Neal Baer

Neal Baer (born 1955) is an American pediatrician and television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the television shows Designated Survivor, ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Early life and education

Baer was born in 1955. His father, Sylvan, was a surgeon and his mother was very active politically. He graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 1973 and later graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in political science from Colorado College. Baer attended the AFI Conservatory as a directing fellow in 1983. He received the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Scholarship from the American Medical Association as the most outstanding medical student who has contributed to promoting a better understanding of medicine in the media.

Television career

Baer began his work in television by writing and directing an ABC Afterschool Special entitled "Private Affairs". where he mentions writing and selling a script for "a TV show for kids."

Baer was hired by writer and producer John Wells to write for drama series China Beach. The series focused on nurses in Vietnam and Baer was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay in Episodic Drama his work on the episode "Warriors".

Baer has written the pilot episode of two unproduced television series; The Edge for CBS and Outreach for the WB Network. In 2015, he co-wrote along Marc Cherry and Dan Truly the pilot episode of the comedy crime series Cheerleader Death Squad.

Fox has purchased Baer's show The Beast for the 2017–2018 season. The show, to be written by Baer and Dawn DeNoon and produced by 20th Century Fox Television in association with Baer Bones, will be a medical drama in which the main character has a clinical fear of death.

In 2018, it was announced that Baer was hired as the showrunner for the third season of the political thriller drama series Designated Survivor. The third season which consists of 10 episodes, premiered on Netflix on June 7, 2019.

Film career A documentary film co-produced by Baer and Christine O'Malley and directed by Patrick Creadon, If You Build It, shows a year in the life of an innovative school in Bertie County, North Carolina. Facing a bleak economic future in the county, Bertie Public Schools Superintendent Chip Zullinger invites Emily Pilloton and Matt Miller to create a high school shop class for the 21st century. Their hope is that people's lives are changed due to great design. The film is part of the Art, Architecture, and Design series at the Newport Beach Film Festival in Newport Beach, CA. The film was released on 6 April 2013.

Personal life Baer lives in Los Angeles in the Hollywood Hills West neighborhood. In a July 2014 blog for The Huffington Post, Baer publicly acknowledged that he is gay.

Filmography

Writer

Director

Producer