Joshua Safran

Joshua Safran
EducationNew York University
Occupations
  • Producer
  • screenwriter
Notable workSoundtrack, Quantico, Gossip Girl and Smash

Joshua Safran is an American television screenwriter and executive producer.

Education

Safran attended the Horace Mann School prior to graduating from NYU Tisch with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in playwriting. He has stated he is Jewish.

Career

Safran was an executive producer and writer on The CW television series Gossip Girl, for which he was the showrunner for the series' fourth and fifth seasons, and was the executive producer and showrunner for the second season of the NBC television series Smash. He shared writing credits with director Shana Feste for the screenplay of the 2014 remake of the 1981 film Endless Love.

Safran was the creator, executive producer and showrunner (seasons one and two) of the ABC thriller drama series Quantico. Recently, he was credited as the creator, executive producer and showrunner for the Netflix musical television series Soundtrack.

He served as creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the 2021 sequel series Gossip Girl for HBO Max.

In recently, Safran created Line of Fire, which premiered on NBC on September 21, 2026.

Personal life

Safran is openly gay.

Filmography

Film

Title Year Credited as Notes
Writer Director Producer
Endless Love 2014 Yes No No

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Title Year Credited as Network Notes
Creator Director Writer Showrunner Executive
producer
Gossip Girl 2007–12 No No Yes (18) Yes Yes The CW
Smash 2013 No No Yes (3) Yes Yes NBC
Quantico 2015–18 Yes No Yes (7) Yes Yes ABC Also consultant (season 3)
Soundtrack 2019 Yes Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes Yes Netflix
Gossip Girl 2021–23 Developer Yes (5) Yes (1) Yes Yes HBO Max
Line of Fire 2026–present Yes TBA Yes Yes Yes NBC

References

  1. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (January 21, 2013). "Stage to Screens: Joshua Safran, the new storyteller of 'Smash', talks about Season 2". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  2. ↑ Li, Shirley (November 6, 2016). "Quantico postmortem: Showrunner talks THAT bloody departure, the twins' latest switch". EW.com.
  3. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (April 24, 2012). "'Smash' Taps 'Gossip Girl's' Josh Safran as New Showrunner". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Universal Sets Apropos Release Date For 'Endless Love' Remake". Deadline Hollywood. PMC. May 21, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Josh Safran, Mark Gordon Team for Quantico Drama at ABC (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. September 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ "'Quantico' Renewed For Season 3 By ABC, Josh Safran Steps Down As Showrunner". Deadline. May 15, 2017.
  7. ↑ "'Mixtape': Netflix Picks Up Fox Musical Drama Pilot To Series". Deadline Hollywood. July 2, 2018.
  8. ↑ Schwartz, Ryan (October 31, 2019). "Soundtrack: Jenna Dewan Music Drama Gets December Premiere Date at Netflix". TVLine. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  9. ↑ Bastidas, Jose (July 26, 2019). "'Gossip Girl' Creator Reveals HBO Max's Version Will Be More a 'Continuation' Than Reboot". Pop Culture. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  10. ↑ Jacobs, Meredith (August 20, 2026). "'Line of Fire' Trailer Introduces NBC Drama's Family of Law Enforcement Agents". TV Insider. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  11. ↑ Kinane, Ruth (June 15, 2021). "Gossip Girl executive producer Joshua Safran on how his characters represent parts of his coming-out journey". Entertainment Weekly.
  12. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (August 10, 2026). "'Line Of Fire's Josh Safran & Peter Krause Tease New NBC Series". Deadline. Retrieved August 27, 2026.