Production

John Wells

Born May 28, 1956 · Alexandria, Virginia, USA (age 70)

John Marcum Wells (born May 28, 1956) is an American theater and television producer, writer and director. He is best known for his role as executive producer and show runner of the television series ER, Third Watch, and The West Wing. His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California. Wells is also a labor leader, and was elected president of t…

Known For

The Peacemaker

The Peacemaker · 1997

MovieActionThriller

When a train carrying atomic warheads mysteriously crashes in the former Soviet Union, a nuclear specialist discovers the accident is really part of a plot to cover up the theft of the weapons. Assigned to help her recover the missing bombs is a crack Special Forces Colonel.

I'm Not There

I'm Not There · 2007

MovieDramaMusic

Six actors portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.

The Grey Zone

The Grey Zone · 2001

The story of Auschwitz's twelfth Sonderkommando — one of the thirteen consecutive "Special Squads" of Jewish prisoners placed by the Nazis in the excruciating moral dilemma of assisting in the extermination of fellow Jews in exchange for a few more months of life.

One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo · 2002

MovieDramaThriller

Sy Parrish has lovingly developed photographs for the Yorkin family since their son was a baby. But as the Yorkins' lives become fuller, Sy's only seems lonelier, until he eventually convinces himself he's part of their family. When Sy's picture-perfect fantasy collides with an ugly dose of reality, a bizarre and thrilling confrontation ensues.

August: Osage County

August: Osage County · 2013

August: Osage County

MovieComedyDrama

An intense look at the lives of the strong-willed daughters of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional mother who raised them.

A Dirty Shame

A Dirty Shame · 2004

MovieComedyFantasy

Sylvia Stickles runs a convenience store with her husband and mother-in-law. One day, Sylvia is hit on the head and transforms from an uptight prude to a sex-crazed lunatic. As she goes on a rampage through town, Sylvia attracts the attention of Ray Ray, a sexual healer and tow truck driver in search of the world's greatest orgasm. Their sexual revolution, however, causes a class war in their tiny Baltimore community.

Burnt

Adam Jones is a Chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars.

The Company Men

The Company Men · 2010

The Company Men

Bobby Walker lives the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and two co-workers jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.

Filmography

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The Peacemaker

The Peacemaker · 1997

MovieActionThriller

When a train carrying atomic warheads mysteriously crashes in the former Soviet Union, a nuclear specialist discovers the accident is really part of a plot to cover up the theft of the weapons. Assigned to help her recover the missing bombs is a crack Special Forces Colonel.

Co-Executive Producer

I'm Not There

I'm Not There · 2007

MovieDramaMusic

Six actors portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.

Executive Producer

The Grey Zone

The Grey Zone · 2001

The story of Auschwitz's twelfth Sonderkommando — one of the thirteen consecutive "Special Squads" of Jewish prisoners placed by the Nazis in the excruciating moral dilemma of assisting in the extermination of fellow Jews in exchange for a few more months of life.

Executive Producer

One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo · 2002

MovieDramaThriller

Sy Parrish has lovingly developed photographs for the Yorkin family since their son was a baby. But as the Yorkins' lives become fuller, Sy's only seems lonelier, until he eventually convinces himself he's part of their family. When Sy's picture-perfect fantasy collides with an ugly dose of reality, a bizarre and thrilling confrontation ensues.

Executive Producer

August: Osage County

August: Osage County · 2013

August: Osage County

MovieComedyDrama

An intense look at the lives of the strong-willed daughters of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional mother who raised them.

Director

A Dirty Shame

A Dirty Shame · 2004

MovieComedyFantasy

Sylvia Stickles runs a convenience store with her husband and mother-in-law. One day, Sylvia is hit on the head and transforms from an uptight prude to a sex-crazed lunatic. As she goes on a rampage through town, Sylvia attracts the attention of Ray Ray, a sexual healer and tow truck driver in search of the world's greatest orgasm. Their sexual revolution, however, causes a class war in their tiny Baltimore community.

Executive Producer

Burnt

Adam Jones is a Chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars.

Director

The Company Men

The Company Men · 2010

The Company Men

Bobby Walker lives the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and two co-workers jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.

