Rob Thomas (writer)
Encyclopedia
Rob Thomas is an American author, producer, and screenwriter
, best known as the author of the 1996 novel Rats Saw God
and creator of the critically acclaimed television programs Veronica Mars
and Party Down
.
in 1983 and went to Texas Christian University
on a football
scholarship. He eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Austin
in 1987 with a BA in History.
Before he began writing novels for young adults, Thomas taught high-school journalism
at John Marshall High School in San Antonio
, Texas
, and advised the University of Texas at Austin student magazine. From August 1993 to June 1995 he worked for Channel One News
, an experience which informed his 1998 novel Satellite Down. Thomas was a member of three Austin, Texas
bands — Public Bulletin, Hey Zeus, and Black Irish — from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.
's Space Ghost Coast to Coast
. He next wrote the script that would eventually become the 1999 film Fortune Cookie. Based on the script, he was offered a job on the writing staff of Dawson's Creek
during the show's first season. After reading the same script, then-president of Sony Entertainment Jeff Sagansky suggested Thomas create a romantic comedy pilot. That show soon developed into Cupid, a critically acclaimed 1998 dramedy series canceled after 14 episodes in 1999. This led to Thomas being asked to run ABC
's 1999 series Snoops, although he left due to creative differences with David E. Kelley
before the show aired. After Snoops, Thomas got pilot orders for his U.S. adaptation of the British Metropolis and original script The Sticks, but neither went to series.
Thomas got his second show picked up in 2004 — the critically successful but again low-rated Veronica Mars
, which battled low ratings until it was canceled after the third season in 2007. He was offered the showrunner position on NBC
's Friday Night Lights
in 2006, which he declined in favor of the possibility (and eventual reality) of a third season of Veronica Mars. Thomas was also offered and declined CBS
's Viva Laughlin
in 2007; he joined ABC's Miss/Guided in May 2007 before leaving in July of the same year, again due to creative differences.
Thomas worked as a writer on ABC's short-lived primetime series Big Shots
from 2007 to 2008, co-wrote and shot the comedy pilot Party Down
(aired by Starz in 2009, ran for two seasons), and had three pilots ordered for the 2008-2009 television season: a remake of Cupid
for ABC, that was picked up to air midseason but soon canceled; Good Behavior, a U.S. adaptation of New Zealand series Outrageous Fortune
also for ABC although it never aired, and a modern spinoff
of Beverly Hills, 90210
for The CW, which he departed early in favor of his other projects. As of February 2009, according to Entertainment Weekly
, Thomas has fueled rumors of a possible Veronica Mars
film. According to a June 28, 2011 article by Kate Stanhope at TV Guide
, Thomas told a group at a Party Down reunion in Texas the preceding weekend that "People are talking to us about doing a Party Down movie, and we are pretty far down the deal-making process with that," and that such a project might shoot in the spring of 2012.
On June 30, 2010, he told Kristin Dos Santos at E! Online that he was "writing a drama pilot set in the world of corporate espionage for Showtime." On January 19, 2011, Thomas revealed the series had not been picked up. On August 25, 2010, Variety
reported that NBC has ordered a pilot of a new sitcom, to be called Temp, for which Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Jon Enbom would be executive producers. On February 10, however, Thomas tweeted: "NBC passed on TEMP, unfortunately. Said it skewed 'too young.'" On January 18, 2011, Thomas tweeted that Fox has ordered his half-hour single-camera pilot, to be called Little in Common. According to an August 25, 2011 article in The Hollywood Reporter
, Little in Common, having failed to receive a pickup for the fall, "is being retooled" and may be broadcast Tuesday nights starting midseason. An October 17, 2011 item at Deadline.com
, however, revealed that Fox has decided not to air the show. In a wide-ranging interview with Austinist published soon afterward, Thomas discussed the situation, saying, "we really thought this one was going on the air. So it was both surprising and disappointing that it didn't." Thomas has also adapted the screenplay for Drive Me Crazy
, and directed On Air, a twenty-minute film adaptation of a story from Doing Time.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, best known as the author of the 1996 novel Rats Saw God
Rats Saw God
Rats Saw God is a young adult novel written by Rob Thomas, published in 1996. It follows the main character Steve York, the son of an astronaut. Steve is a high school student who has had issues with marijuana and has found himself in the counselors office. The counselor tells him that he is...
and creator of the critically acclaimed television programs Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
and Party Down
Party Down
Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...
.
Education and early career
Thomas graduated from San Marcos High SchoolSan Marcos High School
San Marcos High School is a public high school located near the Southern California city of Santa Barbara, United States. It is under the governance of the Santa Barbara School Districts, and has an enrollment of approximately 2200 students in Grades 9-12. San Marcos High School was founded in...
in 1983 and went to Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
on a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
scholarship. He eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in 1987 with a BA in History.
Before he began writing novels for young adults, Thomas taught high-school journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
at John Marshall High School in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and advised the University of Texas at Austin student magazine. From August 1993 to June 1995 he worked for Channel One News
Channel One News
Channel One News is a 12 minute news program for teens broadcast via satellite to middle schools and high schools across the United States. Channel One is owned by Alloy Media + Marketing and based in New York City.-Program History:...
, an experience which informed his 1998 novel Satellite Down. Thomas was a member of three Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
bands — Public Bulletin, Hey Zeus, and Black Irish — from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.
Entertainment career
Thomas's first television writing credit came on a 1996 episode of Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
. He next wrote the script that would eventually become the 1999 film Fortune Cookie. Based on the script, he was offered a job on the writing staff of Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
during the show's first season. After reading the same script, then-president of Sony Entertainment Jeff Sagansky suggested Thomas create a romantic comedy pilot. That show soon developed into Cupid, a critically acclaimed 1998 dramedy series canceled after 14 episodes in 1999. This led to Thomas being asked to run ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 1999 series Snoops, although he left due to creative differences with David E. Kelley
David E. Kelley
David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
before the show aired. After Snoops, Thomas got pilot orders for his U.S. adaptation of the British Metropolis and original script The Sticks, but neither went to series.
Thomas got his second show picked up in 2004 — the critically successful but again low-rated Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
, which battled low ratings until it was canceled after the third season in 2007. He was offered the showrunner position on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
in 2006, which he declined in favor of the possibility (and eventual reality) of a third season of Veronica Mars. Thomas was also offered and declined CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Viva Laughlin
Viva Laughlin
Viva Laughlin is an American musical–dramedy series adapted by Bob Lowry and Peter Bowker from the popular BBC British serial, Blackpool. They also served as executive producers alongside Hugh Jackman, John Palermo, Paul Telegdy and Gabriele Muccino. The latter also directed the pilot...
in 2007; he joined ABC's Miss/Guided in May 2007 before leaving in July of the same year, again due to creative differences.
Thomas worked as a writer on ABC's short-lived primetime series Big Shots
Big Shots (TV series)
Big Shots is an American television drama created and executive produced by Jon Harmon Feldman. The pilot was directed by Charles McDougall.-History:...
from 2007 to 2008, co-wrote and shot the comedy pilot Party Down
Party Down
Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...
(aired by Starz in 2009, ran for two seasons), and had three pilots ordered for the 2008-2009 television season: a remake of Cupid
Cupid (2009 TV series)
Cupid is a television series that premiered on ABC on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:02 PM Eastern/9:02 PM Central. The series is a revival of sorts of the network's 1998 series of the same name, changing its primary setting from Chicago to New York City....
for ABC, that was picked up to air midseason but soon canceled; Good Behavior, a U.S. adaptation of New Zealand series Outrageous Fortune
Outrageous Fortune (TV series)
Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures...
also for ABC although it never aired, and a modern spinoff
90210 (TV series)
90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
of Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
for The CW, which he departed early in favor of his other projects. As of February 2009, according to Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, Thomas has fueled rumors of a possible Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
film. According to a June 28, 2011 article by Kate Stanhope at TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, Thomas told a group at a Party Down reunion in Texas the preceding weekend that "People are talking to us about doing a Party Down movie, and we are pretty far down the deal-making process with that," and that such a project might shoot in the spring of 2012.
On June 30, 2010, he told Kristin Dos Santos at E! Online that he was "writing a drama pilot set in the world of corporate espionage for Showtime." On January 19, 2011, Thomas revealed the series had not been picked up. On August 25, 2010, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that NBC has ordered a pilot of a new sitcom, to be called Temp, for which Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Jon Enbom would be executive producers. On February 10, however, Thomas tweeted: "NBC passed on TEMP, unfortunately. Said it skewed 'too young.'" On January 18, 2011, Thomas tweeted that Fox has ordered his half-hour single-camera pilot, to be called Little in Common. According to an August 25, 2011 article in The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
, Little in Common, having failed to receive a pickup for the fall, "is being retooled" and may be broadcast Tuesday nights starting midseason. An October 17, 2011 item at Deadline.com
Deadline.com
Deadline.com, part of Jay Penske's PMC, is an online magazine, founded and edited by Nikki Finke.-Publication:The site is updated several times a day, with the infotainment industry as its focus.-History:...
, however, revealed that Fox has decided not to air the show. In a wide-ranging interview with Austinist published soon afterward, Thomas discussed the situation, saying, "we really thought this one was going on the air. So it was both surprising and disappointing that it didn't." Thomas has also adapted the screenplay for Drive Me Crazy
Drive Me Crazy
-Tracklisting:# " Crazy " - Britney Spears# "Unforgetful You" - Jars of Clay# "I Want It That Way " - Backstreet Boys# "It's All Been Done" - Barenaked Ladies# "Stranded" - Plumb...
, and directed On Air, a twenty-minute film adaptation of a story from Doing Time.
Books
- Green ThumbGreen ThumbGreen Thumb is a young-adult novel by Rob Thomas, creator of the television series Veronica Mars. It was published in 1999-Plot summary:...
(1999) (ISBN 0-689-82886-1) - Satellite Down (1998) (ISBN 0-689-83052-1)
- Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad (1997) (ISBN 0-689-82414-9)
- Slave Day (1997) (ISBN 0-689-82193-X)
- Rats Saw GodRats Saw GodRats Saw God is a young adult novel written by Rob Thomas, published in 1996. It follows the main character Steve York, the son of an astronaut. Steve is a high school student who has had issues with marijuana and has found himself in the counselors office. The counselor tells him that he is...
(1996) (ISBN 0-689-80777-5)
Television programs
- Good Behavior (writer, executive producer)
- Space Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
(1996) (writer, episode Explode) - Dawson's CreekDawson's CreekDawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
(1998) (writer, season one, episodes Prelude to a Kiss aka Kiss and In the Company of Men aka Roadtrip) - Cupid (1998) (creator, writer, executive producer)
- Veronica MarsVeronica MarsVeronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
(2004) (creator, writer, executive producer, director) - 90210 (TV series)90210 (TV series)90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
(2008) (creator, writer) - CupidCupid (2009 TV series)Cupid is a television series that premiered on ABC on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:02 PM Eastern/9:02 PM Central. The series is a revival of sorts of the network's 1998 series of the same name, changing its primary setting from Chicago to New York City....
(2009) (creator, writer, executive producer) - Party DownParty DownParty Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...
(2009) (creator, writer, executive producer) - Plymouth Rock (2010) (creator, writer, executive producer) - (Not picked up)
External links
- Slaverats.com, Thomas' official site
- Extensive public radio interview on The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
- PopGurls Interview: Rob Thomas
- IFMagazine: Mars Movie?
- Interview on Script magazine's The TV Writer Podcast