Southland Season 5 Production Bios

Here are the production bios for season 5 of TNT’s "Southland", which will premiere on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 10PM ET on TNT.


Production Bios


Christopher Chulack
Executive Producer/Director

Christopher Chulack is an award-winning director and executive producer. He received multiple Emmy nominations and won an Emmy® for Outstanding Dramatic Series for his work on the medical drama ER. He also received multiple nominations and won two consecutive Directors Guild of America Awards for his direction of the powerful episodes "Hell and High Water" and "Fear of Flying." His work on ER garnered him a DGA Diversity Award for the promotion of a diverse workforce in the television industry.

Chulack also executive-produced and directed the drama Third Watch and is currently an executive producer and director of TNT's critically acclaimed drama series Southland. He recently directed the pilot and multiple episodes of the A&E contemporary western hit Longmire.


John Wells
Executive Producer

John Wells is a multitalented producer, writer and director whose projects have amassed worldwide acclaim, garnering accolades for his work on both stage and screen. He has been responsible for the running of two of television’s most revered programs: ER and The West Wing. Throughout its 15 seasons, ER ranked as one of television’s highest-rated dramas and earned an astounding 124 Emmy® nominations, including 23 wins. This unprecedented achievement gives the show the record for most nominations in series history.

The West Wing, the acclaimed drama about the lives of White House staffers, ran for seven seasons and is one of television’s most unforgettable political dramas. The series won an impressive four Outstanding Drama Series Emmys® during its run, garnering 95 career nominations and 27 wins. Wells and his talented team of producers have also received five Peabody Awards, nine People’s Choice Awards, three Producer’s Guild Awards, four Humanitas Prizes, two Golden Globes® and the Television Critics’ Association Heritage Award, among other honors.

In addition to ER and The West Wing, Wells served as a writer and producer on the award-winning drama Third Watch and the crime drama Smith. Prior to his work on these programs, Wells served as a director and writer on the Emmy®-winning war drama China Beach, starring Dana Delany and Marg Helgenberger. In addition to Southland, Wells is currently the executive producer of Showtime’s Shameless.

Wells and his production and development team at John Wells Productions have a number of high-profile films in various stages of production and development. Wells’ motion-picture credits include Carroll Ballard’s acclaimed drama Duma, a children’s film starring Hope Davis and Campbell Scott; Peter Kosminsky’s adaptation of Janet Fitch’s critically acclaimed novel White Oleander, starring Alison Lohman, Robin Wright Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer and Renée Zellweger; and Neil Jordan’s The Good Thief, starring Nick Nolte. Wells served as a producer on Andrzej Bartkowiak’s Doom, based upon the popular video game and starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

In an arrangement unique to the business, John Wells Productions also funds Killer Films, the independent operation of Christine Vachon, Pam Koffler and Katie Roumel. For Killer Films, Wells executive-produced Todd Haynes’ Far From Heaven and I’m Not There, Mark Romanek’s One Hour Photo, Todd Graff’s Camp, Fenton Bailey’s Party Monster, Robert Altman’s The Company, Michael Mayer’s A Home at the End of the World, John Waters’ A Dirty Shame, Mary Harron’s The Notorious Bettie Page, Phyllis Nagy’s Mrs. Harris, Tom Kalin’s Savage Grace and Douglas McGrath’s Infamous.

Wells’ award-winning stage work includes productions of Judgment, Balm in Gilead, Battery and She Also Dances.

Wells recently wrote and directed The Company Men, a drama set against the backdrop of affluent Boston suburbs that vividly portrays the struggles of families coping with the current economic meltdown. The film stars Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Craig T. Nelson and Maria Bello.

Currently, Wells is in production on August: Osage County. He is directing from Tracy Letts screenplay, based on her Pulitzer-Prize winning play of the same name. The film stars Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Ewan McGregor and is set for release in 2013.

Wells was awarded the 2005 David Susskind Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America. He has also served as a president of the Writers Guild of America.

Born in Alexandria, Va., and raised in Denver, Colo., Wells graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, with a bachelor of fine arts degree. He later earned a master’s degree in film and television at the University of Southern California.



Jonathan Lisco
Executive Producer

Once a New York City lawyer, who left the law to write for the stage, Jonathan Lisco began his television career writing for the acclaimed series NYPD Blue. He went on to write and produce numerous episodes of The District and Jack & Bobby. He also created, wrote, and executive produced the New Orleans police drama K-Ville (FOX), which focused on the cops who stayed behind in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Originally from Chicago, Lisco graduated from Harvard University with a degree in East Asian Languages and received his J.D. from Stanford Law School. This is Lisco’s third season on Southland, for which he serves as one of the show's four executive producers.



Andrew Stearn
Executive Producer

President of John Wells Productions and based at Warner Bros Studios, Andrew Stearn was previously a producer on NBC’s The West Wing and Third Watch. For his work on The West Wing, he received three Primetime Emmy® nominations, a Humanitas Award and an AFI Award. In addition to Southland, he is currently an executive producer on Showtime’s acclaimed dramedy Shameless, now in its third season.

Originally from Boston, Stearn graduated from Brandeis University and received a master's degree in communications management from the University of Southern California.

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