Shawn Ryan

Did You Know?

• Ryan was born in Rockford, Illinois, to a schoolteacher mother and a CPA father.
• He graduated from Middlebury College in 1988.
• He was nominated for a Humanitas Prize (Children's Animation) for Life with Louie in 1998.

Career

Ryan entered television after winning the Norman Lear Playwriting award from Columbia Pictures Television, which included a $25,000 cash gift and meetings with top producers. He later worked as a staff writer on Nash Bridges and as a writer/producer on Angel before creating and head writing The Shield. He partnered with David Mamet as showrunner for The Unit. In 2009, he was set to executive produce the CBS pilot Confessions of a Contractor, based on Richard Murphy's book, but the production was halted due to casting issues. He served as showrunner for season 2 of Fox's Lie to Me and was showrunner and executive producer for FX's Terriers. Ryan created The Chicago Code and, in 2012, his pilot Last Resort was picked up by ABC; the network decided not to order a full season, and the final episode was reworked as a series finale. In January 2013, CBS picked up Beverly Hills Cop, a procedural pilot written and executive produced by Ryan, centered on Foley's son Aaron; Barry Sonnenfeld directed, but CBS declined to pick up the series in May 2013.