Screenplay

Far from Heaven

Far from Heaven · 2002

Far from Heaven

MovieDramaRomance

In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife's life is upended by a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in society.

Executive Producer

Love & Mercy

Love & Mercy · 2015

MovieDramaMusic

In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the sway of a controlling therapist, he finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.

Producer

The Good Thief

The Good Thief · 2003

MovieCrimeDrama

An aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.

Producer

Doom

MovieActionHorror

A team of space marines known as the Rapid Response Tactical Squad, led by Sarge, is sent to a science facility on Mars after somebody reports a security breach. There, they learn that the alert came after a test subject, a mass murderer purposefully injected with alien DNA, broke free and began killing people. Dr. Grimm, who is related to team member Reaper, informs them all that the chromosome can mutate humans into monsters -- and is highly infectious.

Producer

Doom: Annihilation

Doom: Annihilation · 2019

Doom: Annihilation

MovieActionScience Fiction

A group of UAC Marines responds to a distress call from a top-secret scientific base on Phobos, a Martian moon, only to discover it's been overrun by demons.

Executive Producer

Then She Found Me

Then She Found Me · 2007

Then She Found Me

MovieComedyDrama

A New York schoolteacher experiences a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband leaves, her adoptive mother dies, and her biological mother, an eccentric talk show host, materializes and turns her life upside down as she begins a courtship with the father of one of her students.

Executive Producer

Cracks

MovieDramaMystery

Jealousy flares after the headmistress of an elite boarding school for girls becomes obsessed with a new student.

Executive Producer

White Oleander

White Oleander · 2002

A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.

Producer

Infamous

Infamous · 2006

MovieDramaCrime

While researching his book In Cold Blood, writer Truman Capote develops a close relationship with convicted murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.

Executive Producer

Goat

Reeling from a terrifying assault, a nineteen year old enrolls into college with his brother and pledges the same fraternity. What happens there, in the name of 'brotherhood,' tests him and his loyalty in brutal ways.

Executive Producer

Savage Grace

Savage Grace · 2007

This examination of a famous scandal from the 1970s explores the relationship between Barbara Baekeland and her only son, Antony. Barbara, a lonely social climber unhappily married to the wealthy but remote plastics heir Brooks Baekeland, dotes on Antony, who is homosexual. As Barbara tries to "cure" Antony of his sexuality -- sometimes by seducing him herself -- the groundwork is laid for a murderous tragedy.

Executive Producer

The Company

The Company · 2003

MovieRomanceMusic

Ensemble drama centered around a group of ballet dancers, with a focus on one young dancer who's poised to become a principal performer.

Executive Producer

Dirty Girl

Dirty Girl · 2010

MovieDramaComedy

Accompanied by her closeted gay buddy, a promiscuous teenager sets out to find her long-absent father.

Executive Producer

The Notorious Bettie Page

The Notorious Bettie Page · 2006

The Notorious Bettie Page

MovieComedyDrama

Bettie Page grew up in a conservative religious family in Tennessee and became a photo model sensation in 1950s New York. Bettie's legendary pin-up photos made her the target of a Senate investigation into pornography, and transformed her into an erotic icon who continues to enthrall fans to this day.

Executive Producer

Duma

MovieAdventureDrama

An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.

Producer

Electric Slide

Electric Slide · 2014

MovieActionCrime

A heightened homage to the City of Angels, Electric Slide riffs on the real-life story of Eddie Dodson, the notorious "Gentleman Bank Robber." With a debonair sophistication and a serious talent for flirt, Dodson managed to lure money from mesmerized female tellers at over 60 banks during an epic spree in the 1980s.

Executive Producer

Shameless

Shameless · 2011

SeriesDramaComedy

Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be... perhaps better off. When Frank's not at the bar spending what little money they have, he's passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.

Writer

The West Wing

The West Wing · 1999

The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.

Executive Producer

The Pitt

The Pitt · 2025

The staff of Pittsburgh's Trauma Medical Center work around the clock to save lives in an overcrowded and underfunded emergency department.

Executive Producer

ER explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its overburdened emergency room.

