Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto (born October 18, 1975) is an American author, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for creating the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

crime drama series ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

'' (2014–present).

Early life

Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

on October 18, 1975. He grew up in a Catholic family of . His father, Nic Pizzolatto Jr., was an attorney. At the age of five, he moved with his family to a rural area of

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

. He graduated from St. Louis Catholic High School in 1993 and left home when he was 17. He attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

on a visual arts scholarship, graduating with a BA in English and philosophy. He gave up writing following the death of a writing mentor and moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, where he worked as a bartender and

technical writer A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a vari ...

for four years. He later enrolled in an MFA program in Creative Writing at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, and received the Lily Peter Fellowship for poetry and Walton Fellowship in 2003. He graduated in 2005.

Career

Novels and short stories

Pizzolatto wrote two short stories when he was completing his MFA at the

– "Ghost-Birds" and "Between Here and the Yellow Sea" – which were sold to ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

''. In 2004, his work was among the finalists for the

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

in Fiction. His collection of short fiction ''Between Here and the Yellow Sea'' was long-listed for the 2006

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

and was also named one of the top five fiction debuts of the year by ''Poets & Writers Magazine''. He also received an honorable mention from the Pushcart Prize, and his short story "Wanted Man" is included in Best American Mystery Stories 2009. Pizzolatto's first novel, ''Galveston'', was published by

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjo ...

in June 2010. It was translated into many languages. In 2005, Pizzolatto was named one of ''

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'' ...

'' magazine's best new writers. In 2010, ''Galveston'' earned him the ''Prix du Premier Roman Étranger'', the French Academy's award for Best First Novel, Foreign. It was also a 2010

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

finalist for best first novel. ''Galveston'' also won third prize in the 2010 Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, and additionally won the 2011 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America.

Film and television

In 2011, Pizzolatto wrote two episodes for the first season of the crime drama television series '' The Killing''. He was dissatisfied by the dynamic between the showrunner and the writers of the show and remarked, "I want to be the guiding vision. I don't do well serving someone else's vision." He decided to leave the show after spending two weeks in the writers room on the show's second season. In 2012, Pizzolatto created an original television series called ''

'', which was sold to HBO and completed shooting in June 2013 with him as executive producer, sole writer, and showrunner. It premiered in January 2014, and became the most watched freshman show in the network's history. The show was critically acclaimed and was so popular the finale crashed HBO's

HBO Go HBO Go was an authenticated video-on-demand streaming service of the pay television network HBO. The service originally allowed subscribers to access HBO's on-demand programming via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media players, among ...

streaming service. Pizzolatto listed several influences on the show's first season: philosophy books such as

Thomas Ligotti Thomas Ligotti (born July 9, 1953) is an American horror author, lay philosopher, and writer. His writings are rooted in several literary genres – most prominently weird fiction – and have been described by critics as works of philosophical h ...

's '' The Conspiracy Against the Human Race'',

Eugene Thacker Eugene Thacker is an American author. He is a professor of media studies at The New School in New York City. His writing is associated with the philosophy of nihilism and pessimism. Thacker's books include ''In the Dust of This Planet'' (part ...

's ''In The Dust of This Planet'',

Ray Brassier Raymond Brassier (; born December 22, 1965) is a British philosopher. He is a member of the philosophy faculty at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, known for his work in philosophical realism. He was formerly Research Fellow at the Ce ...

's ''Nihil Unbound'', Jim Crawford's ''Confessions of an Antinatalist'', and

David Benatar David Benatar (; born 1966) is a South African philosopher, academic, and author. He is best known for his work in moral philosophy and for advancing the position of antinatalism, the view that coming into existence is a serious harm. He is th ...

's ''

Better Never to Have Been ''Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence'' is a 2006 book by South African philosopher David Benatar, in which he argues for antinatalism, the philosophical position that coming into existence is always a harm. Benatar defe ...

''. Pizzolatto also mentions horror authors Laird Barron, John Langan,

Simon Strantzas Simon Strantzas (born 1972) is a weird fiction author from Toronto, Canada. He has written five story collections and been nominated for a British Fantasy Award in 2009. He has also edited three anthologies including ''Aickman's Heirs'' which won ...

