Have you ever watched a show and wonder who in the world came up with a wildly entertaining concept for a series? There have been some insanely creative minds in Hollwood that have created some of our favorite shows, one of the being none other than Ryan Murphy.
Ryan is the man behind the insanely popular American Horror Story, but not many people know that he also created the hit series, Glee. Ryan is an interesting man, and there's so much more to him than the insane ideas that he has for some entertaining movies and television shows.
10 He's Created Many Shows
We all know that Ryan Murphy is the creator of everyone's favorite scary show American Horror Story, he's also the genius behind a lot of our other favorite shows over the years too. His first successful show was Popular which was a teen drama that ran from 1999 to 2001 on The WB.
He's also responsible for shows like Nip/Tuck that was on FX from 2003 to 2010. One of his most successful creations was none other than Glee that was on Fox from 2009 to 2015. It's what earned him his first Emmy and gained him so much mainstream success. Most recently he's responsible for Pose, 9-1-1, Hollywood, as well as Ratched.
9 He Used To Be A Journalist
Before Ryan Murphy became the writer and director of all of our favorite shows, he started off as a journalist. He attended Indiana University where he studied journalism. He moved to the west coast where he became a reporter where he wrote about pop culture and celebrities for places like The Lost Angeles Times as well as Entertainment Weekly. Although he had a degree in journalism and had a passion for that, he also loved creative writing and worked a lot on screenplays on the side during his spare time.
8 He Can Sing
When coming up with the concept of Glee, Ryan Murphy took a lot from his own personal life as he was in multiple choirs during his schooling. When he was a teenager at Warren Central High School, not only did he sing in the school's choir, but he also was engaged in the theater department of the school. When he went to college, he continued to be involved with music as he worked toward his degree, and was a member of the Singing Hoosier vocal ensemble.
7 A Famous Face Purchased His First Script
While Ryan Murphy was still working as a reporter and writing screenplays on the side, he managed to complete one called Why Can't I Be Audrey Hepburn. The script got the attention of none other than the famous Steven Spielberg. Steven offered to buy the script, and it was Ryan's very first one which was a huge accomplishment for him, especially since he looked up to Steven Spielberg. Sadly, though, the script sat in pre-production for years, and nothing came of it, but he can say that Steven Spielberg was interested in his first script!
6 Named An Influential Person
Back in 2019, Ryan Murphy was named one of Time's 100 Influential People. This was a huge honor for him to appear on the list as one of the most influential people, as he's extremely successful and a member of the LGBT community. Actress Jessica Lange wrote a piece about Ryan and why he deserved to be on the list, as she worked with him many times on the set of American Horror Story.
5 He Has His Own Production Company
When you have the brain of Ryan Murphy and you have the ability to come up with as many shows as he does, you might need a little extra help when it comes to producing them. Because of this, Ryan decided to create his very own production company called Ryan Murphy Productions. The company is home to plenty of our favorite Ryan Murphy hits such as American Horror Story, Glee, American Crime Story, as well as Scream Queens. His most recent deal with Netflix has also given him a heavy workload.
4 He Has A Huge Netflix Deal
Back in 2018, Ryan Murphy signed a huge deal with Netflix to produce several shows, movies, and documentaries for the streaming service. The deal is for several years and Netflix paid him $300 million. As soon as he signed the deal the streaming service already gave him the go-ahead to make four shows, three movies, and three documentaries. Two of his shows, The Politician and Hollywood didn't get as high rates as his other works have gotten, but Ryan is still producing more and more content for Netflix thanks to the deal he signed.
3 His First Emmy Was For 'Glee'
All celebrities remember the very first big award that they've ever gotten in their career, and for Ryan Murphy that was his very first Emmy award for his show Glee. Over the years, he's been nominated for 36 awards and so far has won six of them. Most recently, Ryan has been nominated for several awards for his hit FX show, Pose. He's also won several Emmy awards for The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, as well as Inside Look: The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
2 He Started Half Initiative
Back in 2016, Ryan Murphy founded the Half Initiative, which is a program that ensures that at least half of the directors on his shows are filled by women. According to his website, less than a year after launching, they hired 60% women directors and 90% met the women, minorities, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ requirements that he had set in place.
There is also an educational Director Shadowing Program where directors on his shows must mentor women, BIPOC, and other minorities through an episode that they're producing from start to finish. Those who participate in the program will also be financially compensated for travel, lodging, and daycare if needed. In 2021a program for Production Assistants was also created, which follows the same idea of the shadowing directors.
1 He Has A Husband And Three Kids
Even though Ryan Murphy has a lot going on in his work life, he has quite a busy private life as well. He has been married to his photographer husband David Miller since July 4, 2012. Together, the couple has three sons together, all born via surrogate. Their first son, Logan Phineas Miller Murphy was born on December 24, 2012. Their second son, Ford Theodore Miller Murphy was born October 6, 2014. In 2016 he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and went through a lot of treatment. Thankfully he's recovered since. Their last son, Griffin Sullivan Miller Murphy was born on August 18, 2020. No word if they plan on having any more children, but they are the most adorable family.