Writer

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom · 2016

SeriesCrimeDrama

17-year-old Joshua "J" Cody moves in with his freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. Headed by boot-tough matriarch Janine "Smurf" Cody and her right-hand Baz, who runs the business and calls the shots, the clan also consists of Pope, the oldest and most dangerous of the Cody boys; Craig, the tough and fearless middle son; and Deran, the troubled, suspicious "baby" of the family.

Director

Third Watch

Third Watch · 1999

SeriesDramaCrime

The exploits of a group of men and women who serve the City of New York as police officers, firemen, and paramedics, all working the same fictional 55th precinct during the 3pm to 11pm shift - the 'Third Watch'.

Director

UNTAMED

UNTAMED · 2025

SeriesMysteryDrama

In the vast expanse of Yosemite National Park, a woman's death draws a federal agent into lawless terrain — where nature obeys no rules but its own.

Executive Producer

Southland

Southland · 2009

A raw and authentic look into the Los Angeles crime scene, going far inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families. The show centers on four main characters: Officer John Cooper, a seasoned cop who will have to prove himself again after recovering from surgery; Officer Ben Sherman, who still has much to learn after recently completing his training rotation; Detective Lydia Adams, whose unending caseload hits closer to home; and Sammy Bryant, a former detective who decided to go back to being a uniform cop after the traumatic death of his partner.

Producer

Maid

After fleeing an abusive relationship, a young mother finds a job cleaning houses as she fights to provide for her child and build them a better future.

Executive Producer

China Beach

China Beach · 1988

SeriesDramaWar & Politics

Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes, dead and alive, try to make sense of life and death in between bourbon, bullets and battles.

Director

Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce · 2011

Mildred Pierce depicts an overprotective, self-sacrificing mother during the Great Depression who finds herself separated from her husband, opening a restaurant of her own and falling in love with a man, all the while trying to earn her spoiled, narcissistic daughter's love and respect.

Executive Producer

The Emperor of Ocean Park

The Emperor of Ocean Park · 2024

The Emperor of Ocean Park

SeriesDramaCrime

In the worlds of politics, academia, and the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard, Talcott Garland is an Ivy League law professor whose quiet life is shattered when his father, Judge Oliver Garland, dies of an apparent heart attack. The nature of the judge’s death is questioned by Tal’s sister, Mariah, a former journalist and inveterate conspiracy theorist, who believes that the judge, a failed Black nominee to the Supreme Court, met with foul play.

Executive Producer

Rescue: HI-Surf

Rescue: HI-Surf · 2024

Rescue: HI-Surf

SeriesAction & AdventureDrama

Follow the dedicated, heroic, and adrenaline-seeking lifeguards of the North Shore of O'ahu as they save people's lives in the difficult and often life-threatening conditions of Hawaii's Seven Mile Miracle.

Executive Producer

Presidio Med

Presidio Med · 2002

Presidio Med is an American medical drama that aired on CBS from September 2002, to January 2003. The series centers on a San Francisco hospital. It was created by John Wells and Lydia Woodward, who also created ER.

Writer

Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver's Travels · 1996

Gulliver's Travels

SeriesAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy

Dr. Gulliver has returned from his journey to his family after a long absence - and tells them the story of his travels.

Flimnap The Treasurer

Smith

SeriesDramaAction & Adventure

Though Bobby Stevens appears to be a regular family man with a nine-to-five job, he's actually an expert thief who is seeking a few last big jobs so he can finally leave the business for a comfortable, lawful lifestyle with his wife, Hope, and their two children. While they never discuss Bobby's illegal pursuits, Hope is growing weary of turning a blind eye.

Writer

Shameless Hall of Shame

Shameless Hall of Shame · 2020

Shameless Hall of Shame

Retrospective look at ten seasons of Gallagher trials and tribulations.

Creator

Unaccustomed Earth

Unaccustomed Earth · 2026

Unaccustomed Earth

When a health crisis forces a devoted mother and her family to return to the US, she confronts buried desires that upend her Indian American community.

Executive Producer

Angel Street

Angel Street · 1992

SeriesCrimeDrama

Angel Street is an American crime drama series broadcast on CBS from September 15—October 3, 1992. Starring Robin Givens and Pamela Gidley as two Chicago homicide detectives, the series was canceled after four episodes aired, leaving four unaired.

Writer

Citizen Baines

Citizen Baines · 2001

Writer