Anthony Sparks facts for kids
Anthony Sparks is an American writer, producer, and showrunner for television. He also writes essays about media, performance, and African American culture. He has a Ph.D. (a high-level university degree) in American studies from USC. He started his career as an actor. He was a lead performer in the popular show Stomp in New York. He also appeared in the Emmy-winning HBO film Stomp Out Loud.
Sparks also teaches about film, television, and African American studies. He has taught screenwriting and cultural studies at USC, Occidental College, and California State University, Fullerton.
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Learning Journey
Anthony Sparks grew up on the South Side of Chicago. He went to Whitney Young Academic Center and Whitney Young Magnet High School. He graduated with honors from the University of Southern California (USC). There, he studied theatre, film, and cultural studies. He also earned his master's degree and a Ph.D. from USC. He was also a Fellow at the USC Center for American Studies for several years.
Sparks also completed special training programs. These include the Warner Bros. Television Writing Workshop and the ABC-Disney Television Writing Fellowship. He also attended the 2017 WGA Showrunners Training Program.
Career Highlights
Acting Roles
Sparks began his career as an actor. He worked in many theaters, including Off-Broadway shows. For five years, he was the main comedic actor in STOMP. This included shows in New York and a Broadway tour. He also appeared in the Emmy-winning HBO film, Stomp Out Loud.
Writing and Producing TV Shows
Anthony Sparks has written plays, including Ghetto Punch. This play was shown in many places and featured in American Theatre magazine.
He has written for several TV shows. These include the NBC series Undercovers. He also wrote for the Freeform drama Lincoln Heights. Another show he wrote for was the CBS cop drama The District. He was also a writer and producer for the NBC drama, The Blacklist.
He is the longtime showrunner and executive producer of the TV drama Queen Sugar. A showrunner is like the head writer and producer of a TV series. Recently, he started a deal with Blumhouse Television. There, he is creating new projects.
Sparks has also developed and sold several drama series. He has worked with studios like Disney+, Lionsgate, Legendary Television, and Netflix. He has also written for and been an executive producer for the Hulu drama Mike and the Peacock series Bel-Air.
Awards and Honors
Anthony Sparks has received many awards for his work.
- In 2022, he was nominated for a Humanitas Prize. This was for writing the "May 27, 2020" episode of Queen Sugar. He wrote this episode in response to racial injustice events in May 2020. The episode showed the characters dealing with violence against African Americans.
- As showrunner and executive producer of Queen Sugar, he won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama. He shared this award with Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay. This was for his work on the 5th and 6th seasons of Queen Sugar.
- In 2020, Sparks received the Television Academy Honors Award. This was for his work on the 4th season of Queen Sugar. He was the showrunner, executive producer, and head writer.
Sparks has been nominated for four other individual NAACP Image Awards.
- In 2018, he was nominated for Outstanding Writing in Television Drama for a Queen Sugar episode.
- He was also nominated in 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 as part of the Queen Sugar producing team.
- In 2017, he received a third nomination for Outstanding Literature/Instructional Book. This was for writing and co-editing an academic book.
Sparks also received two Sentinel Health Awards from the Norman Lear Center. These were in 2008 and 2009. He also received a 2008 NAACP Image Award nomination for writing. In 2010, he won a NAACP Image Award as a producer.
Community Involvement
Anthony Sparks is a member of several important boards. He serves on the Board of Advisors for Hollywood, Health & Society. This is part of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center. He is also on the Board of Managers at the Collins & Katz Family YMCA. He also serves on the Board of Councilors at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.
In March 2024, the USC School of Dramatic Arts opened The Sparks Center for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. This center honors the work of Anthony Sparks and Anita Dashiell-Sparks. They have worked hard for diversity and inclusion in arts, entertainment, and education.
