Tyler Bensinger

After graduating from Yale and earning his MFA at the University of California, Los Angeles, Film School, Tyler Bensinger began working as a writer, executive producer, and showrunner on a number of television programs. His first notable credit was as director and writer of the spicy independent drama "Just Looking" of 1995, starring James LeGros and Michelle Forbes as a married couple struggling to reignite the passion in their marriage. The film failed to ignite Bensinger's directing career, but more writing work followed, including working on the NBC suspense show "The Pretender" and several episodes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" during its last two seasons. He became a writer and producer on the short-lived "L.A. Dragnet" in 2003, a revamped version of the classic Jack Webb cop show, though this time it was produced by Dick Wolf. His most notable work, however, was as an executive producer and writer on the CBS police procedural "Cold Case," which he was part of for three seasons. After leaving the show, he became the showrunner, along with Stephen DeKnight, of "Viva Laughlin," a hybrid musical/comedy remake of the British show "Blackpool." The show was canceled after only two episodes. Toward the end of the '00s, he also worked on the drama "Parenthood" and the short-lived horror/mystery series "Harper's Island."