Frank Charles Spotnitz is an American television screenwriter and executive producer, best known for his work on ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'' and ''

The Man in the High Castle ''The Man in the High Castle'' (1962), by Philip K. Dick, is an alternative history novel wherein the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1947, and depicts the political intrigues b ...

''. Spotnitz is also the chief executive officer and founder of Big Light Productions, a London and Paris-based production company, which specializes in international television series, including drama, comedy and documentaries. Spotnitz's career includes creating, writing and producing series with networks, cable, streaming and other broadcast platforms around the world. Under the Big Light banner, Spotnitz has produced: Amazon's Emmy-winning ''

''; ''

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

: Masters of Florence'' and two seasons of ''Medici: The Magnificent'' (RAI, Netflix, SFR Play); ''

The Indian Detective ''The Indian Detective'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama series which debuted on CTV and Netflix in 2017.Ransom'' (CBS, Global, TF1, RTL); ''

Crossing Lines ''Crossing Lines'' is a German-French-Italian-American action crime thriller television series created by Edward Allen Bernero and Rola Bauer. The series premiered on June 9, 2013, at the screening for the Opening Ceremonies of the 53rd editi ...

'' season three with Tandem/StudioCanal; and '' Transporter: The Series'' season two (TNT, M6, HBO Canada). Most recently, Spotnitz co-created and executive produced ''

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

'', which is currently in production in Italy.

Early life

Born in Camp Zama, Japan. Spotnitz's father is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, though Spotnitz was not raised religiously. Spotnitz's father was a doctor in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. His family moved around until they settled in Phoenix, Arizona. As a child, Spotnitz consumed television shows and films as much as he could, sometimes watching the same film two or three times in a row. Spotnitz attended

Camelback High School Camelback High School is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. The campus is located at 4612 North 28th Street, northeast of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Camelback's enrollment is just over 2,000 students, over 75 percent o ...

, where he was inspired to pursue a career in Hollywood. Spotnitz graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA) with a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1982, where he was a reporter for the '' Daily Bruin''. He later received a MFA in screenwriting from the

AFI Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private not-for-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on st ...

in 1991.

Career

Journalism

Upon graduation from UCLA, Spotnitz was employed as a wire-service reporter for the

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

in Indianapolis and New York. He also briefly worked for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

in Paris. Spotnitz freelanced for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' before returning to his passion and studying screenwriting at

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

Television

Spotnitz's first television role was on '' The-X-Files'', which he described as being "like a second film school." is writing and producing credits include: counter-terrorism drama series '' Strike Back'' (HBO/Cinemax, Sky); action series '' Transporter: The Series'' (TNT); ABC's mystery series '' Night Stalker'' (ABC), starring

Stuart Townsend Stuart Townsend (born 15 December 1972) is an Irish actor. He portrayed Lestat de Lioncourt in the film adaptation of Anne Rice's ''Queen of the Damned'' (2002), and Dorian Gray in Alan Moore's ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (2003) ...

and

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...

;

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ...

’s crime series ''

Robbery Homicide Division ''Robbery Homicide Division'' (''RHD'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 27, 2002 to April 21, 2003, created by Barry Schindel with executive producers Michael Mann and Sandy Climan. Overview Th ...

'' (CBS); unconventional heroes comedy-drama ''

The Lone Gunmen The Lone Gunmen are a trio of fictional characters, Richard "Ringo" Langly, Melvin Frohike and John Fitzgerald Byers, who appeared in recurring roles on the American television series ''The X-Files'', and who starred in the short-lived spin-of ...

'' (Fox); sci-fi drama ''

Harsh Realm ''Harsh Realm'' is an American science fiction television series about humans trapped inside a virtual reality simulation. It was developed by Chris Carter, creator of ''The X-Files'' and ''Millennium'', and began airing on the Fox Network on Oc ...

'' (Fox); and crime thriller ''

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

'' (Fox).

