Peter Nowalk

Peter Nowalk
BornPoint Pleasant, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma materBrown University (BA)
Notable worksHow to Get Away with Murder

Peter Nowalk is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator of the legal thriller, How to Get Away with Murder.[1][2]

Early life

Nowalk was raised in Point Pleasant, New Jersey and graduated from Point Pleasant Borough High School in 1996.[3] Speaking of his childhood, he has stated "I think my family’s really nice, where I grew up was really pretty and nice, and I wanted to go to the dark side because my life wasn’t dark. The TV shows I like are all twisted and dark."[4]

Nowalk attended Brown University, where he graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in American Civilization.[5] He is openly gay.[6]

Career

Nowalk co-wrote The Hollywood Assistants Handbook: 86 Rules for Aspiring Power Players, published by Workman Publishing Company in 2008.[7] In the same year, Nowalk was hired as a writer for the Shonda Rhimes medical drama series Private Practice. After a few months, Nowalk began writing for Rhimes' Grey's Anatomy as recurring writer and later executive story editor and supervising producer.[8] He is also co-executive producer of Scandal. Nowalk wrote "Everything's Coming Up Mellie", the seventh episode of the third season of Scandal in 2013.

How to Get Away with Murder

Nowalk was the creator and executive producer of the ABC drama series, How to Get Away with Murder produced by Shondaland.[5][9][10][11] The series pilot on September 25, 2014, set a record for DVR playback viewers with 6 million, surpassing the January 27, 2014, record of 5.6 million set by the pilot of The Blacklist.[12]

Credits

References

  1. ^ Otterson, Joe (2020-10-05). "ABC Gives Production Commitment to Silicon Valley Drama From 'How to Get Away With Murder' Creator". Variety. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  2. ^ Prudom, Laura (2014-09-25). "'How to Get Away with Murder' Creator Peter Nowalk on Working with Shonda Rhimes, Diversity on TV". Variety. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  3. ^ "Nowalk graduates from Brown", The Ocean Star, August 25, 2000. Accessed February 15, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Peter Nowalk of Point Pleasant was a May graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island with a bachelor's of arts in American Civilization. Mr. Nowalk is a 1996 graduate of Point Pleasant Borough High School."
  4. ^ Villarreal, Yvonne (2020-04-02). "He learned from Shonda Rhimes. But he made 'How to Get Away With Murder' all his own". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  5. ^ a b "Pete Nowalk". American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  6. ^ "For Show Creator Peter Nowalk, How to Get Away With Murder Is Personal". www.out.com. 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  7. ^ Stamm, Hillary; Nowalk, Peter (January 2008). The Hollywood Assistants Handbook: 86 Rules for Aspiring Power Players. Workman. ISBN 978-0761147466.
  8. ^ Radio, Southern California Public (2014-11-13). "Pete Nowalk: From the mailroom to 'Murder' boss". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  9. ^ "ABC Buys Legal Thriller From Shondaland & 'Grey's Anatomy' Writer". Deadline. August 19, 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  10. ^ "ABC Pilots 'How To Get Away With Murder' & 'Black-ish' Start Making Writer Deals". Deadline. May 8, 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  11. ^ Jim Halterman (September 10, 2014). ""How to Get Away with Murder" Creator Pete Nowalk On 'Awesomely Gay' Character". The Backlot. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  12. ^ Kissell, Rick (September 30, 2014). "ABC's 'How to Get Away With Murder' Premiere Sets DVR Playback Record". Variety. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.