Frank Spotnitz

Born in Japan in 1960, Frank Spotnitz attended UCLA and edited the college newspaper, the Daily Bruin. He began working as a writer for the Asssociated Press, UPI, and Entertainment Weekly, before deciding he'd had enough of journalism and moved to Los Angeles where he received an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Spotnitz had met writer Chris Carter upon his return to Los Angeles, and it was that relationship that led to his first professional screenwriting job, as a Story Editor on season one of "The X-Files" (Fox, 1993-2002). He worked on the show for eight of its nine seasons, writing, or co-writing more than forty episodes. During the life of the show, Spotnitz became head of Carter's production company. In that capacity, he wrote and executive produced "Millennium" (Fox, 1996-1999), "Harsh Realm" (Fox, 1999; FX, 1999), and the X-Files spin off "The Lone Gunmen" (Fox, 2001) all with Carter as Executive Producer. Spotnitz continued to have success once he and Carter went separate ways. His first series as creator "Night Stalker" (ABC, 2005-2006) a reboot of the classic "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (ABC, 1974-1975). Although that show didn't last beyond its first season, Spotnitz was not deterred, and returned to Executive Produce and write scripts for a number of action series, including "Strike Back" (Cinemax, 2011-2015), "Hunted" (Cinemax, 2012), and "Transporter: The Series" (TNT, 2014). In 2015, to much critical acclaim, Amazon premiered "The Man in the High Castle," created and written by Spotnitz, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick.