As the son and grandson of former television writers, it was no surprise that producer and series creator Joss Whedon followed in their footsteps. What did surprise was Whedon’s ability to create wholly unique television shows using genres like science fiction, fantasy and the Western to propel weighty sociopolitical issues like female empowerment and post-global society. Though he had his start on the sitcom “Roseanne” (ABC, 1988-1997) and serving as a script doctor on several noted studio films, Whedon created the cult hit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (WB, 1997-2001; UPN, 2001-03), which he developed from the failed 1992 campy horror comedy that he had written. He used the horror genre mixed with comedic touches to convey the underlying theme that teenage adolescence – particularly for young women – was hell, while taking increasing creative risks. Whedon capitalized on the show’s popularity to create the “Buffy” spin-off, “Angel” (WB, 1999-2004). While his critically acclaimed sci-fi opus, “Firefly” (Sci Fi Channel, 2002), was botched by the studio, leading to an early cancellation amidst protests of its rapid following, Whedon continued to progress as one of Hollywood’s more watched and talked-about innovators.
Born on June 23, 1964 in New York, NY, Whedon was the son of Tom Whedon, an Emmy-winning television writer and producer on shows like “Benson” (ABC, 1979-1986) and “The Golden Girls” (NBC, 1985-1992), and Lee Stearns, a high school teacher and unpublished novelist. Also in his family was another television writer, his grandfather John Whedon, who wrote for “The Donna Reed Show” (ABC, 1958-1966) and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (CBS, 1961-66). When he was nine, his parents divorced and he went to live with his dad while spending summers with his mom and stepfather on an artists’ commune in upstate New York. After attending the Riverdale Country School in Riverdale, NY, Whedon went to Winchester College, a boarding school in Hampshire, England, where he first became obsessed with comic books. Upon returning to the states, he matriculated at Wesleyan University, where he majored in film and became interested in women’s studies. It was at Wesleyan that he began to contemplate transforming genre movies – namely science fiction and horror – from mere entertainment into launching pads for complex sociopolitical ideas.
After graduating Wesleyan in 1987, Whedon moved to Los Angeles to launch his screenwriting career. He had a rocky start despite his father’s connections, but he eventually landed a staff writing job on the hit sitcom “Rosanne” (ABC, 1988-1997) during its second season. Whedon left the show after a year and spent a season on the short-lived comedy “Parenthood” (NBC, 1990-91). Done with television for the time being, Whedon decided to take his ideas for popular feminism and put them to use in a script designed to create a female hero in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1992). But as often happens in Hollywood, Whedon’s script was taken out of his hands and turned into a campy horror comedy about a bubble-headed cheerleader (Kristy Swanson) who learns that she is actually a reincarnation of a female warrior destined to protect the world from hordes of marauding vampires. Embarrassed by the final results and stung by the film’s harsh reception, Whedon rightfully feared for his career. Meanwhile, he spent the a few years working as a well-paid script doctor on several studio features, including rewrites of “Speed” (1994), “Waterworld” (1995) and “Toy Story” (1995); the latter of which earned him a share of his first Academy Award nomination.
Following an alleged stint as an uncredited writer on the derided blockbuster "Twister" (1996), Whedon was fortunate enough to be allowed to resurrect “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (WB, 1997-2003), for the small screen. But this time, Whedon maintained artistic control as the showrunner and executive producer, which gave him the opportunity to return to the original idea of female empowerment, while further developing Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) into a savvier, though emotionally troubled, high school and eventual college student. Over the next several years, Whedon continued to write episodes of "Buffy," which became increasingly intriguing and complex. Under Whedon's guidance, the series avoided suffering a predictable burn-out and continued to adapt as a riveting drama. Highlights from the show included “Hush,” an episode where the characters were entirely mute, which earned an Emmy Award nomination for outstanding writing. Despite being snubbed by most awards, "Buffy" remained one of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows on television, while becoming a cult classic among the Gen-X crowd. When contract renegotiations with The WB turned unexpectedly sour in 2001, the series was quickly snapped up by UPN for its final two seasons.
Despite the demands of the “Buffy” series, Whedon found time to pen the script for the unfortunate "Alien Resurrection" (1997), which teamed a cloned Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) with an android (Winona Ryder) to do battle against the space creatures. Meanwhile, he formed his own company, Mutant Enemy, Inc., which started producing episodes of “Buffy” in 1997. Two years later, Whedon created the "Buffy" spin-off, "Angel" (WB, 1999-2004), which featured Buffy’s immortal vampire lover (David Boreanaz), a centuries-old bloodsucker cursed with a conscience who saves souls in Los Angeles to atone for his past sins. “Angel” proved to be equally as complex and appreciated as its predecessor. While continuing to take an active role in both writing and directing episodes of "Buffy" and "Angel," Whedon served as co-writer on the animated misfire “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (2001) and developed another science fiction show for television, "Firefly" (Sci Fi Channel, 2002), which was set 500 years in the future and revolved around the hard-luck crew of the spaceship Serenity. A critical success that owed more inspiration to classic Westerns than to the usual "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" style fare, "Firefly" drew a rabid cult audience. But after being mishandled by 20th Century Fox, the fans were unable to keep the show on the air beyond a handful of episodes.
However, like Whedon's "Buffy" franchise before it, his creation made a phoenix-like rise from the ashes when DVD sales and Sci Fi Network reruns grew the fan base, leading Universal Pictures to okay a feature film continuation, "Serenity" (2005), written and directed by Whedon. Despite the built-in audience, “Serenity” struggled to perform at the box office. Returning to the comic book days of his youth, Whedon penned two year-long arcs on Marvel Comics' hugely popular X-Men characters, creating the new title Astonishing X-Men with artist John Cassaday. The gig positioned him well for his first post-"Serenity" writing and directing assignment, tackling a big budget feature film adaptation of the classic comic book heroine "Wonder Woman" for producer Joel Silver.
While that project long remained in development, Whedon performed an uncredited rewrite on the successful comic book adaptation of “Iron Man” (2008). Returning to television, Whedon launched another complex series, “Dollhouse” (Fox, 2009- ), a sci-fi thriller about an mysterious agent (Eliza Dushku) in a shadowy organization whose memory can be wiped clean and refitted with a new one to perform various assignments, including committing crimes and fulfilling fantasies. But when she starts to become self aware, the agent begins to question her purpose, while a determined federal agent (Tahmoh Penikett) tries to uncover the secret organization. Unlike Whedon’s previous television efforts, however, “Dollhouse” struggled to find an audience, with even the most ardent of his fans lacking enthusiasm. The show was already on the cancellation chopping block immediately following its pilot episode, though it did manage to hang around for its initial seven-episode order.