Miles Millar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 57–58) Australia |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge University of Southern California |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Smallville Spider-Man 2 Wednesday |
Miles Millar (/ˈmɪlər/MIL-ər; born 1967[1]) is anAustralian-British[2]screenwriter,showrunner, producer, creator, developer, and director.
He is best known as the creator ofNetflix's 2022 live-actioncomedy horror seriesWednesday, theTim Burton helmedAddams Family spin-off. It holds the record as the most-watchedEnglish language series in the history of Netflix.[3]
Alongside his longtime writing/producing partnerAlfred Gough, Millar also created, produced, wrote, and developed other television programs likeThe WB/The CW'saction-adventureSuperman-prequeltelevision hit seriesSmallville,AMC's 2015 wuxia-influenced dystopian television seriesInto the Badlands andMTV's 2016 epicfantasy dramatelevision seriesThe Shannara Chronicles (based onThe Sword of Shannara Trilogy book trilogy byTerry Brooks). He also co-wrote other feature films like Tom Dey'sShanghai Noon and its sequelShanghai Knights, Sam Raimi'sSpider-Man 2 andRob Cohen's blockbuster action-adventure filmThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as well as Tim Burton'sBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to the iconic1988 movie. He has worked alongside his writing/producing partner Alfred Gough since they met atUSC School of Cinematic Arts.
Miles Millar grew up in Sydney, Australia but emigrated to theUnited Kingdom when he was 9 years old. He was educated atClaremont Fan Court School, and is a graduate ofChrist's College, Cambridge. He attendedThe Peter Stark Producing Program at theUniversity of Southern California where he teamed up with his writing/producing partner, Alfred Gough.
They sold their first script while still studying at USC. "Mango", a buddy-cop story where a cop who was allergic to animals was paired with an orangutan, sold toNew Line Cinema for $400,000.[4] The film was never made, but proved to be a professional launching pad.
Miles Millar and his professional partner Alfred Gough are prolific writers/producers. The films Millar and Gough have written or produced have a combined global box office in excess of one billion dollars. Their feature credits include Sam Raimi'sSpider-Man 2, Tom Dey's action-comedyShanghai Noon, as well as its sequel,Shanghai Knights, starringJackie Chan andOwen Wilson. Other credits includeRob Cohen's 2008action-adventureThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,Herbie: Fully Loaded,Richard Donner's 1998buddy cop actionLethal Weapon 4, andD. J. Caruso's 2011science fiction actionI Am Number Four. Millar and Gough also producedHannah Montana: The Movie, which was based on theDisney Channel smash hitteen sitcom TV series of the same name starringMiley Cyrus. The feature marked the first film for the duo'sWalt Disney-basedproduction company.
Millar and Gough’s work also spans the world of television. The duo created and served as executive producers/showrunners of theSuperman-based television action-adventure seriesSmallville, which aired from October 16, 2001 to May 13, 2011. It is the longest-runninglive-action comic book-based television series of all time, and was the No. 1 show in the history ofThe WB. Millar and Gough left the series in 2008, after seven seasons, breaking the news of their departure with anopen letter posted to aSmallville fan site.[5] In 2010, the duo filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against WB Television, claiming that Warner Bros., the studio that producedSmallville, had undercut potential profits by selling the series to WB network which it owned, thereby cutting the duo out of tens of millions of dollars.[6] The lawsuit was finally settled in May 2013, mere weeks before a scheduled June trial; the terms of the settlement were not made known to the public.[6][7]
In 2015, Millar and Gough began creating and producing the epic fantasy television seriesThe Shannara Chronicles forMTV. It is an adaptation of The Sword of Shannara trilogy of fantasy novels byTerry Brooks. It follows three heroes as they protect an ancient tree to stop the escape of banished demons. The series was filmed in the Auckland Film Studios and on location elsewhere in New Zealand. The series starredAustin Butler,Ivana Baquero andManu Bennett.Jon Favreau was one of the executive producers along with Dan Farrah. The pilot episode was directed byJonathan Liebesman.
The first season ofThe Shannara Chronicles premiered on MTV in the United States on January 5, 2016, and consisted of 10 episodes. MTV originally greenlit a second season in April 2016; however, in May 2017, it was announced that the series would relocate to Spike (now Paramount Network). The second season premiered on October 11, 2017, and concluded November 22, 2017. On January 16, 2018, it was announced that the series had been cancelled after two seasons and that the producers were shopping the series to other networks. The series was later considered officially concluded but has since generated a cult following onNetflix.