, and Ligotti. In August 2014, he was accused of plagiarizing the aforementioned sources. A new season of ''True Detective'' premiered on June 21, 2015, with Pizzolatto again writing/co-writing all the episodes. In late 2015, it was announced that Pizzolatto had signed a new deal with HBO through 2018. In August 2016, HBO announced a potential new series written by Pizzolatto and starring

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...

, centering on the character of investigative attorney

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

. On August 25, 2017, it was announced that Pizzolatto had dropped out of the production in order to focus on the third season of ''True Detective'' and that he was being replaced as the project's writer by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. Along with Richard Wenk, Pizzolatto co-wrote the screenplay for ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...

'' (2016), a remake of the period-piece western ''

'' (1960) (which was itself a western remake of

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

's 1954 film ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...

'').

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (; born May 30, 1965) is an American film director known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with '' The Replacement Killers''. His ...

directed, and the film, released on September 23, 2016, starred

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leona ...

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably '' Joint Security Area'' (2000); '' A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); '' The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' (2008) ...

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...

Peter Sarsgaard John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. He studied at the Actors Studio, before rising to prominence playing atypical and sometimes villainous roles in film and television. He made his film debut with '' Dead Man W ...

and others. Pizzolatto adapted his 2010 novel ''Galveston'' for the 2018 film of the same name; however, he requested to be credited under the pseudonym Jim Hammett following director

Mélanie Laurent Mélanie Laurent (; born 21 February 1983) is a French actress and filmmaker. She has received two César Awards and a Lumière Award. Internationally, Laurent is known for her roles in ''Inglourious Basterds'' (2009), '' Now You See Me'' (2013 ...

's contributions to the screenplay, despite not being formally engaged as a writer on the project, feeling the final script did not reflect his own. Producer Tyler Davidson confirmed the news to ''

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

'', saying, "My personal opinion is that Nic did not feel the final script reflected his work as the sole credited writer, and his representatives advised us to credit him with his pseudonym." In December 2018, Pizzolatto revealed that he had assisted ''

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...

'' creator

David Milch David Sanford Milch (born March 23, 1945) is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including ABC's ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–2005), co-created with Steven Bochco, and HBO's '' Deadwood'' (200 ...

in writing the screenplay for the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

. In return, Milch helped him with the third season of ''True Detective'' by co-writing the fourth episode as well as giving Pizzolatto advice on crafting the season. In April 2019, it was announced that Pizzolatto had written the screenplay for the film ''Ghost Army'' for

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. The film is to be headlined and directed by

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

. In January 2020, FX announced that Pizzolatto had signed an overall deal with the network, with the first project being the drama series ''Redeemer''. The following year, negotiations for an early termination of the deal were underway after the development of ''Redeemer'' was canceled. In April 2020, Pizzolatto said he was interested in writing a ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' film, saying: "Batman is the only character in the world I didn't create that I want a shot at. And he's the only piece of geek culture I have any affinity for." In March 2022, HBO announced that a fourth season of ''True Detective'' entered development, which would carry the subtitle ''Night Country'', a first for the series. The first episode would be written by

Issa López Issa López is a Mexican director, writer and producer. Twelve Spanish language features have been produced from her scripts, four of them directed by herself. She has won several literary awards, including the National Novel Award granted by Me ...

, who would also direct it. López would executive produce the season, alongside

Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film '' Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Inde ...

, Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak. In June 2022, HBO officially greenlit the season, with López serving as showrunner. Pizzolatto would remain as an executive producer, marking his first season without a writing credit. In March 2023, it was reported that Pizzolatto would be writing a Western series for

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

. Pizzolatto has said that the series "may be the most purely fun story I've ever written". The previous year he had said that "''The Grass Rifles'' is an original western TV series I've written two episodes of, along with a season-long outline. It's the most populist, funniest thing I've ever written. Also the most romantic..." A month later, it was announced the series was being "refashioned" into a television series adaptation of the 1960 film ''

''. In April 2023, Pizzolatto was hired to co-write the script for the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

film ''

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

'', currently set for release on November 7, 2025.