''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...
''

Spotnitz served on ''

'' for eight of its nine seasons after joining the show in 1994. He called it "a life-changing experience", graduating from staff writer to executive producer after three seasons. He directed two episodes and wrote or co-wrote more than 40 instalments of the series, including the Emmy-nominated "Memento Mori" with Chris Carter,

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 AMC's '' Breaking Bad'' (2008– ...

and

John Shiban John Shiban is an American television writer and producer. He worked in both capacities on ''The X-Files'' and its spin-off '' The Lone Gunmen'', ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', '' Smallville'', '' Supernatural'', '' Legend of the Seeker'', '' Breakin ...

in 1997. He served for four years as executive producer and three years as president of Carter's Ten Thirteen Productions. He was a producer and co-writer of both ''The X-Files'' feature films, '' Fight the Future'' (1998) and '' I Want to Believe'' (2008). Spotnitz shares three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Series and a Peabody Award for his work on ''The X-Files''. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for writing and three times for Outstanding Drama Series.

'' Hunted''

In 2012, Spotnitz created, wrote and executive produced the international spy drama series '' Hunted'' for BBC1 and HBO/Cinemax, starring

Melissa George Melissa George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian actress and entrepreneur. A former national artistic rollerskating champion and model, George began her acting career playing Angel Parrish in the Australian soap opera Home and Away (1993– ...

Adam Rayner Adam Chance Abbs Rayner (born 28 August 1977) is an English actor. He is known for television roles including: Dominic Montgomery in '' Mistresses'', Dr. Steve Shaw in '' Hawthorne'', Aidan Marsh in '' Hunted'', Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed in ''Tyr ...

Stephen Dillane Stephen John Dillane (; born 27 March 1957) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Leonard Woolf in the 2002 film '' The Hours'', Stannis Baratheon in ''Game of Thrones'', and Thomas Jefferson in the 2008 HBO miniseries ''John Ad ...

and

Patrick Malahide Patrick Gerald Duggan (born 24 March 1945), known professionally as Patrick Malahide, is a veteran British film, television and theatre actor, author and producer, known, amongst other things, for his roles as Inspector Alleyn in '' The Inspec ...

. The series follows Sam Hunter, an operative for a private spy agency, Byzantium. After she is betrayed and nearly killed by one of her colleagues, Sam returns to London in an attempt to root out the traitor, while working undercover in the home of a wealthy and dangerous London gangster on an assignment that could cost her life. The series was BAFTA nominated for cinematography and won the ASC Award. It was also nominated for Best Editing by the Royal Television Society.

''
The Man in the High Castle ''The Man in the High Castle'' (1962), by Philip K. Dick, is an alternative history novel wherein the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1947, and depicts the political intrigues b ...
''

Spotnitz created, executive produced and wrote several episodes of ''

'', based on the classic alternative history novel by Philip K. Dick, which upon its release became Amazon's most viewed series ever. Starring Alexa Davalos, Rufus Sewell and Joel de la Fuente, the series explores life in a 1962 America where the Allies lost the war and the country is divided between the fascist Japanese in the West and the Nazis in the East. The series won two Emmy Awards, was nominated for two others, and named Best Drama Series at the Roma Fiction Festival. It was also nominated for an ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography, the USC Scripter Award and Best Drama at Monte Carlo Television Festival's Golden Nymph Awards.

''
Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...
''

Spotnitz co-created, executive produced and co-wrote ''

