Shane Brennan (born January 20, 1957, in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian television writer and producer, best known as the executive producer of the CBS drama NCIS, as well as the creator of the NCIS spin-off series, NCIS: Los Angeles.[1]

Shane Brennan
Brennan in 2015
Born (1957-01-20) January 20, 1957 (age 67)
Occupation(s)Television writer and producer

Brennan's other television credits include Special Squad, The Flying Doctors, All Together Now, King & Maxwell, State Coroner, Stingers, Flipper, CSI: Miami, and Summerland. Beginning as a journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), by 1981, he had abandoned journalism for television scriptwriting.

From the mid-1990s he worked on American cable shows shot in Australia – of which Flipper is the only named example in the IMDb. That gave him exposure, friends in the U.S. and an agent. As he said, "I started travelling backwards and forwards for about five years – usually four or five times a year, coming for two or three weeks at a time, doing lots and lots of meetings, all at my expense."[2]

In 2003, Brennan became supervising producer for CSI: Miami, and then went on to succeed Donald P. Bellisario as the showrunner on NCIS, handing the day-to-day showrunner operations over to Gary Glasberg after season 8. He then created and became the showrunner of NCIS: Los Angeles, while remaining an executive producer of NCIS until the end of the eleventh season.[2] His last credited episode as executive producer of NCIS was the season 11 finale episode, "Honor Thy Father". In 2011, his production company signed a deal with CBS.[3]

In July 2016, it was announced that Brennan was stepping down as showrunner of NCIS: Los Angeles and that he was handing the reins over to R. Scott Gemmill.[citation needed] In February 2022, it was announced that Brennan would lead a new NCIS: Sydney set in Sydney.[4][5]

Brennan was elected president of the Australian Writers' Guild in January 2019.[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Title Year Credited as Notes
Writer
Clowning Around 1992 Yes

Television

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

Title Year Credited as Network Notes
Creator Writer Executive
producer
Special Squad 1984–85 No Yes (5) No Network 10
Prime Time 1986 No Yes No Nine Network unknown episodes
A Country Practice 1986–88 No Yes (13) No Seven Network
In Between 1987 No Yes (2) No SBS miniseries
The Flying Doctors 1987–91 No Yes (19) No Nine Network
Embassy 1990 No Yes No ABC unknown episodes
All Together Now 1991–93 No Yes (18) No Nine Network
Bony 1992 No Yes (3) No Seven Network
Ocean Girl 1994 No Yes (1) No Network 10
Blue Heelers 1995 No Yes (1) No Seven Network
The Man from Snowy River 1995–96 No Yes (7) No Nine Network
State Coroner 1997–98 No Yes (4) No Network 10
Good Guys, Bad Guys 1998 No Yes (1) No Nine Network
Flipper 1998–2000 No Yes (11) No Syndication supervising producer (1998–99: 2 episodes)
Witch Hunt 1999 Yes No Network 10 Television film, associate producer
Crash Zone 1999 No Yes (1) No Seven Network
Stingers 2000–03 No Yes (19) No Nine Network
Tales of the South Seas 2000 No Yes (1) No Network 10
The Lost World 2002 No Yes (1) No Syndication
McLeod's Daughters 2003 No Yes (1) No Nine Network
CSI: Miami 2003–04 No Yes (4) No CBS supervising producer (24 episodes)
Summerland 2005 No Yes (2) No The WB supervising producer (13 episodes)
One Tree Hill 2006 No No No The WB co-executive producer (episode: "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept")
NCIS 2006–15 No Yes (11) Yes CBS consulting producer (2006: 8 episodes), co-executive producer (2006–07: 16 episodes), executive producer (2007–15: 166 episodes)
NCIS: Los Angeles 2009–2023 Yes Yes (17) Yes CBS
King & Maxwell 2013 developer Yes (2) Yes TNT
NCIS: Sydney 2023 TBA TBA Yes Paramount+
Network 10

References

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  1. ^ Keveney, Bill (22 September 2009). "Shane Brennan of 'NCIS': The hardest-working man in TV biz". USA Today. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b Profile, screenhub.com.au; Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  3. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (21 April 2011). "Shane Brennan inks deal with CBS". Variety. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  4. ^ Ravindran, Manori (15 February 2022). "'NCIS' Adapted for Paramount Plus Australia, 'SEAL Team' Spin-Off Movie Heads Stateside". Variety. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  5. ^ "NCIS's latest spin-off will be set in Sydney". News.com.au. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Shane Brennan elected AWG president". IF Magazine. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2020.