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Tim Minear

b. 1963

American screenwriter and director (born 1963)

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About Tim Minear

Born 1963. Tim Minear is an American screenwriter, television director, film director, writer, executive producer and showrunner, known for American Horror Story, Angel (1999 TV series) and Firefly (TV series).

Timothy P. Minear (; born October 29, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He has been nominated for four Emmy Awards (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017) for his role as an executive producer on American Horror Story and Feud.

Life and career Minear was born in New York City, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach.

Minear was an assistant director on the film Platoon, and wrote episodes for several television series including The X-Files, Zorro, and Lois and Clark. He later wrote, executive-produced, and directed episodes of Strange World, Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, and The Inside (which he also created, with Howard Gordon).

Minear had another series, Drive, airing on Fox in April 2007; however' it was cancelled by the network after only four episodes. Drive was set to return with two additional episodes on July 4, 2007, but these were rescheduled to July 13 and then cancelled. This continued his tradition of short-lived work on Fox.

Tim Minear has worked on several shows that have lasted for only one season, including Strange World, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside, Drive, Terriers, and The Chicago Code. After nearly a decade of writing, and producing TV shows which lasted for a single season, the streak came to an end when he was hired to write and produce for Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story. Because of all of the shows he has written and produced that lasted for only one season, he took the Twitter handle "@CancelledAgain" to mark his status as a writer/producer who was consistently in search of more work.

Minear often works with Joss Whedon, and his work is typically characterized by a sharp, black humour and an ability to portray characters who are sympathetic and understandable, but morally ambiguous. Minear wrote the key episodes of Angel Season Two.

In 2004, Minear stated that he was hired to write a screenplay of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.

In 2007, he received a pilot commitment from ABC for Miracle Man, a drama series for which the company engaged in a bidding war with Fox Broadcasting Company. The series was being produced by 20th Century Fox Television, with which Minear had signed in an overall deal. Minear, since 2011, when American Horror Story (AHS) debuted, has been an executive producer for multiple successful shows for 20th Century Fox Television. These successful shows include AHS, as well as two shows Minear co-created, and showruns, 9-1-1, and its spin-off 9-1-1: Lone Star. All of these shows were co-created with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. In 2018, his ReamWorks company signed a new Fox deal. Minear signed this deal to make sure the shows he had co-created at Fox with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk would remain under their creative control, as Murphy had just recently left Fox to produce shows for Netflix.

Credits

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman 4x05 "Brutal Youth" (writer) 4x11 "'Twas the Night Before Mxymas" (writer) 4x14 "Meet John Doe" (writer) 4x20 "I've Got You Under My Skin" (writer) The X-Files 5x08 "Kitsunegari" (co-writer) 5x16 "Mind's Eye" (writer) Strange World 1x02 "Lullaby" (writer) 1x04 "Spirit Falls" (co-writer) Angel 1x06 "Sense & Sensitivity" (writer) 1x09 "Hero" (co-writer) 1x11 "Somnambulist" (writer) 1x15 "The Prodigal" (writer) 1x19 "Sanctuary" (co-writer) 2x02 "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" (writer) 2x07 "Darla" (writer/director) 2x09 "The Trial" (co-writer) 2x10 "Reunion" (co-writer) 2x15 "Reprise" (writer) 2x16 "Epiphany" (writer) 2x21 "Through The Looking Glass" (writer/director) 3x03 "That Old Gang of Mine" (writer) 3x06 "Billy" (co-writer) 3x09 "Lullaby" (writer/director) 3x14 "Couplet" (co-writer/director) 3x20 "A New World" (director) 3x21 "Benediction" (writer/director) 4x22 "Home" (writer/director) Firefly 1x02 "The Train Job" (co-writer) 1x03 "Bushwhacked" (writer/director) 1x08 "Out of Gas" (writer) 1x12 "The Message" (co-writer/director) Wonderfalls 1x02 "Karma Chameleon" (writer) 1x07 "Barrel Bear" (unaired) (co-writer) The Inside 1x01 "New Girl In Town" (teleplay & story/director) 1x06 "Thief of Hearts" (co-writer) 1x10 "Little Girl Lost" (unaired in US, UK Airdate 03/17/2006) (co-writer) 1x13 "Skin and Bone" (unaired) (story) Drive 1x00 "Unaired Pilot" (co-writer) 1x01 "The Starting Line" (co-writer) 1x02 "Partners" (co-writer) Dollhouse 1x05 "True Believer" (writer) 1x12 "Omega" (writer/director) 2x03 "Belle Chose" (writer) 2x11 "Getting Closer" (writer/director) Terriers 1x11 "Sins of the Past" (writer) The Chicago Code 1x04 "Cabrini-Green" (co-writer) American Horror Story 1x05 "Halloween (Part 2)" (writer) 1x11 "Birth" (writer) 2x01 "Welcome to Briarcliff" (writer) 2x07 "Dark Cousin" (writer) 2x13 "Madness Ends" (writer) 3x02 "Boy Parts" (writer) 3x09 "Head" (writer) 4x02 "Massacres and Matinees" (writer) 5x02 "Chutes and Ladders" (writer) 6x02 "Chapter 2" (writer) 6x09 "Chapter 9" (writer) 7x02 "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (writer) 7x11 "Great Again" (writer) 8x04 "Could It Be... Satan?" (writer) 9x02 "Mr. Jingles" (writer) Feud: Bette and Joan 1x02 "The Other Woman" (co-writer) 1x03 "Mommie Dearest" (writer) 1x04 "More, or Less" (co-writer) 1x06 "Hagsploitation" (co-writer, director) 9-1-1 1x01 "Pilot" (co-writer) 1x02 "Let Go" (co-writer) 1x10 "A Whole New You" (co-writer) 2x01 "Under Pressure" (co-writer) 2x03 "Help Is Not Coming" (co-writer) 2x11 "New Beginnings" (co-writer) 2x18 "This Life We Choose" (writer) 5x01 "Panic" (co-writer) 7x01 "Abandon Ship" (writer) 7x06 "There Goes The Groom" (co-writer) 7x08 "Step Nine" (co-writer) 8x02 "When the Boeing Gets Tough..." (co-writer) 8x03 "Final Approach" (co-writer) 8x09 "Sob Stories" (co-writer) 8x16 "The Last Alarm" (co-writer) 9x03 "The Sky Is Falling" (co-writer) 9x04 "Reentry" (co-writer) 9x13 "Mother's Boy" (writer) 9-1-1: Lone Star 1x01 "Pilot" (writer) 3x01 "The Big Chill" (writer) 3x03 "Stock & Thaw" (writer)

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Known for
American Horror Story, Angel (1999 TV series), Firefly (TV series), Lois and Clark
Education
California State University, Long Beach, Whittier Christian High School

People in Tim Minear's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Tim Minear's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Tim Minear?

American screenwriter and director (born 1963)

When was Tim Minear born?

Tim Minear was born on 29 October 1963 in New York City.

What is Tim Minear's occupation?

Tim Minear is a screenwriter, television director, film director, writer, executive producer and showrunner.

What is Tim Minear known for?

Tim Minear is known for American Horror Story, Angel (1999 TV series), Firefly (TV series) and Lois and Clark.

What nationality is Tim Minear?

Tim Minear is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Tim Minear

· Wikidata: Q526218

· DBpedia: Tim Minear

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Tim Minear. https://biography.guide/tim-minear/

MLA: "Tim Minear." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/tim-minear/.

Chicago: "Tim Minear." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/tim-minear/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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