: Masters of Florence'', starring Richard Madden, Dustin Hoffman and Annabel Scholey. Chronicling the rise of the Medici family during the Italian Renaissance, it shows how the family's ascent from simple merchants to power brokers sparked an economic and cultural revolution, creating powerful enemies in the process. The Netflix Original Series was produced with Lux Vide Productions for RAI, Italy's largest broadcaster, and SFR in France. The RAI premiere attracted a record-breaking seven million viewers in Italy, becoming the country's most-watched new series. Set 20 years later, ''Medici: The Magnificent'' starred Daniel Sharman, Bradley James and Sean Bean, and was also co-created, executive produced and co-written by Spotnitz. After an attempt on Piero de Medici's life, his son Lorenzo is forced to assume leadership of the family-run bank. Once in power, young Lorenzo resolves to abandon the cynical politics of the past to usher in a new era of creative and political revolution, bringing him into open conflict with rival banker Jacopo Pazzi, who will stop at nothing to defeat him. Their clash gives rise to one of the most thrilling true-life political intrigues of all time, the infamous Pazzi conspiracy. The second season of ''Medici: The Magnificent'' was broadcast on RAI in December 2019 and premieres as a Netflix Original Series in May 2020.

''
The Indian Detective ''The Indian Detective'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama series which debuted on CTV and Netflix in 2017.The Indian Detective ''The Indian Detective'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama series which debuted on CTV and Netflix in 2017.Ransom''

'' Ransom'', produced for CBS in the US, France's TF1, Canada's Corus/Global and RTL in Germany, was a suspense drama set against an international backdrop. It starred

Luke Roberts Luke Justin Roberts (born 25 January 1977) is a sports director and former Australian racing cyclist specialising in both track cycling and road bicycle racing. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he resides both in Adelaide and in Cologne, ...

and was co-created, executive produced and co-written by Spotnitz. The thriller follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont, whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can. Beaumont understands criminals better than they understand themselves and uses his insight into human behaviour to resolve the most difficult kidnap and ransom cases. Despite the stakes, Beaumont refuses to resort to violence, even when confronted by some of the world's most dangerous criminals. ''Ransom'' was VOX Germany's highest rated drama premiere for over 15 months and France's TF1 premiere reached over 4 million viewers for a market share of 25%. The show ran for three seasons.

''
Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...
''

Spotnitz co-created, executive produced and co-wrote ''Leonardo'', which was one of the first productions to complete filming during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. The series was released in early 2021 in RAI for Italy, Amazon Prime for the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as Sony LIV in India, and PikTV in Canada. The eight-part limited series shows the terrible personal sacrifice that led Leonardo to create masterpieces that changed the way we see the world forever. Starring

Aidan Turner Aidan Turner (born 19 June 1983) is an Irish actor. He played the roles of Ross Poldark in the 2015–2019 BBC adaptation of ''The Poldark Novels'' by Winston Graham, Dante Gabriel Rossetti in ''Desperate Romantics'', Ruairí McGowan in '' Th ...

and

Freddie Highmore Alfred Thomas Highmore (born 14 February 1992) is an English actor. He is known for his starring roles beginning as a child, in the films '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2005), '' August Rush'' (2007), and ...

, the series is the first produced by The Alliance (RAI, France Télévisions, ZDF and RTVE).

Writing process

Spotnitz adopted the writers' room process from his experience in the US, which he brought to the UK when he founded Big Light Productions. He cards the story scene by scene on a corkboard, with one board for each episode. Spotnitz favours carding in order to better analyse the story and to enable better collaboration. He always asks: why do I care about this story? Why do I care about this character? And aims to draw in the audience early on.

Personal life

Spotnitz lives with his family in London. Spotnitz said in an interview about his show ''

'': "Frank is the closest to me in the TV series, because my father's

, my mother's not. I don't identify as Jewish in a religious way. I'm not a religious person, and yet if you were living in a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

state, that would be no defense. Jews don't get to decide if they're Jews. That's really terrifying to me."

Filmography

''The X-Files'' credits

Books

*''TV Outside the Box: Trailblazing in the Digital Television Revolution'', Neil Landau (2015) *''Dalla parte di John Fante'', by Giovanna Di Lello and Toni Ricciardi (Rome: Carocci 2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spotnitz, Frank 1960 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters AFI Conservatory alumni American male television writers American people of Jewish descent American television producers American television writers Screenwriting instructors Showrunners University of California, Los Angeles alumni