Journalism Upon graduation from UCLA, Spotnitz was employed as a wire-service reporter for the
United Press International in Indianapolis and New York. He also briefly worked for the
Associated Press in Paris. Spotnitz freelanced for
Entertainment Weekly and
Rolling Stone before returning to his passion and studying screenwriting at
AFI.
Television Spotnitz's first television role was on
The-X-Files, which he described as being "like a second film school." His writing and producing credits include: counter-terrorism drama series
Strike Back (HBO/Cinemax, Sky); action series
Transporter: The Series (TNT); ABC's mystery series
Night Stalker (ABC), starring
Stuart Townsend and
Gabrielle Union;
Michael Mann's crime series
Robbery Homicide Division (CBS); unconventional heroes comedy-drama
The Lone Gunmen (Fox); sci-fi drama
Harsh Realm (Fox); and crime thriller
Millennium (Fox).
The X-Files Spotnitz served on
The X-Files for eight of its nine seasons after joining the show in 1994. He called it "a life-changing experience", graduating from staff writer to executive producer after three seasons. He directed two episodes and wrote or co-wrote more than 40 instalments of the series, including the Emmy-nominated "Memento Mori" with
Chris Carter,
Vince Gilligan and
John Shiban in 1997. He served for four years as executive producer and three years as president of Carter's Ten Thirteen Productions. He was a producer and co-writer of both
The X-Files feature films,
Fight the Future (1998) and
I Want to Believe (2008). Spotnitz shares three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Series and a Peabody Award for his work on
The X-Files. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for writing and three times for Outstanding Drama Series.
Hunted In 2012, Spotnitz created, wrote and executive-produced the international spy drama series
Hunted for BBC1 and HBO/Cinemax, starring
Melissa George,
Adam Rayner,
Stephen Dillane and
Patrick Malahide. The series follows Sam Hunter, an operative for a private spy agency, Byzantium. After she is betrayed and nearly killed by one of her colleagues, Sam returns to London in an attempt to root out the traitor, while working undercover in the home of a wealthy and dangerous London gangster on an assignment that could cost her life. The series was BAFTA nominated for cinematography and won the ASC Award. It was also nominated for Best Editing by the Royal Television Society.
The Man in the High Castle Spotnitz created, executive-produced and wrote several episodes of
The Man in the High Castle, based on the classic alternative history novel by Philip K. Dick, which upon its release became Amazon's most viewed series ever. Starring
Alexa Davalos,
Rufus Sewell and
Joel de la Fuente, the series explores life in a 1962 America after the Allies lost the war and the country is divided between the fascist Japanese in the West and the Nazis in the East. The series won two Emmy Awards, was nominated for two others, and named Best Drama Series at the Roma Fiction Festival. It was also nominated for an ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography, the USC Scripter Award and Best Drama at Monte Carlo Television Festival's Golden Nymph Awards.
Medici Spotnitz co-created, executive-produced and co-wrote
Medici: Masters of Florence, starring Richard Madden, Dustin Hoffman and Annabel Scholey. Chronicling the rise of the Medici family during the Italian Renaissance, it shows how the family's ascent from simple merchants to power brokers sparked an economic and cultural revolution, creating powerful enemies in the process. The Netflix Original Series was produced with Lux Vide Productions for RAI, Italy's largest broadcaster, and SFR in France. The RAI premiere attracted a record-breaking seven million viewers in Italy, becoming the country's most-watched new series. Set 20 years later,
Medici: The Magnificent starred Daniel Sharman, Bradley James and Sean Bean, and was also co-created, executive-produced and co-written by Spotnitz. After an attempt on Piero de Medici's life, his son Lorenzo is forced to assume leadership of the family-run bank. Once in power, young Lorenzo resolves to abandon the cynical politics of the past to usher in a new era of creative and political revolution, bringing him into open conflict with rival banker Jacopo Pazzi, who will stop at nothing to defeat him. Their clash gives rise to one of the most thrilling true-life political intrigues of all time, the infamous Pazzi conspiracy. The second season of
Medici: The Magnificent was broadcast on RAI in December 2019 and premieres as a Netflix Original Series in May 2020.
The Indian Detective In 2017, Spotnitz co-created, executive-produced and co-wrote the comedy-drama series
The Indian Detective for Canadian broadcaster CTV and Netflix. It starred international comedy sensation Russell Peters, whom Forbes magazine ranked three times in its Top 10 highest-grossing comics list. Peters portrays Doug D'Mello, a charming, smart Toronto cop, who unexpectedly finds himself investigating murder in his parents' Indian homeland, where, despite his heritage, he remains an outsider. Canada's biggest series debut in two years was the second-most watched programme on the day of its CTV premiere, with 1.6 million viewers. It was bestowed the Golden Screen Award by the Canadian Screen Academy.
Ransom Ransom, produced for CBS in the US, France's TF1, Canada's Corus/Global and RTL in Germany, was a suspense drama set against an international backdrop. It starred
Luke Roberts and was co-created, executive-produced and co-written by Spotnitz. The thriller follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont, whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can. Beaumont understands criminals better than they understand themselves and uses his insight into human behaviour to resolve the most difficult kidnap and ransom cases. Despite the stakes, Beaumont refuses to resort to violence, even when confronted by some of the world's most dangerous criminals.
Ransom was VOX Germany's highest rated drama premiere for over 15 months and France's TF1 premiere reached over 4 million viewers for a market share of 25%. The show ran for three seasons.
Leonardo Mr. Spotnitz produced
Leonardo. Among the first TV shows completed during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, the show was a dramatization of what
Leonardo da Vinci's life might have been like. The series was released in early 2021 in RAI for Italy, Amazon Prime for the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as Sony LIV in India, and PikTV in Canada. This eight-part series was a depiction of personal sacrifice, leading Da Vinci on a pathway that changed the world. Two of the main characters were portrayed by
Aidan Turner and
Freddie Highmore. Additionally it was produced by The Alliance (RAI, France Télévisions, ZDF and RTVE). == Writing process ==