Shawn Ryan

Biography:

American screenwriter and television producer Shawn Ryan was born on October 11, 1966. The Shield (2002–08), The Unit (2006–09), Lie to Me (2009–11), Timeless (2016–18), S.W.A.T. (2017–25), and The Night Agent (2023–present) are just a few of the television shows he has created and/or produced.

After graduating from Middlebury College, Ryan entered and won the Columbia Pictures Television (later Sony)-sponsored Norman Lear Playwriting award, which marked the beginning of his television career. The prize includes meetings with Columbia’s leading television producers as well as a $25,000 cash bonus. Before developing and starring as the chief writer of The Shield, he worked as a writer and producer on Angel and as a staff writer on the television program Nash Bridges. He was cast as The Unit’s showrunner alongside David Mamet.