Steve Blackman is a Canadian television screenwriter, and executive producer.[1] He is the showrunnerofThe Umbrella Academy, a Netflix series based on the comic series by Gerard Way.[2] In 2016, Blackman won a Writers Guild of America Award for the second season of Fargo along with his fellow writers.[3] In 2017, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Fargo along with other producers.[4]
Steve Blackman
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Blackman in 2011
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Nationality | Canadian, American |
Occupation(s) | Television writer, television director[citation needed], television producer, showrunner |
Years active | 1999–present |
Known for | The Umbrella Academy Fargo Altered Carbon |
Blackman grew up in Edmonton, Canada. As a law student at the University of Alberta in 1996, he founded Law Show, an annual stage production written and performed by law students. As of 2018, it has raised over $300,000 for local charities. He also attended high school in Edmonton, Canada, at Ross Sheppard High School.[5]
After his show The Umbrella Academy was being accused of antisemitism, he claimed to be Jewish.[6][7][8]
Blackman passed the bar in 1998 and worked briefly as a divorce lawyer. Unhappy as an attorney, he teamed with Greg Ball, another newly-practicing lawyer, and together they created The Associates, a drama series based on their experiences as recent law school graduates. Ball and Blackman pitched and sold the series to CTV at the Banff Television Festival in 1999.[9] When it aired, The Associates was the most expensive television series ever made in Canada.[10][11] He produced 30 episodes of The Associates, which aired in 2001 and 2002.
In addition to his credits as a writer and producer on television shows, including Bones and Fargo, Blackman served as an executive producer and co-showrunner on Private Practice, Legion, and co-showrunner on Altered Carbon.[12][13][14][15]
On November 9, 2017, Blackman was announced as an executive producer and show-runner of the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy.[16]
In June 2024, a report by Rolling Stone accused him of creating a toxic working environment for writers and support staff. An HR complaint against Blackman, dating back to January 2023, detailed his "long history of toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior."[17]
Year | Series | Credits |
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2001–2002 | The Associates | Co-Creator, Producer (30 episodes)[10] |
2003–2005 | Wild Card | Writer, Supervising Producer (36 episodes)[18] |
2004 | NYPD Blue | Writer (1 episode)[19] |
2005–2006 | Bones | Writer (3 episodes), Producer (21 episodes)[20] |
2007 | Hidden Palms | Writer (1 episode), Producer (8 episodes)[21][22] |
2007–2008 | Las Vegas | Writer (2 episodes), Supervising Producer (19 episodes)[23] |
2008–2012 | Private Practice | Co-Showrunner;[24] Writer (10 episodes), Executive Producer (44 episodes) Co-Executive Producer (45 episodes) |
2014–2017 | Fargo | Writer (2 episodes), Co-Executive Producer (10 episodes), Consulting Producer (20 episodes)[25][26][27] |
2016 | Outsiders | Consulting Producer (13 episodes)[28] |
2017 | Legion | Executive Producer (4 episodes)[14] |
2017–2018 | Altered Carbon | Writer (2 episodes), Executive Producer (10 episodes)[15] |
2019–present | The Umbrella Academy | Showrunner,[29] Writer, Executive Producer[30] |
TBA | Horizon | Showrunner, video game adaptation[31] |
Orbital | Showrunner[31] |
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