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Bruno Heller (born 13 January 1960) is an English screenwriter, producer and director. He is known for creating the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
television series ''
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'' and
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 Entertainmen ...
television series ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fol ...
''. He has produced the TV series '' Gotham'', based on the Batman franchise, for
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 ...
and '' Pennyworth'' for
Epix Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's pr ...
.


Early life and family

Heller's father,
Lukas Lukas is a form of the Latin name Lucas. Popularity In 2013 it was the ninth most popular name for boys in Australia. Meaning and different spellings * Amharic - Luqas (ሉቃስ) * Arabic - Luqa (لوقا) / Luqas (لوكاس) * Armenian - Ղ ...
, was a German Jewish emigre and screenwriter (''
Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte ''Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich, and starring Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead and Mary Astor in her final film role. It fo ...
'', '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?''). His mother, Caroline (née Carter), was an English Quaker and instrumental in keeping up the Labour Party's "Save London Transport Campaign". He has three siblings, including Zoë, a columnist and writer who has published three novels, including ''
Notes on a Scandal ''Notes on a Scandal'' (''What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal'' in the U.S.) is a 2003 novel by Zoë Heller. It is about a female teacher at a London comprehensive school who begins an affair with an minor (law), underage pupil. Heller sai ...
''. Heller graduated from the
University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
near
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
.


Career

Heller was a union soundman working in England in the 1980s when film sets were rigidly hierarchical. While working as a soundman on a series of films about England's infamous
Miners' Strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...
, Heller met well-regarded Portuguese director
Eduardo Guedes Eduardo Luis Santos Correia Guedes (21 April 1941 – 29 August 2000) was a Portuguese film-maker involved with the independent British film collective Cinema Action. Guedes was born in Lisbon, the son of a judge, and initially studied chemical ...
. The two collaborated on what would become Heller's first writing credit, the 1994 film ''
Pax Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly kiss ...
'' starring Amanda Plummer. ("Pax" is the Latin word for "Peace" used in the Portuguese epitaphs on gravestones.) He left England for New York, where he met his wife, Miranda Cowley, granddaughter of the American poet and critic
Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...
, in a disco. After five years in the city, Heller moved with his family to Los Angeles where he worked on various television dramas including two projects for the
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
: ''
Touching Evil ''Touching Evil'' is a British television drama serial following the exploits of a crack squad on the Organised & Serial Crime Unit, a rapid response police force that serves the entire country. The serial was produced by United Productions f ...
'' and '' The Huntress''. But his breakthrough came with ''
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
'', which he co-created. After the cancellation of that series for its high costs, Heller created ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fol ...
''. In September 2012, Heller sold a legal drama named ''The Advocates'' to CBS, which was written and executive produced by him, but the project finally did not go to series. In 2014 Heller created a TV series based on the Batman character James Gordon called '' Gotham'' for Fox Broadcasting Company.


''Rome''

Along with
John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a writer for the first two ''Dirty Harry'' films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979), a ...
and William J. MacDonald, Heller created the television series ''Rome'', co-produced by HBO and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
. Heller was also an executive producer and head writer, penning a total of 11 episodes for the series, including the
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
and the series finale. The series primarily chronicles the lives and deeds of the rich, powerful, and "historically significant", yet it also focuses on the lives, fortunes, families, and acquaintances of two common men:
Lucius Vorenus Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were two Roman centurions mentioned in the personal writings of Julius Caesar. Although it is sometimes stated they were members of the 11th Legion (Legio XI Claudia), in fact Caesar never states the number of the ...
and
Titus Pullo Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were two Roman centurions mentioned in the personal writings of Julius Caesar. Although it is sometimes stated they were members of the 11th Legion (Legio XI Claudia), in fact Caesar never states the number of the ...
, two Roman soldiers mentioned historically in Caesar's ''
Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...
''. The fictionalised Vorenus and Pullo manage to witness and often influence many of the historical events presented in the series.


''Rome'' episodes written by Heller

Season 1 * "
The Stolen Eagle "The Stolen Eagle" is the series premiere of the British-American historical drama television series ''Rome''. Written by series creator Bruno Heller and directed by Michael Apted, the episode first aired in the United States on Home Box Office ...
" (pilot) * "
How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic ''Rome'', a dramatic television series created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller, premiered on 28 August 2005 on the HBO Network in the United States and ended on 25 March 2007, after 2 seasons and a total of 22 episodes. ...
" * " An Owl in a Thornbush" * " Stealing from Saturn" * "
The Ram has Touched the Wall ''Rome'', a dramatic television series created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller, premiered on 28 August 2005 on the HBO Network in the United States and ended on 25 March 2007, after 2 seasons and a total of 22 episodes ...
" * " Egeria" (with
John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a writer for the first two ''Dirty Harry'' films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979), a ...
) * " The Spoils" * " Kalends of February" (season finale) Season 2 * "
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
" * "
Son of Hades ''Rome'', a dramatic television series created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller, premiered on 28 August 2005 on the HBO Network in the United States and ended on 25 March 2007, after 2 seasons and a total of 22 episodes. ...
" * "
De Patre Vostro (About Your Father) ''Rome'', a dramatic television series created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller, premiered on 28 August 2005 on the HBO Network in the United States and ended on 25 March 2007, after 2 seasons and a total of 22 episodes. ...
" (series finale)


