Joe Weisberg

Joseph "Joe" Weisberg is an American television writer-producer, novelist, and former CIA officer.^[1] Weisberg is best known as the creator and executive producer of the FX TV series The Americans.

Career

Weisberg grew up in Chicago, the son of civil rights attorney Bernard Weisberg and former Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Lois Weisberg.^[1] He is the younger brother of Slate Group editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg.^[1] A 1987 graduate of Yale University,^[1] Weisberg became a CIA officer three years after graduation,^[1] and after a short career with the Agency taught high school in New York City before enjoying success as a writer.^[1]

Weisberg wrote episodes for TNT's alien invasion series Falling Skies and the DirecTV legal drama Damages. He is the creator of The Americans, currently airing on FX, which centers on two KGB agents posing as American citizens in Washington, D.C. during the 1980s;^[1] the series is executive-produced by Weisberg and Justified creator Graham Yost.^[2][3]

Weisberg authored two novels: 10th Grade and An Ordinary Spy.^[4] An Ordinary Spy was nominated for the Believer Book Award.^[5]

Personal life

Weisberg married Julia Rothwax, former press secretary to presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Bill Bradley, in 2005.^[1][6] The couple has a daughter.^[1]

Filmography

Falling Skies

• "Silent Kill" (1.05)
• "Mutiny" (1.09)
• "Love and Other Acts of Courage" (2.05)

Damages

• "Next One's on Me, Blondie" (4.04)

The Americans

• "Pilot" (1.01)
• "The Clock" (1.02)
• "In Control" (co-written with Joel Fields) (1.04)
• "Mutually Assured Destruction" (co-written with Joel Fields) (1.08)
• "The Colonel" (co-written with Joel Fields) (1.13)
• "Comrades" (co-written with Joel Fields) (2.01)
• "Cardinal" (co-written with Joel Fields) (2.02)
• "Operation Chronicle" (co-written with Joel Fields) (2.12)
• "Echo" (co-written with Joel Fields) (2.13)
• "EST Men" (co-written with Joel Fields) (3.01)
• "Baggage" (co-written with Joel Fields) (3.02)
• "Stingers" (co-written with Joel Fields) (3.10)
• "March 8, 1983" (co-written with Joel Fields) (3.13)

Bibliography

• 10th Grade (2002)
• An Ordinary Spy (2008)

References

1. Holson, Laura M. (March 29, 2013). "The Dark Stuff, Distilled". New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
2. Bill Brioux (2013-01-30). "The Americans debuts on FX Canada Jan. 30". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
3. Andreeva, Nellie (December 16, 2011). "FX Greenlights Drama Pilot About 1980s KGB Spies Posing As U.S. Suburbanites". Deadline. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
4. Waxman, Olivia B. (30 January 2013). "Q&A: The CIA Officer Behind the New Spy Drama The Americans". Time Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
5. "The Believer Book Award 2007 finalists". The Believer'. March–April 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
6. Rothwax, Julia. "Julia Rothwax biography". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 2, 2016.

External links

• Joe Weisberg at the Internet Movie Database