J. Michael Straczynski, also known as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an acclaimed American writer and television producer. He has made his mark in various fields, including films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. Straczynski was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1954 and comes from a lower-middle-class blue-collar family that moved 21 times during his first 18 years. This nomadic childhood experience may have contributed to his ability to adapt and excel in various writing formats and genres.
Straczynski began his writing career in earnest at the age of 17 and has not stopped since. He holds degrees in Psychology and Sociology from San Diego State University. As a journalist, he has written over 500 published articles for numerous periodicals, including The Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Writer's Digest, San Diego Magazine, and TIME, Inc. Additionally, he has published numerous short stories in various science fiction magazines and anthologies.
As a television writer and producer, Straczynski has written over 300 produced episodes, including work on The New Twilight Zone and Murder She Wrote. He is best known as the creator and showrunner of the science fiction TV series Babylon 5, as well as the producer of Crusade, Jeremiah, and Sense8 for Netflix. His success in television led him to venture into films, where he has written Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood; Ninja Assassin, produced by the Wachowskis; and Underworld 4, starring Kate Beckinsale. Straczynski has won numerous awards for his work, including the Hugo Award (twice), the Saturn Award, the Eisner Award, the Inkpot Lifetime Achievement Award, the E Pluribus Unum Award from the American Cinema Foundation, the Space Frontier Foundation award, and the Ray Bradbury Award. He has also been nominated for a British Academy Award (BAFTA) for his screenplay for Changeling. Straczynski is known for writing ten hours a day, every day, and is passionate about his craft.