John Wells (TV producer)

John Wells
Wells at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, January 2012
Born	John Marcum Wells (1956-05-28) May 28, 1956 (age 60) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Director, producer, writer
Years active	1987–present

John Marcum Wells (born May 28, 1956) is an American theater, film and television producer, writer and director.

He is best known for his role as executive producer and showrunner of the television series ER, Third Watch, The West Wing, Southland, and Shameless. 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 the Writers Guild of America, West in 2009, after serving a prior term in that office from 1999 to 2001.

Wells was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Marjorie Elizabeth (née Risberg) and Llewellyn Wallace Wells, Jr., an Episcopalian minister. He has English, Irish, Scottish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry. Wells graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 1979. A studio theatre at Carnegie Mellon University bears his name. While at CMU, he was one of the earliest actors to work at City Theatre, a prominent fixture of Pittsburgh theatre.

Wells was a producer on the 1987 film Nice Girls Don't Explode. He joined the writing staff of the short-lived CBS drama series, Shell Game in 1987. He began writing for television with an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse entitled "Roughhouse" in 1988.

He was hired as a producer for the second season of ABC drama series China Beach in 1988. The show was created by John Sacret Young and William Broyles, Jr. and focused on combat medics in the Vietnam war. Wells wrote five episodes for the first season – "X-Mas Chn. Bch. VN, '67", "Tet '68", "Vets" and both parts of the two-part season finale "The World".