John Wells

John Marcum Wells (born May 28, 1956) is an American producer, writer, and director.

He is best known for his role as showrunner and executive producer of the television series ER, Third Watch, The West Wing, Southland, Shameless, Animal Kingdom, and American Woman, as well as the miniseries Maid and the upcoming series Rescue: HI-Surf.

His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California.

Wells graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 1979.

A studio theatre at Carnegie Mellon University bears his name.

While at CMU, he was one of the earliest actors to work at City Theatre, a prominent fixture of Pittsburgh theatre.

His company, John Wells Productions (originally John Wells & Friends), began a longstanding relationship with Warner Bros. in 1986, which was one of the most highly successful television producers in the world.

Wells was a producer on the 1987 film Nice Girls Don't Explode.

He joined the writing staff of the short-lived CBS drama series Shell Game in 1987.

He began writing for television with an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse entitled "Roughhouse" in 1988.

He was hired as a producer for the second season of ABC drama series China Beach in 1988.

The show was created by John Sacret Young and William Broyles, Jr. and focused on combat medics in the Vietnam War.

Wells wrote five episodes for the second season and both parts of the two-part season finale "The World".

He was promoted to supervising producer for the third season of China Beach in 1989.

He wrote three further episodes for that season.

He returned as a co-executive producer for the fourth and final season in 1990.

He was involved in writing eleven episodes in season four, including the series finale.

Wells wrote sixteen episodes of the series in total.

He frequently worked with producer/director Mimi Leder on China Beach and she helmed six of the episodes he wrote.

China Beach also marked the start of Wells's working relationship with casting director John Frank Levey, editors Randy Jon Morgan and Jacque Toberen and directors Rod Holcomb and Fred Gerber.

Wells worked on two television films in 1992 Angel Street and The Nightman.

Wells co-wrote and was the co-executive producer of The Nightman.

The film was directed by Charles Haid and is about a young man moving into a hotel run by a mother and daughter.

Wells helped to adapt the teleplay from the radio drama by Lucille Fletcher.

Angel Street was written and executive produced by Wells.

It reunited him with several China Beach crew members including director Rod Holcomb, editor Jacque Toberen, and casting director John Frank Levey.

The telefilm was followed by a series on which Wells again worked as an executive producer.

In 1994 Wells was hired as an executive producer for the pilot of NBC medical drama ER.

The show was created by novelist Michael Crichton.

The pilot episode was directed by frequent Wells collaborator Rod Holcomb and John Frank Levey was involved as a casting director.

The pilot was edited by frequent China Beach editor Randy Jon Morgan.

Wells became the show runner and head writer for the ongoing series that followed the pilot.

He was credited as an executive producer for all fifteen seasons of the series and served as the show runner for the first six seasons.

He hired China Beach writer Lydia Woodward as a supervising producer and writer.

Wells also wrote the screenplay for Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story, the project was produced in 1996 and starred Martin Sheen and Moira Kelly.

Wells is also a labor leader, having served as president of the Writers Guild of America, West from 1999 to 2001 and from 2009 to 2011.

Wells serves on the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Board of Governors.

In 2011, he developed the series Shameless on Showtime, which ran for eleven seasons ending in 2021.

Wells was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Marjorie Elizabeth (née Risberg) and Llewellyn Wallace Wells, Jr., an Episcopalian minister.

He has English, Irish, Scottish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry.