Darren Star

Darren Star Headshot

Producer • Writer • Director

Birth Date: July 25, 1961

Age: 62 years old

Birth Place: Potomac, Maryland

When the series he created, "Beverly Hills, 90210" premiered on Fox in 1990 and launched his career, Darren Star was credited by some with energizing the network and with reviving the Spelling TV empire. Prior to "90210," Star's entire writing output had amounted to an unproduced "Charles in Charge" spec script and two features, "Doing Time on Planet Earth" (1988), a failed comedy about a teenager convinced he must be from another planet, and "If Looks Could Kill" (1991), a teenage spy spoof that was supposed to turn Richard Grieco into a film star but didn't.

The idea for "Beverly Hills, 90210" was actually spawned in the executive suites at Fox, but Star--hired because of his reputation in writing screenplays about teenage characters--conjured boy-girl twins, Brandon and Brenda, moved by the their parents from Minnesota to Beverly Hills, and forced to attend West Beverly High where they quickly become the social deacons of the "In" crowd. From its debut, "90210" followed its core characters from high school through college into the working world. Meanwhile, Star's second effort produced through Spelling debuted in 1992. A spin-off of "90210," "Melrose Place" followed the ongoing story of a host of twentysomething Los Angelenos trying to find love and career success and was reputedly inspired by Star's own experiences living in a motel-style West Hollywood apartment building while working at a public relations firm by day and writing scripts at night. Additionally, one of the leads was a former UCLA roommate, Daphne Zuniga, although the most publicized performer was Heather Locklear, who joined the cast in its second season. Star was enticed by CBS to leave the Spelling empire in 1995 to create, write and executive produce "Central Park West," another ongoing primetime sudser, based and shot in New York amidst the backdrop of a publishing empire. It premiered in the fall of 1995, but failed to spark the same enthusiasm from viewers and was pulled from the schedule a few months after its premiere for "revamping," subsequently airing in June 1996 under the title "CPW." The name change didn't do much to attract viewers, and "CPW" left the airwaves in 1996.

With his Fox franchises aging and succumbing to eroding viewership ("Melrose" ended in 1999 and "90210" in 2000), Star turned his attentions to a new series, the frank HBO comedy "Sex and the City" (1998-2004). Based on the book of the same name, a collection of New York Observer columns written by Candace Bushnell, the NYC-lensed series followed the lives and loves of four single Manhattanites riding through their thirties in the fast lane: libertine publicist Samantha (Kim Cattrall), jaded corporate lawyer Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), idealistic art dealer Charlotte (former "Melrose Place" resident Kristin Davis) and the central character, lifestyle columnist Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker). The cable network offered writer and sometime director as well as series creator Star creative freedom that regular broadcast television could not, resulting in "Sex in the City" containing more explicit sex scenes and racy dialogue. Rather than use this freedom simply to titillate, Star drew characters who were refreshingly more realistic than his previous creations, and audiences responded well despite the fact that these affluent, sexually adventurous socialites live a life quite foreign to the average viewer. The series hit its stride in 1999, with an especially inspired second season that earned a handful of Emmy nominations and scored two Golden Globe Awards, including one for Star in the category of Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical).

Not satisfied to rest on his laurels, Star endeavored further into television, with two pilots developed for the 2000-2001 season, "The Street" (Fox), a Wall Street-set serial drama starring Adam Goldberg and Christian Campbell that met an early demise, and "Grosse Pointe" (The WB), a quirky single-camera comedy focusing on a twentysomething ensemble that barely held on for the year.

