Gillian Horvath (born April 12, 1966) is a television writer and producer in the United States and Canada.
Background
Horvath was born and raised in New York City
Her mother was a social worker;
her father, producer/director Imre Horvath,
was an editor and documentary producer at
CBS News.
Horvath attended
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
, where she graduated ''cum laude'' from the film studies program.
While attending Yale, she also held internships at
NBC Entertainment
NBCUniversal Television and Streaming is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2003 to 2019.
History NBC Broadcasting
In ...
and
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...
.
Career
Horvath's first story made it to television in 1989. In 1993, she joined the team of the
''Highlander'' TV series. She spent four seasons with the series, first as script coordinator and later as associate creative consultant, and she had a hand in creating some of the show's most enduring characters (including
Adam Pierson and
Alexa Bond).
Horvath oversaw Highlander's tie-in novels and other ancillary products, and represented the series at media conventions around the world.
She also edited (and contributed to) ''An Evening at Joe's'', a collection of stories written by the cast and crew of the series.
Horvath has since served as writer-producer on a number of sci-fi and action shows, including ''
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...
'' and ''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' ad ...
''. Her other notable TV writing credits include scripts for ''
Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''
Forever Knight
''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a ho ...
'', ''
Quantum Leap
''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a ph ...
'', and the original ''
Beverly Hills, 90210
''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran ...
''.
During the
2007-08 WGA Strike, Horvath founded the Pink Hat Brigade, a group of female science-fiction and genre writers. Her original superhero creation, The Survivor, was introduced in the ''Chicks in Capes'' anthology of female superheroes written by women authors, published by
Moonstone Books in 2011.
In 2012, Horvath developed and executive produced ''
Primeval: New World'', the North American spin-off of the UK hit series ''
Primeval''. She appeared as herself in the 2013 film ''FANomenon''. From 2015-2016, Horvath was co-executive producer on the final season of ''
Beauty & the Beast'' for
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
.
Writing credits
Television
*''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two Me ...
'' (1989)
*''
Quantum Leap
''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a ph ...
'' (1992)
*''
Beverly Hills, 90210
''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran ...
'' (1993)
*''
Forever Knight
''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a ho ...
'' (1994-1996)
*''
Diagnosis: Murder'' (1996)
*''
Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Sch ...
'' (1997)
*''
Xena: Warrior Princess'' (1998)
*''
Shadow Raiders
''Shadow Raiders'' is a Canadian animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and syndicated by The Summit Media Group, that aired from September 16, 1998, to June 23, 1999. The show was loosely based on the Trendmasters toy ...
'' (1999)
*''
Queen of Swords'' (2001)
*''
MythQuest'' (2001)
*''
Beastmaster'' (2002)
*''
Adventure Inc.'' (2002-2003)
*''
Largo Winch
''Largo Winch'' is a Belgian comic book series by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme, published by Dupuis. It started as a series of novels by Van Hamme in the late 1970s, but stopped due to a lack of success and the huge amount of work Van Hamm ...
'' (2003)
*''
Andromeda'' (2004-2005)
*''
Young Blades
''Young Blades'' is a 13-episode historical fantasy television series that aired on PAX TV from January to June 2005, inspired by Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers''. Thirteen episodes were made before cancellation.
Plot
Set in ...
'' (2005)
*''
Painkiller Jane
Painkiller Jane is a fictional superhero created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the Punisher, Vampirel ...
'' (2007)
*''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' ad ...
'' (2007-2008)
*''
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...
'' (2010-2011)
*''
The Haunting Hour: The Series'' (2011-2012)
*''
Primeval: New World'' (2012-2013)
*''
Olympus'' (2015)
*''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...
'' (2015-2016)
Film
*''
Highlander: Endgame'' (2000)
*''
On the Other Hand, Death
''On the Other Hand, Death'' is a 2008 gay-themed mystery film. It is the third film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey. The film was screened at several LGBT film festivals, including the New Y ...
'' (2008)
Awards
Horvath's episode of ''
Beverly Hills, 90210
''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran ...
'', "Perfectly Perfect", earned the 1993
Scott Newman Drug Abuse Prevention Award for its depiction of diet-pill abuse.
Her 2008 detective feature, ''
On the Other Hand, Death
''On the Other Hand, Death'' is a 2008 gay-themed mystery film. It is the third film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey. The film was screened at several LGBT film festivals, including the New Y ...
'', was nominated for a 2009
GLAAD Media Award
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT) community and the issues that affect their l ...
for Outstanding Television Movie. Her script "The Book of Ruth" was recognized as one of 2019's top television pilot scripts on WeForShe's 5th annual WriteHer List.
References
External links
*
* Interview a
Pink Raygun.com
* "Meet Gillian Horvath" a
Wendy D Photography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, Gillian
American women television writers
American television writers
American television producers
American women television producers
Canadian television writers
Canadian television producers
Yale University alumni
Living people
1966 births
21st-century American women writers
Canadian women television writers
Canadian women television producers