Garrett Lerner

Garrett Lerner and his writing partner Russel Friend originally turned down a job offer from the creators of the medical drama "House M.D." in order to focus on "LAX," an airport-set series which unfortunately lasted for only eight episodes. It was a career move that could have proved fatal. But the two writer/producers were lucky enough to be asked back when "House" was picked up for a second season and, this time, they did not balk. They have been executive producers for 64 of the show's episodes and writers for 16 of them. Lerner came into the business as a writer, getting work on the L.A.P.D.-focused "Martial Law" in 1998. After gigs on the Las Vegas action drama "The Strip" and the sci-fi/horror show "Freaky Links," he began producing as well as writing for "Roswell," a series about aliens living among us, in 2001. This led to increasingly more challenging TV work throughout the 2000s on the mysterious sci-fi actioner "John Doe," the chaotic students-and-faculty dramedy "Boston Public," the failed "LAX," and ultimately the Sherlock-Holmes-inspired "House M.D.." Lerner has also branched out into feature film work, penning the screenplay for 2010's wild organ-repossession romp "Repo Men." Lerner dedicates much of his time raising money to combat spinal muscular atrophy, of which his son Zeke is a sufferer.