Todd A. Kessler (born 1972) is an American

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Career

Kessler wrote and produced the second and third seasons of

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 ...

's ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'',

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

's ''

Robbery Homicide Division The Special Investigation Section (SIS), unofficially nicknamed the "Death Squad", is the tactical detective and surveillance unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). It is organized under the Robbery–Homicide Division (RHD), a divis ...

'' and the first season of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

''. Kessler began his career as a playwright working with

David Rabe David William Rabe (born March 10, 1940) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1972 ('' Sticks and Bones'') and also received Tony Award nominations for Best Play in 1974 ('' In the Boom Boom Room''), ...

, moving into film and television when

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

hired him as a screenwriter. Kessler is credited with co-writing (with David Chase) the Sopranos season 2 finale ''Funhouse --'' widely lauded as one of the best episodes of the series. Despite his success on ''The Sopranos'', HBO did not retain Kessler beyond season 3, an experience Kessler described as "painful and formative." Kessler and Sopranos actor

James Gandolfini James John Gandolfini (; September 18, 1961June 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007 ...

became close friends during Kessler's time writing for the show. He is the co-creator and

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

of the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

award-winning FX

drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular su ...

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

'' along with his older brother, Glenn Kessler, and

Daniel Zelman Daniel Luke Zelman (born June 16, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television producer, and director. Early life and education Zelman was born in New York (state), New York. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Harvard University in ...

. He also has a small role in ''Damages'' as Perry the Doorman. In 2015, his

Kyle Chandler Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965) is an American actor. He received critical acclaim for his performance as Eric Taylor in the NBC series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011), winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding L ...

-led

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

'' premiered. In 2016 it was cancelled, and ended its run after its third season in 2017.

Education

After graduating from

Cranbrook Kingswood School Kingswood School is a private day and boarding school in Bath, Somerset, England. The school is coeducational and educates over 1,000 pupils aged 9 months to 18 years. It was founded by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in 1748, and is the ...

, Kessler graduated magna cum laude from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a degree in dramatic literature and playwriting, and has twice been a visiting artist at Harvard, teaching screenwriting seminars.

Awards and nominations

Kessler has been nominated for several Primetime

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

. Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and

were nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for their work on the ''Damages'' pilot episode "Get Me A Lawyer". Kessler has been nominated for five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

Filmography

References

External links

*
''Damages'' official website containing Todd A. Kessler biographyInterview with Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman at ''TV Guide''
American television directors American television writers American male television writers Damages (TV series) Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1972 births American showrunners Harvard University alumni Cranbrook Educational Community alumni Television producers from Michigan {{US-tv-writer-stub