Ann Biderman (born August 15, 1951) is an American film and television writer. She is the creator and executive producer of the NBC/TNT series '' Southland'' (2009–2013), and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Drama Series for an episode of ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

''. She created, wrote, and produced the Showtime drama ''

Ray Donovan ''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The drama, starring Liev Schreiber in the title role, is set primarily in Los Angeles (during seasons 1–5) and in New York City (during seaso ...

''.

Early years

Biderman grew up in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. When she was sixteen, she attended boarding school at The Stockbridge School, in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts, where she was very interested in the arts. Biderman and her sister spent much of their youth in the company of writers, artists and musicians when living at the

Chelsea Hotel The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hot ...

in New York, where "

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

was the boy next door" and her mother Peggy Biderman's home in Miami was a sort of halfway house for civil rights activists recently out of prison. Filmmaker

Harry Everett Smith Harry Everett Smith (May 29, 1923 – November 27, 1991) was an American polymath, who was credited variously as an artist, experimental filmmaker, bohemian, mystic, record collector, hoarder, student of anthropology and a Neo-Gnostic ...

and poet

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

were close family friends. Biderman lived for most of the 1980s with French filmmaker

Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director, and producer, as well as an author, artist, and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, s ...

Career

Biderman adapted the novel '' Smilla's Sense of Snow'' into the screenplay of the 1997

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. In the 2008-09 television season, Biderman developed the police drama series '' Southland'', which aired as a midseason replacement for NBC. The series focuses on patrol officers and detectives in South Los Angeles. Biderman wrote the pilot episode, and served as an executive producer for the first season alongside John Wells and

Christopher Chulack Christopher Chulack is an American television producer and director, best known for his work on the NBC drama series ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1995–2008), along with Michael Crichton, also ''Third Watch'' (1999–2005), which he co-produced along ...

. She wrote the episodes "Mozambique," "See the Woman," "Sally in the Alley" (with consulting producer Angela Amato Velez) and "Derailed." ''Southland'' was renewed for a second season and Biderman remained an executive producer and writer. NBC reversed the decision and cancelled ''Southland'' after six episodes had been produced. The series was then picked up by the TNT network, and the previously produced episodes were aired as the show's second season. Biderman co-wrote the second-season premiere "Phase Three" with Wells and wrote the episode "U-Boat." TNT renewed the series for a third season but dramatically reduced its production budget. Biderman stepped down as executive producer but remained an executive consultant. She co-wrote the third-season premiere "Let It Snow" with Wells. Biderman created the Showtime series ''

'' in 2013. She served as showrunner during the first season, and wrote several episodes, including the pilot. After the second season, Biderman stepped down as showrunner.

Filmography

Screenplays Production staff Writer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biderman, Ann 1951 births American women television writers American television writers Place of birth missing (living people) American women screenwriters Living people Primetime Emmy Award winners American showrunners Screenwriters from Florida American women television producers 21st-century American women writers