Barry O'Brien (born 1957) is an American television writer and producer best known as the co-creator of

Disney Channel Original Series This article lists past, present and future television programming on American basic cable channel and former premium channel, Disney Channel, since its launch on April 18, 1983. Current programming * 1 Indicates its program is shared with D ...

Hannah Montana ''Hannah Montana'' is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March2006 and January2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cy ...

''. His credits include ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'', '' Perfect Strangers'', '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'', ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This television series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves ...

'', and '' CSI: Miami''.

Life

Barry O'Brien was born in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to a large Irish Catholic family. He attended Terra Linda High School, before joining

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

on a football scholarship, studying business and finance. O'Brien's biggest hit is Disney's ''

'', a concept he successfully pitched based on the premise of an incredibly famous teenager-with-a-double-life, an idea conceived during a tenure on Nickelodeon's television series ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy children's television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tol ...

'', where the (then) teenage American pop singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

featured as a guest. Aside from writing for television, O'Brien co-wrote

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leonard Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, comedy, fantasy, horror and science fiction. After working in advertising out of college, Bruck ...

’s ''

Kangaroo Jack ''Kangaroo Jack'' is a 2003 American buddy action comedy film directed by David McNally from a screenplay by Steve Bing and Scott Rosenberg with a story by Bing and Barry O'Brien. It is also produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with music by Trevor ...

'', and two junior novels. He currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, with his wife and two children.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1981-1982) (writer) * ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...

'' (1982) (writer) * '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982) (writer) * ''

The New Odd Couple ''The New Odd Couple'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983, and was an updated version of the 1970s television series '' The Odd Couple''. ''The New Odd Couple'' was the second attempt to remake a series ...

'' (1983) (writer) * ''

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for th ...

'' (1984) (writer) * '' Muppet Babies'' (1985) (writer) * '' MoonDreamers'' (1986) (writer) * ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' (1984-1986) (writer) * ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

'' (1986) (writer) * ''Blondie & Dagwood'' (1987) (writer) * '' Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night'' (1987) (writer) * '' Beverly Hills Teens'' (1987) (writer, developer) * ''

The Jetsons ''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produc ...

'' (1987) (writer) * ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy television comedy, comedy puppet television series about interconnected so ...

'' (1987) (writer) * ''

BraveStarr ''BraveStarr'' is an American Space Western animated television series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' wa ...

'' (1987) (writer) * ''

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for Novelty records in ...

'' (1988) (writer) * '' She's the Sheriff'' (1987–1989) (writer) * ''Blondie & Dagwood: Second Wedding Workout'' (1989) (writer) * '' Perfect Strangers'' (1987–1993) (supervising producer, writer) * '' All-New Dennis the Menace'' (1993) (writer) * '' Getting By'' (1993–1994) (writer, co-executive producer) * ''

Taz-Mania ''Taz-Mania'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 1991 to 1995, broadcast in the United States on Fox Kids where it stars the Tasmanian Devil. Similar to other Warner Bros. cartoons of its time, such as ''An ...

'' (1995) (writer) * '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'' (1995–1996) (co-executive producer, writer) * '' Between Brothers'' (1997–1999) (writer, executive producer, creator) * '' Guys Like Us'' (1998) (executive producer, writer) * ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

'' (2000–2001) (co-producer, writer) * '' Gary & Mike'' (2001) (writer) * ''

'' (2002–2005) (writer, supervising producer) * ''

'' (2003) (writer) * ''

Drake & Josh ''Drake & Josh'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker (Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) as they live together despite their opposite personalities. Na ...

'' (2004) (writer: story) (one episode; "Football") * '' CSI: Miami'' (2005–2012) (writer, executive producer) * ''

'' (2006–2011) (writer, creator) * ''

The Einstein Factor ''The Einstein Factor'' was an Australian television quiz show that was broadcast on ABC (Australian TV channel), ABC1. The show's host is comedian and broadcaster Peter Berner. It was first broadcast in 2004 and in 2009 the show commenced its s ...

'' (2007–2008) (supervising producer, writer, original concept) * ''

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

'' (2013) (co-executive producer, writer) * ''

King & Maxwell ''King & Maxwell'' is an American drama television series that ran on TNT from June 10 to August 12, 2013. The series featured Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn as Washington, D.C.–based former Secret Service agents solving crimes as private detecti ...

'' (2013) (co-executive producer, writer) * ''

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

'' (2014) (producer, writer) * '' Dig'' (2015) (producer, writer) * ''

The Following ''The Following'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson, and jointly produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. The The Following (season 1), first s ...

'' (2015) (producer, writer) * ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'' (2015–2016) (producer, writer) * '' Gone'' (2017–2018) (producer, writer) * '' Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector'' (2020) (writer) * '' Corn & Peg'' (2020) (writer) * '' Law & Order: Organized Crime'' (2022–present) (head writer) * ''

The Equalizer ''The Equalizer'' is an American vigilante action thriller multimedia franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. It originated with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989 starring Edward Woodward. The concept ...

'' (2024–2025) (writer) (two episodes)

Selected works

* Hannah Montana Bind Up #2 (Super Sneak/ Truth or Dare), with Laurie McElroy (Disney Press, 2009) () * Ace London, with John Worsley, Kaj Melendez, and Mirza Javed (

Fleetway Publications Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. History It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies ...

, 1962; Cuahtemoc Publishing Ltd, 2011) ()

Awards and nominations

Nominated for an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for (the) Best Television Episode Teleplay of 2008. (CSI: Miami, You May Now Kill the Bride)
Santa Clara Magazine: Resurrection

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Barry 1959 births Living people American male television writers Television writers from California American writers of Irish descent Mass media people from San Francisco Place of birth missing (living people) Santa Clara University alumni Television producers from California American television show creators Screenwriters from San Francisco

Life

Filmography

Selected works

Awards and nominations

See also

References

Sources