Joshua Safran
Alma materNew York University
Occupations
  • Producer
  • screenwriter
Notable workSoundtrack, Quantico, Gossip Girl and Smash

Joshua Safran is an American television screenwriter and executive producer.

Education

Safran attended the Horace Mann School prior to graduating from NYU Tisch with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in playwriting.[1] He has stated he is Jewish.[2]

Career

Safran was an executive producer and writer on The CW television series Gossip Girl and was the executive producer and showrunner for the second season of the NBC television series Smash.[3] He shared writing credits with director Shana Feste for the screenplay of the 2014 remake of the 1981 film Endless Love.[4]

Safran was the creator, executive producer and showrunner (seasons one and two) of the ABC thriller drama series Quantico.[5][6] Recently, he was credited as the creator, executive producer and showrunner for the Netflix musical television series Soundtrack.[7][8]

He is set to create, executive produce and showrun the 2021 sequel series Gossip Girl for HBO Max.[9] Safran is developing an untitled ghost drama for AMC with Annapurna Television.[10]

Personal life

Safran is openly gay.[11]

Filmography

Film

Title Year Credited as Notes
Writer Director Producer
Endless Love 2014 Yes No No

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Title Year Credited as Network Notes
Creator Director Writer Executive
Producer
Gossip Girl 2007–12 No No Yes (18) Yes The CW Consulting producer (2007–08: 18 episodes), co-executive producer (2008–10: 21 episodes), executive producer (2010–12: 46 episodes)
Smash 2013 No No Yes (3) Yes NBC executive producer and showrunner (Season 2: 15 episodes)
Quantico 2015–18 Yes No Yes (7) Yes ABC executive producer and showrunner (Seasons 1–2: 44 episodes), consultant (Season 3: 13 episodes)
Soundtrack 2019 Yes Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes Netflix executive producer and showrunner
Gossip Girl 2021 Yes Yes (3) Yes Yes HBO Max executive producer and showrunner.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Kenneth (January 21, 2013). "Stage to Screens: Joshua Safran, the new storyteller of 'Smash', talks about Season 2". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  2. ^ Li, Shirley (November 6, 2016). "Quantico postmortem: Showrunner talks THAT bloody departure, the twins' latest switch". EW.com.
  3. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (April 24, 2012). "'Smash' Taps 'Gossip Girl's' Josh Safran as New Showrunner". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  4. ^ "Universal Sets Apropos Release Date For 'Endless Love' Remake". Deadline Hollywood. PMC. May 21, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  5. ^ "Josh Safran, Mark Gordon Team for Quantico Drama at ABC (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. September 17, 2014.
  6. ^ "'Quantico' Renewed For Season 3 By ABC, Josh Safran Steps Down As Showrunner". Deadline. May 15, 2017.
  7. ^ "'Mixtape': Netflix Picks Up Fox Musical Drama Pilot To Series". Deadline Hollywood. July 2, 2018.
  8. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (October 31, 2019). "Soundtrack: Jenna Dewan Music Drama Gets December Premiere Date at Netflix". TVLine. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  9. ^ Bastidas, Jose (July 26, 2019). "'Gossip Girl' Creator Reveals HBO Max's Version Will Be More a 'Continuation' Than Reboot". Pop Culture. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "'Quantico' Creator Sets Music Show at Fox, Ghost Drama at AMC (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. October 27, 2017.
  11. ^ Kinane, Ruth (June 15, 2021). "Gossip Girl executive producer Joshua Safran on how his characters represent parts of his coming-out journey". Entertainment Weekly.

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