John McNamara (born April 2, 1962) is an American writer, producer, showrunner and television creator. He attended East Grand Rapids High School located in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. While at NYU, he wrote two children's books published by Delacorte Press and a teleplay for the CBS Afternoon Playhouse.

Career

He is co-creator of a short-lived

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

called ''

Profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

'' which ran on the Fox network in April 1996, as well as '' Vengeance Unlimited'' for ABC in 1998 and '' Fastlane'' for Fox in 2002. Although he had a contract with Warner Bros. Television, he collaborated with

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...

and Robert Tapert of

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...

via Renaissance Pictures to make ''

Spy Game ''Spy Game'' is a 2001 action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and written by Michael Frost Beckner and David Arata. The film stars Robert Redford and Brad Pitt as CIA operatives entangled in a covert rescue mission during the final day ...

'' for ABC. In 1998, his McNamara Paper Products company signed an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. Television to develop scripted programming. McNamara went on to executive produce several other television shows, including '' The Fugitive'' (a remake from 2000 to 2001 season) and ''

Eyes An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

''. After nearly a decade working at Warner Bros., he moved to CBS Paramount Television in 2006 for a two-year overall deal. In 2007, he served a stint as Consulting Producer on the series ''Jericho''. In 2010, McNamara joined the production of '' In Plain Sight'' as Executive Producer for Season 3. McNamara was the supervising producer for 23 episodes of the TV show '' Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. He worked on the NBC show '' Aquarius'' that stars

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He received his breakthrough with the role of Fox Mulder in The X-Files franchise, earning Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

and on the Syfy series '' The Magicians'' based on the bestselling Lev Grossman novel of the same name. McNamara wrote and co-produced the feature film '' Trumbo,'' for which

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor. After taking minor roles in television, he established himself as a leading actor in both comedic and dramatic Bryan Cranston filmography, works on stage and screen. He has received ...

was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, as Dalton Trumbo, one of The Hollywood Ten blacklisted screenwriters. The film, directed by

Jay Roach Mathew Jay Roach (born June 14, 1957) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Austin Powers (film series), ''Austin Powers'' film series, ''Meet the Parents'', ''Dinner for Schmucks'', ''The Campaign (film), The Campaign'', ...

, was released on November 6, 2015.

Awards and honors

His play ''Present Tense'' won the first annual Young Playwrights' competition and was then produced off-Broadway. ''Trumbo'' was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and McNamara was awarded the WGAW's Paul Selvin Award in 2016 which honors writers whose work “embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil right liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.”

Filmography

As a TV producer

*'' Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon'' (1989, ABC) (co-producer) *'' The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'' (FOX, 1993) (Producer) *'' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (ABC, 1993–1997) (Supervising Producer) *''

'' (FOX, 1996–1997) (Executive Producer) *''

'' (ABC, 1997) (Executive Producer) *'' Vengeance Unlimited'' (ABC, 1998) (Executive Producer) *'' The Fugitive'' (USA, 2000–2001) (Executive Producer) *'' Fastlane'' (FOX, 2002–2003) (Executive Producer) *''

'' (ABC, 2005) (Executive Producer) *''

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

'' (USA, 2006) (Executive Producer) *''Them'' (FOX, 2007) (Executive Producer) *''

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

'' (CBS, 2008) (Consulting Producer) *'' The Philanthropist'' (NBC, 2009) (Consulting Producer) *'' In Plain Sight'' (USA, 2010) (Executive Producer) *'' Prime Suspect'' (NBC, 2011–2012) (Executive Producer) *''

Common Law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

'' (USA, 2012) (Consulting Producer) *'' The Magicians'' (Syfy, 2015) (Executive Producer) *'' Aquarius'' (NBC, 2015–2016) (Creator, Executive Producer)

As a TV writer

*'' CBS Afternoon Playhouse'' (1983, CBS) *''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology series, anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onwa ...

'' (1987, ABC) *'' Save the Dog!'' (1988, USA) *'' Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon'' (1989, ABC) *'' The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'' (FOX, 1993) *'' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (ABC, 1993–1997) *''

'' (FOX, 1996–1997) *''

'' (ABC, 1997) *'' Vengeance Unlimited'' (ABC, 1998) *'' The Fugitive'' (USA, 2000–2001) *'' Fastlane'' (FOX, 2002–2003) *''

'' (ABC, 2005–2007) *''Them'' (FOX, 2007) *'' The Philanthropist'' (NBC, 2009) *'' In Plain Sight'' (USA, 2010) *'' Prime Suspect'' (NBC, 2011–2012) *''

'' (USA, 2012) *'' The Magicians'' (Syfy, 2015) *'' Aquarius'' (NBC, 2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, John 1962 births Living people American male television writers American television writers People from East Grand Rapids, Michigan American television show creators University of Michigan alumni Writers from Michigan