Ann Donahue is a prominent
television writer. She along with
Carol Mendelsohn
Carol Mendelsohn (born 1951) is an American television producer, showrunner, and screenwriter, known for her work on the crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''.
Education
Mendelsohn grew up in Chicago, where her father was an attorney. ...
and
Anthony E. Zuiker created the successful
''CSI'' franchise which includes ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''
CSI: Miami'', ''
CSI: NY'', and ''
CSI: Cyber''.
Biography
Donahue's father was a pharmaceutical salesman, and she was raised in Cleveland and Cincinnati. She has five siblings. Writing for TV and film was an early ambition for her. She attended Ohio State University but left to get married and move to Los Angeles. After moving, she was a legal assistant by day and wrote at night. Her work gained notice when her 1985 play, ''Home Fires'', received the Los Angeles County Cultural Award after being produced locally. That recognition led to her being hired to write scripts for films and TV and to producing TV programs.
She served as the showrunner for ''CSI: Miami'' until May 2012 when
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 Entertainm ...
cancelled the show. New long-term contracts in the fall of 2003 made Donahue and Mendelsohn "the two highest-paid female writers in television drama."
Donahue's television credits include
Emmy Award-winning scripts for the popular series ''
Picket Fences
''Picket Fences'' is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS televis ...
''.
Other television writing credits include ''
China Beach
''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...
'', ''
21 Jump Street
''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'', ''
Murder One'', ''
M.Y.O.B.'', ''
High Incident
''High Incident'' was a police drama television series produced by DreamWorks Television for the ABC network. The show was created by Steven Spielberg, Michael Pavone, Eric Bogosian, and Dave Alan Johnson. It aired from March 4, 1996, to May ...
'', and ''
Beverly Hills, 90210
''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...
''. Donahue has also written and produced a number of
off-Broadway plays.
Donahue is an
out lesbian.
Curve Magazine, "Take That! TV's Top 10 "Lesbian" Crime-Fighter Shows", Volume 13, Number 4
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Ann
American television writers
American women television writers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
American lesbian writers
Showrunners
20th-century American women writers
American women television producers
American women television directors
American television directors
21st-century LGBT people
21st-century American women writers
LGBT screenwriters