''The Mentalist''

In 2008, Heller created the CBS television series, ''The Mentalist'', with his production company Primrose Hill Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. On 7 January 2009, the show won the award for "Favorite New TV Drama" at the
35th People's Choice Awards The 35th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2008, was held on January 7, 2009 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Queen Latifah in her third straight year as host, and was broadcast ...
and since then, the star, Simon Baker has received several nominations for his portrayal of the lead character, Patrick Jane. Heller served as showrunner from season 1 to
season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
. He departed the show before
season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
to focus on ''Gotham''. ''The Mentalist'' follows Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
. He has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his amazing skills of observation. Jane also makes frequent use of his mentalist abilities and his semi-celebrity past as a
psychic medium Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...
using paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. He abandoned his pretense out of remorse when his
attention-seeking Attention seeking behavior is to act in a way that is likely to elicit attention. Attention seeking behavior is defined in the DSM-5 as "engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and to make oneself the focus of others’ attention and admir ...
behaviour attracted the attention of a
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
named
Red John Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
who killed his wife and daughter.


''The Mentalist'' episodes written by Heller

Season 1 * "
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
" * " Red Hair and Silver Tape" * " Red John's Friends" * " Carnelian, Inc." * " Red John's Footsteps" (season finale) Season 2 * " Redemption" * " Black Gold and Red Blood" * " Code Red" * "
Red Sky in the Morning ''Red Sky in the Morning'' is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Laird, first published in 1988. The novel was published as ''Loving Ben'' in its initial American release. Plot Anna is happy when her parents announce to her that they are ha ...
" (season finale) Season 3 * "
Red Sky at Night Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
" * " Red Moon" * "" Strawberries and Cream (Part 2)" (season finale) Season 4 * " Scarlet Ribbons" * " Cheap Burgundy" (writer/director) * " The Crimson Hat" (season finale) Season 5 * " The Crimson Ticket" * " Red John's Rules" (season finale) Season 6 * " The Desert Rose" * "
Red John Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
" * "
Blue Bird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...
" (season finale) Season 7 * " White Orchids" (series finale) with Tom Szentgyorgyi & Jordan Harper


''Gotham''

In 2013, Fox won a bidding war for a pilot set in Gotham written by Heller. As originally conceived, the series serves as a straightforward story of Gordon's early days on the Gotham City Police force. The show includes not only the Bruce Wayne character, but also the origin stories of several Batman villains, including
the Penguin The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #58 (December 1941) and was created by Bob ...
, the Riddler,
Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
,
Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...
, Poison Ivy and
Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...
. The first season consisted of 22 episodes after being extended from sixteen. The show premiered on 22 September 2014.


''Gotham'' episodes written by Heller

Season 1 * "
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
" * "
Selina Kyle Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she is ...
" * " Penguin's Umbrella" * "
The Blind Fortune Teller "The Blind Fortune Teller" is the sixteenth episode of the television series '' Gotham''. It premiered on FOX on February 16, 2015 and was written by series developer Bruno Heller, and directed by Jeffrey Hunt. In this episode, James Gordon (Ben ...
" * "
All Happy Families Are Alike "All Happy Families Are Alike" is the 22nd episode and finale of the first season of the FOX series '' Gotham''. The episode was written by series developer Bruno Heller and directed by Danny Cannon. It was first broadcast on May 4, 2015 in FOX. ...
" (season finale) Season 2 * " Damned If You Do..." * "
Worse Than a Crime "Worse Than a Crime" is the eleventh episode of the second season, 33rd episode overall and the mid-season finale from the Fox Broadcasting Company, FOX series ''Gotham (TV series), Gotham''. This episode is also the last episode to use the subtit ...
" * " Transference" (season finale)


''Pennyworth''

In 2018/19 Heller created '' Pennyworth''. This series focuses on the early years of Alfred Pennyworth, friend and butler to Bruce Wayne/Batman. The series is not a Gotham spinoff, but a brand new story looking at Alfred's origins as a former British soldier who sets up a private security firm and goes to work with Thomas Wayne — Batman’s father — in 1960s England. Pennyworth is set in a completely different universe despite hailing from Heller and producers Warner Horizon. Heller penned the script for the pilot episode and serves as executive producer. The drama marked a reunion for Heller with Gotham's Danny Cannon, who exec produces and directed the pilot as he did with the Fox Batman origin story.


Personal life

In 1993, Heller married Miranda Phillips Cowley, then a senior vice president at HBO. The couple has two children. Miranda Cowley Heller is the New York Times #1 bestselling author of the novel, ''The Paper Palace''.


References


External links

* Bernhard, Lisa
Mentalist' Is a Hit, but Who Can See Into Its Future?"
''The New York Times'', 28 November 2008 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Bruno 1960 births Living people Writers from London Alumni of the University of Sussex English television writers English expatriates in the United States English people of German-Jewish descent Showrunners