Javier Grillo-Marxuach (HS鈥�91) is a man who knows how to keep a secret.
As a writer and supervising producer on ABC鈥檚 hit drama Lost, Javier was constantly peppered with questions from people desperate for clues about the show, whose plot centers on plane crash survivors marooned on a mysterious island. The first season came to a close with two of the main characters peering down a strange hatch.
鈥淚 spent a whole summer not answering the question 鈥榃hat鈥檚 in the hatch?鈥欌�� recalled Javier, 36, now a co-executive producer on the NBC series Medium.
His writing talent brought him to Carnegie Mellon, where he majored in Creative Writing and Literary and Cultural Studies and met his future wife, Darra Bishop (TPR鈥�93).
After graduation, Javier earned an M.F.A. in screenwriting from USC School of Cinema-Television. He was making ends meet working at Kinko鈥檚 when he applied for a job at NBC in a junior executive training program. 鈥淚 looked at their job offer and thought I really wanted to own a laser disc player and I鈥檓 not going to get that working at Kinko鈥檚,鈥� he recalled.
According to Javier, television experienced a creative renaissance during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Shows like Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blue and ER turned TV into a writers鈥� medium. So, on the fast track to becoming a network executive, he decided to try his hand at writing for the small screen.
鈥淚 took a huge leap of faith to leave NBC and begin screenwriting professionally,鈥� he said.
His first break came as a writer on the NBC series seaQuest. At NBC, he had been a current executive on seaQuest, and had impressed the showrunner鈥攖he person responsible for the show鈥檚 day-to-day operations鈥攚ith his input.
鈥淭he real challenge,鈥� he remembered, 鈥渨as getting the job after seaQuest. It had been cancelled abruptly and I had to start again. But thanks to the guidance of a good agent and some very hard work, I was able to get the job on The Pretender that same year and establish myself as a working writer.鈥�
Javier鈥檚 path to becoming a television writer was atypical, and this presented its own problems when he was getting started.
鈥淚n my early career I was considered 鈥榩olitically suspect鈥� for having been so close to 鈥榯he man鈥� in my previous employment,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he relationship between network executives and the creative staff can be contentious. Since then I鈥檝e been blessed with a steady stream of employment.鈥�
In February 2004, Javier was working on a UPN series called Jake 2.0 when it was abruptly cancelled. A few weeks later, his agent got a call from ABC, inviting him to write for Lost, then in development at the network.
Javier joined the writing team to develop the show鈥檚 mythology and the characters鈥� back-stories, which are crucial to every episode. His work on Lost earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and a Writers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series.
鈥淚t was pretty cool. To some degree you can put on your artist鈥檚 cloak and say it鈥檚 not about the awards. But it rocks. It鈥檚 awesome,鈥� he said.
In the spring, he left Lost to become a writer and co-executive producer on NBC鈥檚 acclaimed show Medium.
鈥淭he challenge has been to continue moving up, to continue improving my craft and to avoid burning out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 am fighting very hard to create my own series at some point and when the time comes, I want to be at the top of my game.鈥�
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