Matthew E. Nix (born September 4, 1971) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for creating 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 Madi ...

television series ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar ...

'', the Fox series '' The Good Guys'', and more recently the Fox series '' The Gifted'' (2017–2019).

Early life and education

Nix was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, to Phillip and Susan Nix, and graduated from

Analy High School Analy High School (formerly West County High School) is a public high school in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California. It was established in 1908 as Analy High School. In 2021 Analy merged with El Molino High School and was known under the working ...

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. A graduate of 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 Californ ...

(UCLA), he was a UCLA Alumni Scholar.

Career

''Burn Notice''

In summer 2006, Matt Nix created ''

'', a TV series whose title refers to the burn notices issued by intelligence agencies, which discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources. The television series follows agent

Michael Westen Michael Alan Westen is a fictional character played by Jeffrey Donovan in the television series ''Burn Notice'', created by Matt Nix. Westen, a spy and former U.S. Army soldier serving in special operations, is widely known as a top CIA operative ...

(played by

Jeffrey Donovan Jeffrey Donovan (born May 11, 1968) is an American actor. He played Michael Westen in the television series ''Burn Notice'', and appeared in films such as '' Hitch'', '' Believe in Me'', '' Changeling'', and ''Come Early Morning''. He played Ro ...

), who is abandoned by all his normal intelligence contacts. Not knowing why he has been "burned", he begins to work as a freelance spy and investigator as he tries to find out what happened. The series premiered on

on Thursday, June 28, 2007. It co-starred Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne (Westen's "trigger-happy ex-girlfriend"),

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film ''Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low-b ...

Sam Axe Commander'' Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe'' Samuel "Sam" Axe, USN ( ret.) is a fictional character in the television series ''Burn Notice'' and TV movie '' Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe'', and is played by Bruce Campbell. He is the best f ...

(an old friend who "used to inform on" Westen to the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

Sharon Gless Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress and author, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series ''Cagney & Lacey'' (1982 ...

Madeline Westen Madeline Westen is a fictional character in the television series ''Burn Notice'' portrayed by Sharon Gless. She is Michael Westen's neurotic, chain-smoking mother. Overview It is unclear how much Madeline knows about her son's life as a spy. A ...

(Michael's mother), and as of season four

Coby Bell Coby Scott Bell (born May 11, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jesse Porter on the USA Network original series ''Burn Notice'' and professional football player Jason Pitts on The CW/BET comedy-drama '' The Game''. He ...

Jesse Porter This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Burn Notice''. The article deals with the series' main and recurring characters. Main characters Michael Westen Fiona Glenanne Sam Axe Madeline Westen Jesse Porte ...

(a spy Westen accidentally burned). During production of its fourth season in early 2010, it was announced that the series had been renewed for two more seasons. On the final episode, Nix had a cameo appearance as a news reporter. He also had a voice cameo in the pilot, as he is the voice that says "We've got a burn notice on you. You're blacklisted."—which then went on to appear in the opening sequence of every episode. The series ended on September 12, 2013. Between seasons four and five, a ''Burn Notice'' movie, entitled '' Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe'', was aired on USA Network. Written and executive-produced by Nix, the movie portrayed character Sam Axe's final mission as a U.S. Navy SEAL.

''The Good Guys''

In early 2010, Nix began working on ''The Good Guys'', a series which premiered on Fox on May 19, 2010. The series starred

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he ...

as Dan Stark, a mustachioed, former big-shot detective with the

Dallas Police Department The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas. Organization The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hir ...

, and

Colin Hanks Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor. He has starred in films including '' Orange County'', ''King Kong'', '' The House Bunny'', '' The Great Buck Howard'', and the ''Jumanji'' film series. His television credits includ ...

as Jack Bailey, a young, ambitious, by-the-book detective who has been assigned as Dan's partner because of his snarky attitude. ''The Good Guys'' was originally known by the working title ''Jack and Dan''. For several months, the series was to be known as ''Code 58'', the Dallas Police Department code for "routine investigation", and then briefly as ''The Five Eight'' before producers settled on ''The Good Guys'' title. The show struggled with low ratings, regularly ranking in fourth place for its timeslot during the summer and then fifth place from October onward. The final episode to air was broadcast December 10, 2010, on Fox. On December 15, 2010,

Fox Television Studios The second incarnation of Touchstone Television (formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios) was an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Disney Media Networks' Walt Disney Television owned by The Walt Disney Company. I ...

, the production company for the show, informed the Dallas Film Commission that the show would not be renewed for a second season.

Personal life

He is married to Melinda Stahl. He has three children, including youngest son Mateo.

Filmography

Film

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

References

External links

Matt Nix
(official website; archive) *
Matt Nix ''Burn Notice'' Season 6 Press Call Transcript
a
Multipleverses.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nix, Matt 1971 births American male television writers American television directors American television writers Edgar Award winners Living people Screenwriters from California Showrunners Television producers from California Writers from Los Angeles