Erik Oleson is an American

television writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and producer. He is best known for being the

Showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...

and Executive Producer of the second season of Amazon Prime Video's ''

Carnival Row ''Carnival Row'' is an American neo-noir fantasy television series created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, based on Beacham's unproduced film spec script, ''A Killing on Carnival Row''. The series stars Orlando Bloom, Cara Delevingne, ...

'', and the critically acclaimed third and final season of Marvel’s ''Daredevil'' on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

. He also served as Head Writer and Executive Producer of the second season of Amazon’s original series ''

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 bet ...

'', which garnered Oleson a USC Scripter Award Nomination in 2017.

Early life

Oleson grew up in

Clifton, Virginia Clifton is an incorporated town located in southwestern Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 282 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 185 at the 2000 census. Incorporated by the General Assembly on March 9, 190 ...

and is the son of Peter C. Oleson, a former Assistant Director of the

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and th ...

. Growing up the son of an intelligence official had a profound impact on the types of stories Oleson would go on to write. Oleson got his first real break at age 13, when James L. Brooks' '' Broadcast News'' filmed on location in his Virginia hometown. He snuck onto the set and the crew, taken by his enthusiasm for filmmaking, made him a set mascot. Oleson then went on to work on the production crews of numerous feature films as well as being a working commercials director while attending the film program at NYU’s

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

, from which he graduated in 1995.

Career

Prior to breaking in as a writer, Oleson was a professional reader for luminaries including Kathleen Kennedy,

Chris Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer born in Genoa, Italy. Christopher Columbus or Chris Columbus may also refer to: People * Chris Columbus (musician) (1902–2002), American jazz drummer * Chris Columbus (filmmaker) (born 1958), American dire ...

and

Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg (; born December 21, 1950) is an American filmmaker, animator, and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and ...

. His first writing credit was on the Canadian/American drama '' Andromeda''. Oleson went on to write for such series as '' The Agency'', ''

Jack & Bobby ''Jack & Bobby'' is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti, Vanessa Taylor, Steven A. Cohen, and Brad Meltzer. It aired on The WB from September 12, 2004, to May 11, 2005. The series’ title is a reference to real-life pol ...

'', '' E-Ring'', ''Kings'', '' Chase'', '' The Mob Doctor'', ''Crisis'', ''

Unforgettable Unforgettable may refer to: Film * ''Unforgettable'' (1996 film), a thriller starring Ray Liotta * ''Unforgettable'' (2014 film), a Bollywood film * ''Unforgettable'' (2016 film), a South Korean film * ''Unforgettable'' (2017 film), an America ...

,'' ''Arrow'', and ''

''.

''Daredevil''

In October 2017, it was reported that Oleson would serve as the showrunner for season 3 of '' Daredevil''. The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported a 97% "certified fresh" approval rating based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. Oleson was working on the show's fourth season before its abrupt cancellation.

''Carnival Row''

In October 2019, it was announced that Oleson would be stepping in as showrunner and executive producer of the second season of ''

,'' set to premiere on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service p ...

February 17, 2023.

''CrimeThink''

In March 2022, Deadline announced that Oleson launched his own production company, CrimeThink, with executive Paul Shapiro serving as Head of Content for the company.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleson, Erik American television writers American male television writers American television producers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)