Top T.V. Show Creators (In No Order)

1. Vince Gilligan

George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul. He was a writer and producer for The ...

2. Michael Dante DiMartino

Writer | The Legend of Korra

Michael Dante DiMartino was born on July 18, 1974 in Shelburne, Vermont, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Legend of Korra (2012), Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) and The Last Airbender (2010).

3. Bryan Konietzko

Writer | The Legend of Korra

Bryan Konietzko was born on May 26, 1976 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Legend of Korra (2012), Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) and The Last Airbender (2010).

4. Genndy Tartakovsky

Producer | Samurai Jack

Genndy Tartakovsky was born and raised in Moscow, USSR. He and his family moved to Chicago, IL when he was 7 years old, after his father defected to the US. His interest in comic books and animation led him to study animation at CalArts in Los Angeles. While he was there he produced two student ...

5. David Benioff

Producer | Game of Thrones

David Benioff was born on September 25, 1970 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Game of Thrones (2011), The Kite Runner (2007) and 25th Hour (2002). He has been married to Amanda Peet since September 30, 2006. They have three children.

6. D.B. Weiss

Producer | Game of Thrones

D.B. Weiss was born on April 23, 1971 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Game of Thrones (2011), 3 Body Problem (2024) and Metal Lords (2022). He is married to Andrea Troyer.

7. Shin'ichirô Watanabe

Writer | The Animatrix

Shin'ichirô Watanabe was born on May 24, 1965 in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. He is a writer and director, known for The Animatrix (2003), Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) and Cowboy Bebop (1998).

8. Hiroyuki Imaishi

Director | Tengen toppa gurren lagann

Hiroyuki Imaishi is known for Gurren Lagann (2007), Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022) and Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997).

9. Matt Duffer

Writer | Stranger Things

Matt Duffer of The Duffer Brothers, born in Durham, February 15, 1984, is a writer, producer, and director for film and television. He is most known as the creator and showrunner of the hit Netflix Sci-Fi TV series Stranger Things. Other works include the thriller film Hidden and he has written ...

10. Ross Duffer

Writer | Stranger Things

Ross Duffer is known for Stranger Things (2016), We All Fall Down (2005) and Wayward Pines (2015). He has been married to Leigh Janiak since December 22, 2015.

11. Terence Winter

Producer | The Sopranos

Terence Winter was born on October 2, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Sopranos (1999), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Boardwalk Empire (2010). He is married to Rachel Winter. They have two children.

12. J.G. Quintel

Writer | Regular Show

James Garland Quintel, or simply JG, was born on September 14, 1982, in Hanford, CA, to Terri (nee Morris) and James Quintel. Growing up in a rather boring town, he and friends would have to entertain themselves to pass time, many of these experiences grew into influences for many episodes of ...

13. Rebecca Sugar

Writer | Steven Universe

Rebecca Sugar is an American animator, television writer, television producer, and singer-songwriter from Maryland. Her primary claims to fame are serving as the show creator of the hit animated series "Steven Universe" (2013-2019), and one of main writers and storyboard artists for the animated ...

14. Jenji Kohan

Producer | Orange Is the New Black

Jenji Kohan was born on July 5, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Orange Is the New Black (2013), Weeds (2005) and Tracey Takes On... (1996). She was previously married to Christopher Noxon.

15. Pendleton Ward

Writer | Adventure Time

Born in 1982 in San Antonio, Texas, Ward, the youngest of 3 brothers, was raised by his mother Bettie Ward, an artist and daughter of a Texas oil rancher. He never met his father. He would often draw flipbooks Andy comic books with his friend Alex "the Logdog" Coates.

Ward attended CalArts, where he...

16. Seth MacFarlane

Writer | Family Guy

Seth Woodbury MacFarlane was born in the small New England town of Kent, Connecticut, where he lived with his mother, Ann Perry (Sager), an admissions office worker, his father, Ronald Milton MacFarlane, a prep school teacher, and his sister, Rachael MacFarlane, now a voice actress and singer. He ...

17. Dan Harmon

Writer | Rick and Morty

Dan Harmon was born on January 3, 1973 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He is best known as the creator, writing, and producer for Community (2009) and Rick and Morty (2013). He also is known for writing and producing earlier works such as Computerman (2003), and Laser Fart (2004). He was previously ...

18. Justin Roiland

Actor | Rick and Morty

Mark Justin Roiland is an American voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty and its subsequent franchise. He voices the show's title characters Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith. In addition to Rick and Morty, Roiland is the...

19. Paul Abbott

Writer | Shameless

Paul Abbott was born on February 22, 1960 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Shameless (2011), Shameless (2004) and State of Play (2003). He has been married to Saskia Abbott since 1993. They have two children. He was previously married to Sheila Culf.

20. Joss Whedon

Producer | Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Joss Whedon is the middle of five brothers - his younger brothers are Jed Whedon and Zack Whedon. Both his father, Tom Whedon and his grandfather, John Whedon were successful television writers. Joss' mother, Lee Stearns, was a history teacher and she also wrote novels as Lee Whedon. Whedon was ...