Credits

UncoupledStream

Creator
Series
2022
73%

UncoupledStream

Executive Producer
Series
2022
73%

And Just Like That...Stream

Creator
Miniseries
2021
56%

Emily in ParisStream

Creator
Series
2020
62%

Talks at GS

Guest
Show
2017

Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter

Guest
Show
2015

YoungerStream

Director
Series
2015
97%

YoungerStream

Executive Producer
Series
2015
97%

GCBStream

Executive Producer
Series
2012
42%

Breakfast in Bed Marathon

Executive Producer
Show
2010

Sex and the City 2

Producer
Movie
2010

Chillin' With Dylan

Executive Producer
Show
2009

90210's 50 Hottest Marathon

Executive Producer
Show
2008

Cashmere Mafia

Executive Producer
Show
2008

Sex and the CityStream

Producer
Movie
2008
50%

Runaway

Executive Producer
Show
2006

Back to School With 90210

Executive Producer
Show
2006

Kitchen Confidential

Executive Producer
Show
2005

Serial Bowl

Executive Producer
Show
2005

Miss Match

Executive Producer
Series
2003
83%

The $treet

Executive Producer
Series
2000
42%

Grosse Pointe

Executive Producer
Show
2000

Grosse Pointe

Writer
Show
2000

Sex and the CityStream

Creator
Series
1998
70%

Sex and the CityStream

Director
Series
1998
70%

Sex and the CityStream

Executive Producer
Series
1998
70%

Sex and the CityStream

Writer
Series
1998
70%

CPW

Executive Producer
Show
1996

CPW

Writer
Show
1996

Central Park West

Executive Producer
Series
1995

Melrose PlaceStream

Executive Producer
Series
1992

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures

Writer
Show
1992

Beverly Hills 90210Stream

Creator
Series
1990

Beverly Hills 90210Stream

Executive Producer
Series
1990

The BFFs of BH

Executive Producer
Show
1990

Entertainment Tonight

Guest
News
1981

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

News aboutDarren Star

Emily in Paris Season 3 Lily Collins

‘Emily in Paris’ Teaser Hints at Big Life Decisions as Netflix Sets Season 3 Return (VIDEO)

Uncoupled Neil Patrick Harris
Preview

‘Uncoupled’ Creators on Why a Breakup Is a Good Jumping-Off Point for a Rom-Com

Melrose Place cast

10 Fun Facts About ‘Melrose Place,’ Now 30 Years Old

Neil Patrick Harris as Michael in Uncoupled

‘Uncoupled’ First Look: Neil Patrick Harris Explores Late-Life Dating (PHOTO)

Uncoupled Neil Patrick Harris Netflix

‘Uncoupled’: Neil Patrick Harris Copes With a Breakup in First Look at Netflix Comedy (VIDEO)

Lily Collins as Emily in Emily in Paris

Find Out When ‘Emily in Paris’ Returns for Season 2 & More Romantic Entanglements (PHOTOS)

lily collins emily in paris netflix

Oh La La! Netflix’s ‘Emily in Paris’ Begins Production on Season 2

Peter Hermann as Charles and Sutton Foster as Liza in Younger - Season 6

‘Younger’ Sets Final Season Premiere on Paramount+ — Find Out How Episodes Will Be Released (VIDEO)

Sutton Foster Younger Season 6 Episode 12 Liza

Sutton Foster & Darren Starr Tout ‘Younger’ Ending With Season 7 — on Paramount+ (VIDEO)

Emily in Paris Lily Collins Season 1

Mon Dieu! ‘Emily in Paris’ Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix

Lily Collins Emily in Paris Season 1 Episode 4 Emily
Spoiler Alert

‘Emily in Paris’ Boss Breaks Down Emily’s Relationships With Gabriel & Camille

Lily Collins Emily in Paris Season 1 Episode 1
Q&A

Why ‘Emily in Paris’ Is Required Viewing for ‘Sex and the City’ & ‘Younger’ Fans

Sutton Foster Younger Season 6 Episode 9 Liza
Preview

‘Younger’ Creator Promises a ‘Really Satisfying’ Season 7

emily in paris

‘Emily in Paris’ Sets Netflix Premiere Date, See Lily Collins in First Trailer (VIDEO)

Lily Collins Emily in Paris Moving to Netflix

Darren Star’s ‘Emily in Paris’ Starring Lily Collins Moves to Netflix

ABC's

What to Know About ABC’s ‘GCB’ and Its Reboot on The CW

Miriam Shor in Younger

Miriam Shor Is Stealing Scenes as ‘Younger’s Insecure Boss From Hell