" (01.01)
* "Bad Moon Rising" (01.02)
* "Last Temptation of Midnight" (01.08)
* "The Virgin Sacrifice" (01.10)
Ongoing work
In 2018, Owusu-Breen was attached as
showrunner
A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
to
20th Century Fox Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...
's television
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the series ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
''.
In July 2020, it was reported that ABC's
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
of
Greg Rucka
Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well a ...
's ''Stumptown'' graphic novels had added Owusu-Breen as showrunner for its then-upcoming second season,
and Owusu-Breen appeared at a virtual
Comic-Con
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events ...
panel to help preview the new season.
However, the show was then cancelled in September without starting work on the new season, due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
complications, which had also required the Comic-Con panel to be virtual.
Personal life
Owusu-Breen is married and has two children.
Awards
The ''Lost'' writing staff, including Owusu-Breen, were nominated for the
Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Dramatic Series at the
February 2007 ceremony for their work on the
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.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owusu-Breen, Monica
African-American television producers
American soap opera writers
Television producers from New York City
American women television producers
American production designers
John Dewey High School alumni
Brown University alumni
Living people
American women television writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Women soap opera writers
American people of Ghanaian descent
American people of Spanish descent
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Film producers from New York (state)
Women production designers
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American women writers
Showrunners
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American writers
African-American women writers