In June 2015, the duo began creating and producing the wuxia-influenced dystopian television seriesInto the Badlands forAMC Networks. The martial arts drama was set in a gun free post apocalyptic America where warring barons had personal armies of lethally trained fighters. The series was notable as one of the only hour long dramas in American television history to feature an Asian American (Daniel Wu) as its lead. The show was a ratings hit, but received a mix response from critics.Nick Frost joined the cast in season two and proved a very popular addition to the fans of the series. The show's mythology was very loosely based on the classic Chinese text,Journey to the West. Each episode featured intricate martial arts fights that were staged and directed by legendary Hong Kong fight choreographers Huen Chiu Ku (aka Master Dee Dee Ku) andAndy Cheng. The series starred Daniel Wu,Marton Csokas,Emily Beecham,Aramis Knight andOrla Brady. The first season was filmed in New Orleans, but subsequent seasons were shot in and around Dublin, Ireland.Into The Badlands ran for 32 episodes and was cancelled due to a regime change at AMC Networks. Millar directed episodes 13 and 14 in season three of the series.
In October 2020, Millar and Gough sold a series toNetflix based on the character ofWednesday Addams. The series was created by Millar and Gough, butTim Burton teamed with the duo as an executive producer and directed the first four episodes.Wednesday[8] represents Burton's first foray into television and starsJenna Ortega in the title role. The series also starsCatherine Zeta-Jones asMorticia Addams,Luis Guzman asGomez Addams as well asGwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems. Since the show's premiere, it has become the most viewed English-language series on Netflix at 1.7 billion streaming hours.[9][10] The show was a critical hit and was recognized with numerous awards. Millar and Gough were nominated forGolden Globe,BAFTA andEmmy awards. The show was nominated for 12 Emmys and won four.[11] It was awarded theSaturn Award for best Fantasy Series,Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Limited Series,Kid’s Choice Award for Favorite Family TV Show. Millar, Gough, Burton, and Ortega collaborated again onBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, set for release in September 2024.[12]
In May 2024, it was announced that the second season ofWednesday had commenced production in Dublin, Ireland. A promo featuring Thing delivering scripts and announcing the new cast was directed by Millar, as well as returning cast, Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, new additions include Steve Buscemi, Joanna Lumley, Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, and Evie Templeton.[13]
Millar and Gough signed a first-look deal withSony Pictures in April 2024 to develop films through the Millar/Gough Ink banner.[10]
Millar and Gough were also known as the producers ofUPN's 1999-2000 American action dramaThe Strip (starringSean Patrick Flannery) andABC's 2011 action crime dramaCharlie's Angels, with the final episode of the latter series left unaired in the United States. Millar and Gough also began operating the production company, Millar/Gough Ink, back in October 1999.
Millar and Gough also produced theunsoldlive-actionpilot,Aquaman (which initially premiered on July 25, 2006 oniTunes), which was based on theDC Comicscharacter of the same name, and it has been run as a standalone episode.
Writer
Producer
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–1997 | Bugs | No | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes. |
| 1997–1998 | Timecop | No | Yes | No | No | 9 episodes (written 3). |
| 1998 | Black Jaq | No | Story | No | No | |
| 1998–1999 | Martial Law | No | Yes | No | No | Co-producer (12 episodes). |
| 1999 | Made Men | No | Yes | No | No | |
| 1999–2000 | The Strip | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 episodes (written 2); first series to feature Millar and Gough's oldproduction logo. |
| 2001–2011 | Smallville | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | 217 episodes (written 13). |
| 2006 | Aquaman | No | Yes | Yes | No | Unaired pilot. |
| 2011 | Charlie's Angels | No | Yes | Yes | Developer | 8 episodes (written 4); last series to feature Millar and Gough's old production logo. |
| 2015–2019 | Into the Badlands | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 32 episodes (written 10); the first series to feature the duo's new Millar/Gough Ink production logo. |
| 2016–2017 | The Shannara Chronicles | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 20 episodes (written 5). |
| 2022–present | Wednesday | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 episodes (written 4). |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
