Steven Jon Whritner

Award-winning writer and producer Steven Jon Whritner has served in senior executive level positions at several of the leading cable and broadcast networks. Whritner has also created and produced more than 100 hours of successful television programming netting many of the industry's top honors. Presently, Whritner writes, produces and consults under his aegis Plymouth Rock Entertainment, Inc. Recent Plymouth Rock projects include the syndicated daytime court show Jury Duty, for which Whritner served as an executive producer. Projects in active development under the Plymouth Rock banner include the scripted dramas Son of the Dragon, Ravenous and License to Steal, and the motion picture Incidentals. Prior to forming Plymouth Rock in 2006, Whritner served as Executive Vice President, Production and Development for Emmy® Award-winning Big Chief Entertainment, Inc. where he oversaw all original content development and production. Programs under Whritner's direct supervision included a provocative series of documentary films that introduced audiences to extremes of life and lifestyle. Mole People: Life in the World Below had its world premiere on Discovery Channel and won the 2002 Telly Award for Outstanding Documentary Film, in addition to a Classic Telly Award. Biker Girls: Born to be Wild premiered on TLC in 2002. The New Sideshow debuted on TLC and won the 2003 Telly Award for Outstanding Documentary. In 2001, Whritner co-created and executive produced the reality series pilot Repo Men: Stealing for a Living for USA Network. Hosted by Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), Repo Men was picked up as a series by TLC, completing three hit seasons and winning a pair of Telly's for Outstanding Entertainment Program. Then, in 2004, Whritner created his first daily strip for TV One - the popular dating game show Get the HookUp, which also won a Telly for Outstanding Entertainment Program. In addition to producing long form television content, Big Chief was also instrumental in the launching and branding of a variety of cable networks including HGTV, Fine Living, DiY, Travel Channel, Metro Channel and TV One. As Big Chief's senior executive producer, Whritner oversaw high-end marketing campaigns and national commercials for major broadcast and cable network clients including ABC, CBS, NBC, HBO, MTV Networks, Showtime Networks, Discovery Communications, History Channel, Court TV, HGTV and Rainbow Media, plus television studios such as King World, Paramount Television, Buena Vista Television, Fox Television, Warner Brothers Television and Proctor & Gamble Productions. Most recently, Whritner was the executive producer for ABC's new on-air campaign for Good Morning America. Prior to Big Chief, Whritner was one of television's leading marketing and promotion executives. He served as Vice President of Creative Services and On-Air Promotion at Food Network where he spearheaded the network's complete corporate re-design and on- and off-air looks, while packaging and promoting hit shows such as Emeril Live. Before Food, he was instrumental in the launching of United Paramount Network (UPN), serving as Creative Director and the executive in charge of on-air promotion for UPN's flagship station, UPN 9 in New York. Prior to his tenure at UPN, Whritner served as Senior Producer at A&E Networks for six years. Whritner is also credited for creating and producing the syndicated interstitial series Hollywood After Dark, in addition to producing Today in Music History, which was distributed internationally and is widely considered to be the most successful syndicated interstitial series in TV history. In addition to his extensive producing career, Whritner's writing for film and television has been recognized for excellence by several of today's leading screenwriting competitions, including the Page International Screenwriting Awards, Final Draft's Big Break Screenwriting Contest, Austin Film Festival, Creative World Awards, Slamdance Screenplay Competition, Tracking Board's Launch Pad Competitions, and the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. Whritner attended Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Film and Television from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Since then and throughout his career Whritner's work has been recognized with many of the industry's top awards including an Emmy®, nine Telly Awards, eight Promax Gold Medallion and Silver Awards, a New York Festivals World Medal, multiple honors from CTAM, BDA, PMAA, Mobius, International Monitor Awards, plus the prestigious World Class Award, Promax's highest honor. Whritner serves as an advisor to the Board of Directors of the Sam Houston Southwest Film Investment Fund, a fund chartered to promote filmmaking in the Southwest region of the U.S., and is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Stowe Story Labs, New England's premiere institute for emerging screenwriters and creative producers. He lives in Bergen County, New Jersey with his wife, Karen, Director of Studio Operations for the MLB Network, and son, Jake.