21. J.J. Abrams

Producer | Lost

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, the son of TV producer parents. At 15, he wrote the music for Don Dohler's Nightbeast (1982). In his senior year of college, he and Jill Mazursky teamed up to write a feature film, which became Taking Care of Business (1990)....

22. Alan Ball

Producer | American Beauty

Alan Ball is an American writer, director, and producer who is known for writing the acclaimed film American Beauty and creating the HBO series True Blood starring Anna Paquin. He also wrote the films Towelhead and Uncle Frank. He also created Here and Now, Six Feet Under, and Banshee. He won ...

23. Tom Kapinos

Producer | Californication

Kapinos was born in 1969, raised in Levittown, New York and graduated from Island Trees High School in 1987. Kapinos then moved from New York to California in the mid-1990s, working in Los Angeles for Creative Artists Agency as a script reader, until Fox Studios purchased his first screenplay The ...

24. Aaron Sorkin

Writer | The West Wing

Aaron Sorkin grew up in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York City where he was very involved in his high school drama and theater club. After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater, Sorkin intended to pursue a career in acting. It took him only a short time to ...

25. Rod Serling

Writer | The Twilight Zone

A former boxer, paratrooper and general all-around angry young man, Rod Serling was one of the radical new voices that made the "Golden Age" of television. Long before The Twilight Zone (1959), he was known for writing such high-quality scripts as "Patterns" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight," both ...

26. Matthew Weiner

Producer | Mad Men

Matthew Weiner was born on June 29, 1965 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Mad Men (2007), The Sopranos (1999) and The Romanoffs (2018). He has been married to Linda Brettler since January 1991. They have four children.

27. James Manos Jr.

Writer | Dexter

James Manos, Jr. won the Emmy Award along with David Chase for writing his "College" episode of HBO's groundbreaking series, The Sopranos. After two seasons as Consulting Producer on the FX Golden Globe winning series, The Shield, he went on to create and produce Showtime's 8 year hit, Dexter, ...

28. David Simon

Writer | The Wire

David Simon was born on May 13, 1960 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Wire (2002), Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) and The Corner (2000). He has been married to Laura Lippman since October 3, 2006. They have one child.

29. David Chase

Producer | The Sopranos

Born in Mt. Vernon, New York, and raised in New Jersey, David Chase (born David DeCesare) dreamed of being a star drummer in a rock band! He spent many years playing drums and bass trying to be part of a successful rock band in the 1960s East Coast music scene. He also loved movies, such as The ...

30. Tetsurô Araki

Director | Shingeki no Kyojin

Tetsurô Araki was born on November 5, 1976 in Sayama, Japan. He is a director, known for Attack on Titan (2013), Bubble (2022) and Guilty Crown (2011).

31. Jonathan Nolan

Writer | Westworld

Attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, graduating in 1994.

Graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1999. Majored in English.

Shortly after graduating from Georgetown University, Jonathan Nolan served as a production assistant on Memento (2000).

Wrote the short story, "...

32. Lisa Joy

Producer | Westworld

Lisa Joy was born in New Jersey. Her writing career began on the ABC show Pushing Daisies. In 2011, she joined the staff of Burn Notice as a co-producer. She is co-creator and executive producer of the HBO show Westworld. Her spec script, Reminiscence, was on the Black List in 2013 and is in ...

33. C.H. Greenblatt

Writer | SpongeBob SquarePants

C.H. Greenblatt was born on June 17, 1972 in Plano, Texas, USA as Carl Harvey Greenblatt. He is a writer and producer, known for Fish Hooks (2010), SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) and Chowder (2007). He attended the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in advertising. He was an art director ...

34. Steven S. DeKnight

Writer | Pacific Rim Uprising

Steven S. DeKnight was born in Millville, New Jersey, USA. He is known for Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), Daredevil (2015) and Jupiter's Legacy (2021). He is married to Jaime Slater.

35. Aaron McGruder

Writer | The Boondocks

An unlikely firestorm was ignited on the 19th of April, 1999. The Universal Press Syndicate made the largest launch ever of a single comic strip in the history of the printed page when it debuted an off-beat work in more than 160 newspapers that day (and 40 more by year's end). The strip, centering...

36. Glenn Howerton

Actor | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Glenn Franklin Howerton is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his roles as Dennis Reynolds in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for which he is also a writer and executive producer, and Jack Griffin in A.P. Bio, as well as the lead role in the short-lived sitcom That '80s Show.

37. Rob McElhenney

Writer | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Rob McElhenney was born on April 14, 1977 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005), Mythic Quest (2020) and Latter Days (2003). He has been married to Kaitlin Olson since September 27, 2008. They have two children.

38. Bruce Timm

Animation_department | Batman: The Animated Series

Bruce Timm is an American animator, writer, voice actor and director. He is known for creating Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League and various installments of the DC Animated Universe. He co-created several DC characters including Harley Quinn and Livewire. He...

39. Eric Radomski

Producer | Batman: The Animated Series

Eric Radomski is known for Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Spawn (1997) and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993).

