Steven Canals

Steven Canals (born September 14, 1980)

Early life and education Canals grew up in the Housing Projects in Castle Hill, Bronx. He began practicing filmmaking at the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice after school program. He co-produced his first documentary about gang violence with other classmates when he was 15.

Canals graduated with a BA in cinema and MA in student affairs from Binghamton University in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Canals received his MFA in screenwriting from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2015. Allegheny College appointed Canals as associate director for gender and sexual orientation initiatives in June 2011.

Canals developed the pilot script for television show Pose while studying at UCLA in 2014. He however found it difficult to get the script developed as industry executives found the subject matter about LGBT people of color and ball culture to be "too niche". Ryan Murphy, co-creator of Glee and American Horror Story, would later come on as a producer in 2016, along with his producing partner Brad Falchuk. The first season premiered in June 2018 on FX.

Personal life Canals is openly queer.

He is of African American and Puerto Rican heritage.

Filmography Year Title Credited as Notes Director Writer Producer 2016 Dead of Summer Co-wrote "The Devil Inside" with Richard Naing 2018–2021 Pose Co-creator, directed 5 episodes and wrote 15 2022 Love, Victor Episode: "The Setup"2023 Class of '09 2 episodes Neon 2 episodes2024 American Sports Story 2 episodes The Sex Lives of College Girls Episode: "Halloween & Oat Milk" 2025 Doctor Odyssey Episode: "Spring Break"