Matthew Weiner (born 1965)[1] is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He is the creator, executive producer, head writer, and show runner of the critically acclaimed AMC television series Mad Men. He is also noted for his work on the HBO series The Sopranos, on which he served as a writer and producer during the show's fifth and sixth seasons. Weiner has won two Emmy Awards.
Biography
Early life and education
Weiner was born in 1965 in Baltimore to a Jewish-American family and grew up in Los Angeles.[2] He enrolled in the College of Letters at Wesleyan University, studying literature, philosophy, and history and earned an MFA from the University of Southern California School of Cinema and Television.[3][4]
Career as screenwriter
Weiner began his screenwriting career as an uncredited joke-writer for the short-lived FOX sitcom Party Girl. He later went on to work as a writer and producer on The Naked Truth and Andy Richter Controls the Universe.[3][4] Weiner wrote the pilot of Mad Men in 2000 as a spec script while working as a staff writer on Becker. The Sopranos creator and executive producer David Chase offered Weiner a job as a staff writer on his show after reading the script and being impressed with it.[1]
Weiner served as a writer and producer on The Sopranos during its final three seasons. He wrote or co-wrote a dozen episodes, including the Emmy Award-nominated episodes "Unidentified Black Males" (co-written with Terence Winter) and "Kennedy and Heidi" (co-written with David Chase). He received two Emmy Awards as a producer of The Sopranos: one for the show's fifth season in 2004 and one for the second part of the show's sixth season in 2007.
After The Sopranos had finished its run, Weiner began looking for a network to produce Mad Men. He presented the show to HBO and Showtime; however, both networks passed on it.[2] He eventually pitched the series to AMC who had never produced an original television series; they picked up the show, ordering a full 13-episode season.[1] Weiner served as show runner, executive producer, and head writer of Mad Men for its first season, reportedly being very controlling and demanding. Weiner is credited with writing or co-writing seven episodes of the season and directing the first season finale, although he had a major role in the writing and directing of every episode.[2]
Mad Men received considerable critical acclaim and won two Golden Globes at the 65th Golden Globe Awards. Weiner and the writing staff won a WGA award for best new series and were nominated for the award for best dramatic series for their work on the season. Weiner was nominated twice for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series; once for the pilot "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and once for the first season finale "The Wheel". The season as a whole was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Series and several of the cast were also nominated.
The show's second season premiered on 27 July 2008.
Personal life
Weiner is married and has four sons. He currently resides in his native Los Angeles.[4] Weiner was a contestant on the quiz show Jeopardy!.[3]
References
External links
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