40. Nic Pizzolatto

Writer | True Detective

A producer, writer, director and award-winning novelist. He is the author of the collection 'Between Here and the Yellow Sea' and the novel 'Galveston.' He is originally from Southwest Louisiana, and taught literature at several universities, including the University of Chicago, before going into ...

41. Damon Lindelof

Producer | Lost

Damon Lindelof was born on April 24, 1973 in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Lost (2004), The Leftovers (2014) and Watchmen (2019). He has been married to Heidi Fugeman since May 28, 2005. They have one child.

42. Tom Perrotta

Writer | The Leftovers

Tom Perrotta was born on August 13, 1961 in Garwood, New Jersey, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Leftovers (2014), Little Children (2006) and Mrs. Fletcher (2019). He has been married to Mary Granfield since September 14, 1991. They have two children.

43. Danny Antonucci

Writer | Ed, Edd n Eddy

Danny Antonucci was born on February 27, 1957. He is a writer and director, known for Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999), Heavy Metal (1981) and Ed, Edd n Eddy's Boo Haw Haw (2005).

44. Glen Murakami

Producer | Batman Beyond

Glen Murakami was born on July 27, 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a producer and art director, known for Batman Beyond (1999), The Batman (2004) and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000).

45. Tom Warburton

Writer | Codename: Kids Next Door

Tom Warburton is the creator of Cartoon Network's super giant hit original series Codename: Kids Next Door, Along with the PBS Kids' sooper gigantic unbelievably hit original animated sitcom series The Suite Life of Hudson & James. Mr. Warburton has previously served as a director for Cartoon ...

46. Dave Filoni

Producer | The Mandalorian

Dave grew up in Mt. Lebanon, a suburb southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was in the marching band, and was the starting goaltender for half of his senior year on the hockey team. He graduated from high school in 1992 and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1996, where he played club ...

47. Donald Glover

Actor | Solo: A Star Wars Story

The multi-talented Donald Glover is a writer, actor, musician, comedian, producer and director, who performs under the stage names Childish Gambino and mcDJ. He was born Donald McKinley Glover at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and was raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His mother, Beverly (...

48. Graham Yost

Producer | Justified

Graham Yost was born on September 5, 1959 in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. He is a producer and writer, known for Justified (2010), From the Earth to the Moon (1998) and Speed (1994).

49. Joseph Weisberg

Writer | The Americans

Joseph Weisberg is known for The Americans (2013), The Patient (2022) and Falling Skies (2011).

50. Mike Judge

Writer | Beavis and Butt-Head Do America

Mike Judge is an American actor, animator, film director, screenwriter, and television producer.

In 1962, Judge was born in Guayaquil, the largest city of Ecuador and the country's main port. His parents were expatriate Americans. His father was archaeologist William James Judge and his mother was ...

51. John Altschuler

Producer | Silicon Valley

John Altschuler was born in 1963. He is known for Silicon Valley (2014), King of the Hill (1997) and Lopez (2016).

52. Dave Krinsky

Producer | Silicon Valley

Dave Krinsky was born in 1963 in Florida, USA. He is known for Silicon Valley (2014), King of the Hill (1997) and Lopez (2016).

53. Sam Esmail

Producer | Mr. Robot

Sam Esmail was born on September 17, 1977 in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Mr. Robot (2015), Homecoming (2018) and Leave the World Behind (2023). He has been married to Emmy Rossum since May 28, 2017. They have two children.

54. Beau Willimon

Writer | The Ides of March

Beau Willimon is known for The Ides of March (2011), House of Cards (2013) and Andor (2022).

55. Louis C.K.

Writer | Louie

Louis C.K. was born on September 12, 1967 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Louie (2010), American Hustle (2013) and Horace and Pete (2016). He was previously married to Alix Bailey.

56. Ronald D. Moore

Producer | Battlestar Galactica

Ron Moore was a member of the Kappa Alpha literary society during his time at Cornell University. He dropped out of college during his senior year, after which he moved to Los Angeles, California, with a friend in hopes of becoming a working writer. He was two weeks away from joining the United ...

57. Howard Gordon

Producer | 24

Howard Gordon was born on March 31, 1961 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for 24 (2001), Homeland (2011) and The X-Files (1993).

58. Alex Gansa

Producer | Homeland

Alex Gansa is known for Homeland (2011), Beauty and the Beast (1987) and Maximum Bob (1998). He is married to Lauren White (IX).

59. Graeme Manson

Writer | Orphan Black

Graeme Manson is known for Orphan Black (2013), Cube (1997) and Snowpiercer (2020).

60. John Fawcett

Director | Orphan Black

John Fawcett has created an impressive body of work as a producer, director and writer in both feature films and television. He co-created, executive produced and directed multiple episodes of the Emmy-winning and Golden-Globe nominated sci-fi drama, Orphan Black. The series has won countless ...

61. Shôji Kawamori

Writer | Macross Zero

Shôji Kawamori was born on February 20, 1960 in Toyama, Japan. He is a writer, known for Macross Zero (2002), The Vision of Escaflowne (1996) and Ghost in the Shell (1995).