Brad Falchuk
Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating with Ryan Murphy the television series Glee, American Horror Story, Scream Queens, and Pose. He was also a writer and executive producer for Nip/Tuck and is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Brad Falchuk | |
|---|---|
Falchuk in July 2011 | |
| Born | Bradley Douglas Falchuk March 1, 1971 Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Hobart College (BA) American Film Institute (MFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Notable work | Glee American Horror Story Scream Queens Pose |
| Spouse(s) | Suzanne Bukinik (m. 2002; div. 2013) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
Falchuk was born in Massachusetts to Jewish parents. His mother is Nancy Falchuk, the national president of the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America from 2007[1] to 2011.[citation needed] In high school, he tried to stand out from his classmates by wearing a tie to school each day.[2] He also played baseball, basketball and lacrosse. He said, "I was always trying to look smart because I didn't feel smart"; he actually had undiagnosed dyslexia.[2] He graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1993.[3]
He received his master's in screenwriting from AFI Conservatory.[2][4]
Career
Beginnings and Glee
Falchuk's career in television began as a writer for Mutant X (2001), Earth: Final Conflict (2001–02) and Veritas: The Quest (2003), before he was hired to work on the first season of Nip/Tuck in 2003. While working on Nip/Tuck, he formed a close bond and partnership with the show's creator, Ryan Murphy. Falchuk and Murphy went on to write a television pilot titled Pretty/Handsome, about a transgender gynecologist, which the FX network bought in 2008. However, the pilot was not picked up as a series.[2]
As Nip/Tuck neared its sixth and final season, Falchuk and Murphy began to look for their next project, and decided to focus on a lighter subject. They teamed up with Ian Brennan, who had written a screenplay about high school show choirs, to pitch a one-hour comedy about a glee club to the Fox Broadcasting Company. Their pitch was successful and turned into the television show Glee, which premiered in 2009.[2] Falchuk, Murphy and Brennan received two Writers Guild of America Award nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best New Series.[5]
After the early success of Glee, Falchuk signed a two-year, seven-figure deal with 20th Century Fox Television which involved further work on Glee as well as the development of other projects for the studio. Glee concluded following its sixth season, which aired from January 9 to March 20, 2015.[citation needed]
Anthology series and Scream Queens
In 2011, Falchuk co-created the FX horror-drama anthology series American Horror Story with previous collaborator Ryan Murphy. The first season, starring Jessica Lange, Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott, premiered October 5, 2011, and received critical acclaim; the series was nominated for 17 Primetime Emmy Awards in 2012, and 15 Primetime Emmys in 2013, with Falchuk nominated for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie both years. In 2014, the show was once again nominated for 17 Primetime Emmy Awards, with Falchuk nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special.[6]
Falchuk is an executive producer on American Crime Story with Ryan Murphy, which began airing on February 2, 2016.[7] Falchuk, Murphy and Brennan also created Fox's horror comedy series Scream Queens, which ran from September 2015 to December 2016,[8] and starred Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer and Jamie Lee Curtis.[9][10] The first season was set on a college campus.
In March 2019, Falchuk signed a four-year overall deal with Netflix through his Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision production company to "develop, write, produce, and direct new series".[11][4]
Personal life
In 1997, as a student at the American Film Institute, Falchuk co-founded the arts education nonprofit Young Storytellers with Mikkel Bondesen and Andrew Barrett, in response to cutbacks in funding for creative arts programs in Los Angeles Unified School District.[12] As of 2017[update], Falchuk served on the Young Storytellers advisory board of directors.[13]
Falchuk's brother, Evan Falchuk, founded the United Independent Party and was a candidate for governor in the 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.[14][15] In 2008, Falchuk was diagnosed by his father and brother's medical consulting firm as having a serious problem with his spinal cord. After undergoing emergency spinal surgery, he made a full recovery, and his experience inspired parts of the Glee episode "Wheels".[2]
Falchuk's first wife was television producer Suzanne Bukinik, whom he began dating in 1994. The couple were married in 2002 and had two children. They filed for divorce in 2013.[16]
Falchuk had met actress Gwyneth Paltrow on the set of Glee in 2010, and they began dating in 2014 when his first marriage ended. The couple went public with their relationship in April 2015 at a birthday party after months of speculation.[17] On January 8, 2018, Paltrow and Falchuk announced they had become engaged.[18] Their wedding was held on September 29, 2018, in The Hamptons on Long Island.[19][20]
Falchuk and Paltrow practice Transcendental Meditation together.[21]
Credits
Writer/producer
- Mutant X (2001)
- Earth: Final Conflict (2001–2002)
- Nip/Tuck (2004–2010)
- Glee (2009–2015)
- American Horror Story (2011–present)
- Scream Queens (2015–2016)
- American Crime Story (2017–present)
- 9-1-1 (2018–present)
- Pose (2018–2021)
- The Politician (2019–2020)
- 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020–present)
- American Horror Stories (2021–present)
