Mark Schwahn (born July 5, 1966) is an American former

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. ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and producer. He is best known as the creator of

the WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

/ CW teen drama series ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

''. His career largely ended in 2018 following widespread

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

accusations.

Career

Schwahn has co-written ''

Coach Carter ''Coach Carter'' is a 2005 American biographical teen sports drama film starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Thomas Carter (no relation). The film is based on the true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter (played by J ...

'' (2005), ''

The Perfect Score ''The Perfect Score'' is a 2004 American Teen film, teen comedy-heist film directed by Brian Robbins and starring Chris Evans (actor), Chris Evans, Erika Christensen, Bryan Greenberg, Scarlett Johansson, Darius Miles, and Leonardo Nam. The film ...

'' (2004), '' Whatever It Takes'' (2000) and ''35 Miles from Normal'' (1997). In addition, he was creator of the TV series ''

'', for which he also wrote and directed. He served as producer for ''Whatever It Takes'' and ''One Tree Hill''. He also directed ''35 Miles from Normal'', which he filmed in his hometown of Pontiac, Illinois. His last major project was creating the E! scripted series '' The Royals''.

''Melrose Place'' spinoff

He emerged as a top candidate to write a planned spin-off of ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...

'' shortly after the network and

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 ...

announced it in late October 2008. Schwahn signed a two-year deal with CPT in early October 2008, but it had not started until June 2009. Until then, he was under a pact 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 ...

, where he

ran Ran, RaN and ran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa * "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea * '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) * ...

''One Tree Hill.'' His agreement with Warner Bros. called for him to continue as executive producer and showrunner on ''One Tree Hill'' returning for the ninth and final season in January 2012. The move to tap Schwahn to conceive a contemporary version of ''Melrose Place'' resembles The CW and CPT's decision to have ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...

'' creator Rob Thomas pen the original script for '' 90210''. In early 2009, it was announced Schwahn would not be working on the project.

Sexual harassment allegations

On November 12, 2017, TV writer Audrey Wauchope wrote on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that she and her female writing partner were sexually harassed by Schwahn while working on ''One Tree Hill''. Female cast members supported the allegations, and

Hilarie Burton Hilarie Ros Burton (born July 1, 1982) is an American actress, businesswoman, author and producer. A former host of MTV's ''Total Request Live'', she portrayed Peyton Sawyer on The WB/ CW drama '' One Tree Hill'' for six seasons (2003–2009). Po ...

and Danneel Harris alleged that they had also been sexually harassed by Schwahn. The male stars of ''One Tree Hill'' released their own statements supporting their female co-stars and crew members. Schwahn was also accused by cast members of ''The Royals''. Twenty-five female cast and crew members of the show released their own open letter stating that they, too, had been subjected to sexual harassment by Schwahn throughout the run of the show. In light of the allegations, Schwahn was suspended and ultimately fired from ''The Royals''.

Filmography

Crew

Cast

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwahn, Mark 1966 births American male screenwriters American soap opera writers American television directors Place of birth missing (living people) Television producers from Illinois Living people University of Maryland, College Park alumni Showrunners People from Pontiac, Illinois Film directors from Illinois American male television writers Screenwriters from Illinois