RESCUE: HI-SURF
JOHN WELLS
Executive Producer/Director,
John Wells is one of the most prolific writers, directors and producers in television and film. Over the past three decades, Wells has been a creative force behind some of primetime's biggest hit series, including ER, The West Wing, Third Watch and Shameless. Up next, he will produce and direct Rescue: HI-Surf, a lifeguard drama for FOX. Other upcoming projects include The Pitt starring Noah Wyle, Emperor of Ocean Park starring Forest Whitaker, Untamed starring Eric Bana, and Just Cause, a limited series starring Scarlett Johansson. He previously served as Executive Producer on the drama series Animal Kingdom; Emmy®- nominated Shameless, which ran for eleven seasons; the critically acclaimed Southland; the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning Mildred Pierce; and the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning China Beach. He also executive produced and directed Maid, the wildly successful series adaptation of Stephanie Land’s best-selling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive starring Margaret Qualley.
Shows produced by John Wells have received over 300 Emmy nominations with 65 Emmy wins, and 6 Peabody Awards. During its fifteen-year run, ER earned 124 Emmy nominations, the most in television history. In 2017, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. A seven-time Writers Guild Award nominee, in 2007, Wells received the WGA's prestigious Paddy Chayefsky Television Laurel Award, given to writers who have advanced the literature of television and made outstanding contributions to the profession of television writers. In 2005, Wells was awarded the David Susskind Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America.
Wells served as President of the Writers Guild of America West from 2009-2011 and previously served as its President from 1999-2001.
He directed Burnt featuring Bradley Cooper and helmed the acclaimed August: Osage County, based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film featured an all-star ensemble cast led by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts and was nominated for two Academy Awards®. Wells also wrote and directed The Company Men, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper, which was his feature directorial debut. Previous feature production credits include Peter Kominsky's White Oleander and Michael Mayer's A Home at the End of the World. Additionally, Wells executive produced Todd Haynes' Far from Heaven and I'm Not There; Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo; Fenton Bailey's Party Monster; Robert Altman's The Company; John Waters' A Dirty Shame; and Phyllis Nagy's Mrs. Harris.
Born in Alexandria, Virginia, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Wells graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He later earned a master’s degree in film and television at the University of Southern California, where he serves on the School of Cinematic Arts’ Television Executive Advisory Council and has lent his name to the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television.
Cast Photos
Bio
John Wells is one of the most prolific writers, directors and producers in television and film. Over the past three decades, Wells has been a creative force behind some of primetime's biggest hit series, including ER, The West Wing, Third Watch and Shameless. Up next, he will produce and direct Rescue: HI-Surf, a lifeguard drama for FOX. Other upcoming projects include The Pitt starring Noah Wyle, Emperor of Ocean Park starring Forest Whitaker, Untamed starring Eric Bana, and Just Cause, a limited series starring Scarlett Johansson. He previously served as Executive Producer on the drama series Animal Kingdom; Emmy®- nominated Shameless, which ran for eleven seasons; the critically acclaimed Southland; the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning Mildred Pierce; and the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning China Beach. He also executive produced and directed Maid, the wildly successful series adaptation of Stephanie Land’s best-selling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive starring Margaret Qualley.
Shows produced by John Wells have received over 300 Emmy nominations with 65 Emmy wins, and 6 Peabody Awards. During its fifteen-year run, ER earned 124 Emmy nominations, the most in television history. In 2017, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. A seven-time Writers Guild Award nominee, in 2007, Wells received the WGA's prestigious Paddy Chayefsky Television Laurel Award, given to writers who have advanced the literature of television and made outstanding contributions to the profession of television writers. In 2005, Wells was awarded the David Susskind Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America.
Wells served as President of the Writers Guild of America West from 2009-2011 and previously served as its President from 1999-2001.
He directed Burnt featuring Bradley Cooper and helmed the acclaimed August: Osage County, based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film featured an all-star ensemble cast led by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts and was nominated for two Academy Awards®. Wells also wrote and directed The Company Men, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper, which was his feature directorial debut. Previous feature production credits include Peter Kominsky's White Oleander and Michael Mayer's A Home at the End of the World. Additionally, Wells executive produced Todd Haynes' Far from Heaven and I'm Not There; Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo; Fenton Bailey's Party Monster; Robert Altman's The Company; John Waters' A Dirty Shame; and Phyllis Nagy's Mrs. Harris.
Born in Alexandria, Virginia, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Wells graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He later earned a master’s degree in film and television at the University of Southern California, where he serves on the School of Cinematic Arts’ Television Executive Advisory Council and has lent his name to the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television.