- The Brothers Sun (2023)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | AFI Awards | TV Program of the Year | Glee (with Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan) | Won |
| 2011 | Won | |||
| 2011 | British Academy Television Awards | Best International | Nominated | |
| 2011 | National Television Awards | Digital Choice | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Glee (with Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Bradley Buecker, Alexis Martin Woodall and Kenneth J. Silverstein) | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Glee (with Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Bradley Buecker, Alexis Martin Woodall, Kenneth J. Silverstein and Michael Novick) | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | American Horror Story: Coven (with Ryan Murphy for the episode "Bitchcraft") | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Outstanding Miniseries or Movie | American Horror Story: Asylum (with Ryan Murphy, Dante Di Loreto, Tim Minear, Jennifer Salt, James Wong, Jessica Sharzer, Bradley Buecker, Alexis Martin Woodall and Chip Vucelich) | Nominated | |
| 2014 | American Horror Story: Coven (with Ryan Murphy, Dante Di Loreto, Bradley Buecker, Alexis Martin Woodall and Chip Vucelich) | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Outstanding Drama Series | Pose (with Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Sherry Marsh, Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Our Lady J, Tanase Popa, Lou Eyrich, Jeff Dickerson, Todd Nenninger and Kip Davis Myers) | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Pose (with Steven Canals, Our Lady J, Janet Mock, and Ryan Murphy for the episode "Series Finale") | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Producers Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy | Glee (with Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Ryan Murphy and Kenneth J. Silverstein) | Nominated |
| 2012 | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | American Horror Story: Asylum (with Bradley Buecker, Dante Di Loreto, Alexis Martin Woodall, Ryan Murphy and Chip Vucelich) | Nominated | |
| 2014 | American Horror Story: Coven (with Bradley Buecker, Dante Di Loreto, Ryan Murphy, Chip Vucelich and Alexis Martin Woodall) | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | TV Quick Awards | Best New Drama | Glee (with Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan) | Won |
| 2011 | Best Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Writers Guild of America Awards | New Series | Nominated | |
| Comedy Series | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Nominated | |||
| 2020 | Valentine Davies Award |
References
- ^ Breger, Sarah (September–October 2010). . Moment Magazine. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Weiss, Joanna (August 30, 2009). "Welcome to the club". The Boston Globe. from the original on September 2, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
Falchuk, 38....
- ^ "Falchuk '93 Wins Golden Globe with Glee!". Hobart and William Smith Colleges. January 19, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
- ^ a b "Television Writer-Director-Producer Brad Falchuk to Receive WGAW'S 2020 Valentine Davies Award". www.wga.org. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
- ^ McNary, Dave (December 14, 2009). "WGA announces TV noms". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ^ O'Neal, Sean (February 7, 2011). "Ryan Murphy developing secret horror series at FX". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Daley, Megan (November 12, 2015). "FX announces premiere dates for American Crime Story and more". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- ^ "Ryan Murphy & His 'Glee' Co-Creators Get Fox Series Order For Comedy-Horror Anthology 'Scream Queens'". Deadline. October 20, 2014.
- ^ "Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis join Ryan Murphy's 'Scream Queens'". Entertainment Weekly. December 8, 2014.
- ^ . TV by the Numbers. January 17, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2019-03-26). "Brad Falchuk Inks Mega Overall Deal With Netflix". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
- ^ Flynn, Kathleen (2003-09-03). "Pros Have Supporting Roles in Scriptwriting Sessions". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
- ^ . Young Storytellers. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
- ^ Rachel Zimmerman (February 25, 2013). "Another Healthcare Leader Eyes Mass. Governor's Seat". WBUR. Boston University. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
- ^ Silver, Curtis (December 7, 2009). . Wired. Archived from the original on December 25, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ^ David, Mark (November 18, 2014). "Brad Falchuk Picks Up Pad on Las Tunas Beach (Exclusive)". Variety. from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
Falchuk and his ex-wife, producer Suzanne Bukinik...
- ^ "Gwyneth Paltrow, Brad Falchuk Debut Romance at Robert Downey Jr.'s Star-Studded 50th Birthday Party". Us Weekly. April 6, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ Reed, Sam (January 8, 2018). "Gwyneth Paltrow Confirms Engagement with Goop Magazine Cover". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "How Gwyneth Paltrow Is Prepping for Her Wedding to Brad Falchuk". Us Weekly. 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (June 9, 2019). "Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk Have 'Ideal' Marriage Where They Don't Live Together". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ^ "Gwyneth Paltrow and Husband Brad Falchuk Meditate Together Every Morning".
- ^ "Television Writer-Director-Producer Brad Falchuk to Receive WGAW'S 2020 Valentine Davies Award". www.wga.org. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
External links
- Brad Falchuk at IMDb