John Wells

Born 1956 · American producer, writer and director

John Marcum Wells is an American producer, writer, and director. He is best known for his role as showrunner and executive producer of the television series ER, Third Watch, The West Wing, Southland, Shameless, Animal Kingdom, The Pitt, and American Woman, as well as the miniseries Maid and the 2024 series Rescue: HI-Surf. He was the developer of the series Shameless, which ran for 11 seasons, from 2011 to 2021, on Showtime. His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California. He served twice as president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and currently serves on the board of governors of the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF).

John Wells, in order

1. 1967 Casino Royale: acted · directed by John Huston and Joseph McGrath · critics 28%, audiences 33% · streaming on Prime Video
2. 1967 The Bobo: acted · directed by Robert Parrish
3. 1981 For Your Eyes Only: acted · directed by John Glen
4. 1994–2009 ER (TV series): directed, wrote · audiences 87% · streaming on Hulu, HBO Max
5. 1996 Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story: wrote · directed by Michael Ray Rhodes
6. 1999 Third Watch (TV series): created
7. 2002 Presidio Med (TV series): created · directed by Christopher Chulack and Nelson McCormick
8. 2002 The Good Thief: produced · directed by Neil Jordan
9. 2002 White Oleander: produced · directed by Peter Kosminsky · critics 67%, audiences 81%
10. 2003 Party Monster: produced · directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato
11. 2003–06 The West Wing (TV series): wrote · directed by Alex Graves and Christopher Misiano · critics 81%, audiences 95% · streaming on Netflix, HBO Max
12. 2004 A Home at the End of the World: produced · directed by Michael Mayer
13. 2005 Doom: produced · directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak · critics 18%, audiences 34% · streaming on Starz
14. 2005 Duma: produced · directed by Carroll Ballard
15. 2005 The Notorious Bettie Page: produced · directed by Mary Harron
16. 2006 Infamous: produced · directed by Douglas McGrath · critics 75%, audiences 69%
17. 2006 Smith (TV series): created
18. 2010 The Company Men: directed, wrote, produced
19. 2013 August: Osage County: directed · critics 67%, audiences 65% · streaming on Prime Video, Philo, Roku Channel
20. 2014 Love and Mercy: produced · directed by Bill Pohlad · critics 90%, audiences 85% · streaming on Prime Video, Roku Channel, Kanopy
21. 2015 Burnt: directed, produced
22. 2018 American Woman (TV series): created
23. 2020 Shameless (TV series): directed, wrote, produced
24. 2025 The Pitt (TV series): directed