Other work

Pizzolatto taught fiction and literature as Kenan Visiting Writer (2005–2006) at

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, in 2008 at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and as assistant professor of English (2008–2012) at

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

. He moved to California to pursue a screenwriting career in 2010.

Personal life

Pizzolatto lives with his two daughters in

. He married musician Suzanne Santo in June 2022.

Filmography

Films

Television series

Writer

Publications

* Pizzolatto, Nic. 2003
"Ghost-Birds"
''

'' October 2003 issue. (short story). * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2004
"Between Here and The Yellow Sea"
''

'' November 2004 issue. (short story). * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2004
"1987, The Races".
''

The Missouri Review ''The Missouri Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1978 by the University of Missouri. It publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction quarterly. With its open submission policy, ''The Missouri Review'' receives 12,000 manuscrip ...

.'' 27, no. 1: 83–93. (short story) * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2005
"Haunted Earth".
''

The Iowa Review ''The Iowa Review'' is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews. History and profile Founded in 1970, ''Iowa Review'' is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Origi ...

.'' 35, no. 2: 14–24. (short story) * Pizzolatto, Nic.
Between Here and the Yellow Sea: Stories.
' San Francisco, CA: MacAdam/Cage, 2005. (a collection of 9 short stories) * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2009
"Graves of Light".
''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Bost ...

.'' 35, no. 4: 140–156. (short story) * Pizzolatto, Nic.
Galveston: A Novel.
' New York: Scribner, 2010.

Awards and nominations

The first two short stories Pizzolatto submitted sold simultaneously to ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

''. His collection of short fiction ''Between Here and the Yellow Sea'' was long-listed for the 2006

and named one of the top five fiction debuts of the year by ''Poets & Writers Magazine''. Pizzolatto was a finalist for the

for Fiction in 2004. His novel ''Galveston'' won third prize in the 2010 Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, and was a finalist for the 2010

for best first novel. It won the 2011 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America. In France, ''Galveston'' was awarded the ''

Prix du Premier Roman The Prix du Premier Roman (''First Novel Prize'') is a French literary prize awarded to an unpublished novelist between the ages of 18 and 30. The monetary reward is 3,000 Euros. The prize was first awarded in 1977. Starting with 1998 a separat ...

étranger'' (Best Foreign First Novel) for 2011, by a jury of literary critics. In 2015 it won Best Translated Crime Novel by the Swedish Crime Writers Academy. In the Netherlands ''Galveston'' won the 2016 De VN Thriller Award. For the

66th Primetime Emmy Awards The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in US prime time television programming from June 1, 2013, until May 31, 2014, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Monday, August 25, 2014, at the Peaco ...

, Pizzolatto was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "The Secret Fate of All Life". For the

67th Writers Guild of America Awards The 67th Writers Guild of America Awards honor the best film, television, radio and video-game writers of 2014. The nominations for television, new media, and radio categories were announced on December 4, 2014. The nominations for original, ad ...

, Pizzolatto and the series won for Best Drama Series and Best New Series. In 2015, Pizzolatto was nominated for a

Producers Guild of America Award Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes ...

for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama for ''True Detective''. In 2015, Pizzolatto was named British GQ Writer of the Year. Pizzolatto and ''True Detective'' won the 2015

British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme The British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme, or BAFTA TV Award for Best International, is an award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, according to BAFTA the category is for "a single programme or ...

Notes and references

External links

* *
Master class with Mr. True Detective (translation)Original, in Danish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzolatto, Nic 1975 births 21st-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American male short story writers American short story writers American television producers American television writers American writers of Italian descent DePauw University faculty Living people Louisiana State University alumni American male television writers American showrunners True Detective University of Arkansas alumni University of Chicago faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Writers from New Orleans Writers Guild of America Award winners Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Indiana Novelists from Louisiana 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers American television show creators Screenwriters from Louisiana Mass media people from New Orleans Acacia members