Eric Gilliland
Eric Gilliland, who is writing this and feels odd referring to himself in the third person, is a TV writer/producer who wrote for a bunch of shows. The ones that greet him with the fewest blank stares are The Wonder Years, Roseanne, That 70’s Show, and, for some reason, Who’s The Boss? He spent four years working on Roseanne and has the damaged liver to show for it. While there, he gathered up a Peabody Award and a Golden Globe for best comedy something-or-other, a few GLAAD awards, and a WGA nomination. Enough people got fired that he eventually wound up as its executive producer/head writer. He’s written a couple pilots for HBO, one of which (co-written by Mark McAdam) was named by some list in the WGA Magazine as one of the best un-shot pilots ever. Ever! He executive produced and wrote for the four-year run of TBS’s My Boys, and continues to consult on various shows. Taking a break from TV, Eric produced the documentary God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of The Lost Boys of Sudan, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Best Documentary Award at the Deauville Film Festival. Cool, right?
Three years ago, he created, wrote, and produced the pilot Downwardly Mobile starring Roseanne Barr and John Goodman. NBC didn’t pick it up. Instead they picked up a show starring a monkey wearing scrubs. After a few years of “What th–?” Eric is developing two new series: One for Warner Brothers with Johnny Galecki’s production company, and another with author/storyteller/former Mormon Elna Baker for Left/Right Productions which he can’t talk about unless you buy him a couple of Scotches. Top shelf. Peaty. Presently, he’s teaching at NYU’s Goldberg School of Dramatic Writing at Tisch. Purely for the money. Eric lives in New York City because it’s better. As a sideline, he’s also a professional whistler. Not even kidding.