Hudgins is a graduate of
St. Mark's School of Texas,
Duke University, and the
Dedman School of Law at
Southern Methodist University. He practiced law in
Dallas, Texas, before moving to
Los Angeles, California, to become a screenwriter. In 2003, Hudgins began his career as a staff writer on
Warner Bros. Television show
Everwood, where he worked for three years until the show's cancellation in May 2006. He rose to the position of co-producer and wrote eleven episodes over the course of three seasons, including the series finale "Foreverwood, Pt. II". In 2006, Hudgins moved to the
NBC show
Friday Night Lights as a writer and Supervising Producer, writing the episodes "Homecoming", "Upping The Ante", and "Mud Bowl". He was nominated along with the rest of the show's writing staff for a
Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series at the
February 2007 ceremony for his work on the first season of
Friday Night Lights. He was nominated for the
WGA Award for Best Dramatic Series the following year at the
February 2008 ceremony for his work on the second season of
Friday Night Lights. He was nominated for Best Dramatic Series a second time at the
February 2009 ceremony for his work on the third season of
Friday Night Lights. He was nominated for the WGA Award for Best Drama Series for the third consecutive year at the
February 2010 ceremony for his work on the fourth season. He also won a
Peabody Award for Excellence in Television in 2011 and in Season 5, when he was Co-Showrunner,
Friday Night Lights was nominated for an
Emmy for Best Drama Series. In 2010, Hudgins created the drama series
Past Life, which aired on Fox. In fall 2010, he joined the staff of the NBC drama series
Parenthood as an executive producer and writer. The series was created by his
Friday Night Lights executive producer,
Jason Katims. In 2012, Hudgins renewed his overall deal with
NBC Universal Television. In 2014, he signed a new overall deal and moved to
Sony Pictures Television, where he currently works. He also signed a deal to develop Greg Iles' novel
Natchez Burning into a television series for Amazon, with Tobey Maguire as executive producer. and delivered the keynote address at The Presbyterian HealthCare Foundation's "Each Moment Matters" luncheon that celebrated the opening of the T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center in Dallas, Texas. Hudgins has stated that he was inspired to quit the practice of law and try screenwriting by the 2001 death of his older sister from breast cancer. In 2013, he founded the Catherine H. Tuck Foundation in her honor. He is president of the charity which provides financial assistance to women in need who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2016, Hudgins was executive producer and showrunner of the first season of the drama series Shuteye, which aired on Hulu. The show was renewed for a second season but Hudgins stepped down to focus on other projects. Hudgins is a member of the Advisory Council for the Humanitas Prize, which recognizes 'excellence' in writing for both film and television. He has twice served as emcee of The Humanitas Awards ceremony, held annually in Los Angeles. He is also on the advisory board of the Austin Television Festival (ATX) and has been a recurring moderator and panelist. He was most recently the showrunner of
FBI: Most Wanted on CBS. ==See also==