Carlton Cuse facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carlton Cuse
Born	Arthur Carlton Cuse (1959-03-22) March 22, 1959 (age 66) Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Producer screenwriter
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Christiane Hart ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	3

Arthur Carlton Cuse (born March 22, 1959) is an American writer, producer, and director for television and movies. He is famous for creating and leading many popular TV shows. One of his most well-known works is the TV series Lost. Because of his work on Lost, he was named one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by Time magazine in 2010.

Early life and education

Carlton Cuse was born in Mexico City, Mexico, on March 22, 1959. His father worked there for his grandfather's business, which made tools for machines. After a few years, his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Later, they moved to Tustin, California, where Carlton went to school.

Carlton attended a boarding school called Putney School in Vermont. This school was on a working dairy farm and focused a lot on arts, music, and outdoor activities. Carlton has said that at Putney School, he realized he wanted to be a writer.

He then went to Harvard University and graduated in 1981. At Harvard, he joined the rowing team and became a dedicated athlete. Carlton first planned to go to medical school, but he ended up studying American history. During his third year, he helped with a test screening for the movie Airplane!. The filmmakers wanted to see how the audience reacted to time the jokes. Carlton said this experience made him think about a career in film.

Career

Carlton Cuse is known for telling stories that mix different types of shows, like action and mystery. He also helped create new ways to tell stories using interactive media, like games that connect to TV shows. He often works with other writers and has helped many of them become successful leaders of their own TV series.

Starting out

After college, Carlton Cuse and a Harvard friend, Hans Tobeason, made a documentary about rowing at Harvard called Power Ten. They even got famous writer George Plimpton to narrate it. After graduating, Carlton moved to Hollywood. He worked as an assistant to a studio boss and then as a script reader. He said reading many scripts helped him understand what makes a good story.

In 1984, Carlton worked as an assistant producer on the movie Sweet Dreams. He called this experience his "film school." Later, he was hired as a writer for the TV series Crime Story in 1986.

Movies

Carlton Cuse worked with writer Jeffrey Boam to help develop the movies Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

San Andreas (2015)

Carlton Cuse wrote the script for the disaster movie San Andreas in 2015. The movie starred Dwayne Johnson and was a big hit, earning over $473 million worldwide.

Rampage (2018)

Carlton Cuse also helped rewrite the script for the movie Rampage. This film was based on a video game and also starred Dwayne Johnson. It was very successful, earning $426 million globally and becoming one of the best video game movies ever.

Television

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993–1994)

Because of his work on Indiana Jones, Carlton Cuse was asked to create a TV show like old movie serials. He wrote The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.. It was about a smart bounty hunter in the Old West who wanted to get revenge for his father's death. The show also had a science-fiction mystery. Carlton was the main writer and leader of the series. He gave a lot of credit for the show's success to actor Bruce Campbell, who played the main character.

Nash Bridges (1996–2001)

After Brisco, Carlton Cuse met actor Don Johnson. Carlton wrote the first episode for a new series called Nash Bridges. Both Don Johnson and the TV network CBS liked it so much that they ordered 14 episodes without even filming a test episode. Nash Bridges ran for six seasons and 121 episodes.

Martial Law (1998)

Carlton Cuse created and produced the CBS series Martial Law. It starred Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, a famous martial arts actor and friend of Jackie Chan. The show was about a police officer from Shanghai who comes to work with the Los Angeles police. Carlton brought in a team of Chinese stuntmen and hired Stanley Tong, who directed many of Jackie Chan's movies, to direct the first episode. Sammo Hung was the first Chinese actor to star as the main character in an American TV series. Carlton managed both Nash Bridges and Martial Law at the same time for a while.

Lost (2004–2010)

Carlton Cuse at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con

Carlton Cuse was a main producer and co-leader (showrunner) of the hit TV show Lost with Damon Lindelof. Carlton had hired Damon as a writer a few years earlier. When the first episode of Lost was filmed, the original creator, J. J. Abrams, left to direct a movie. Damon Lindelof, who had never led a show before, asked Carlton for advice. Carlton was so interested in Lost that he decided to become its co-showrunner. Together, they led the show for all six seasons.

Carlton and Damon worked very well together. They wrote about a third of the episodes and oversaw all the creative parts of the show, like writing, casting, filming, and editing. An episode of Lost called "The Constant", written by them, was even ranked as one of the best TV episodes of the century.

Lost was about plane crash survivors on a mysterious island. Carlton and Damon said the show was really about people who feel "lost" in their lives and are trying to find themselves again. Carlton explained that Lost showed that TV could tell very complex stories with some mystery, allowing viewers to discuss and guess what things meant.

Lost is often called one of the greatest TV series ever. It had millions of viewers and won many awards, including an Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2005 and a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama in 2006.

Lost was also the first TV show to have an official podcast where the showrunners talked about each episode. Carlton and Damon helped start the trend of show leaders becoming as famous as the actors. They also created the first "alternative reality game" (ARG) that connected to a TV show's story. This game used the internet to market the show in new ways. Their last ARG won an Emmy award in 2009 for its creative use of interactive media.

The Writers Guild of America called Lost one of the "101 Best Written TV Series." They said it mixed different types of stories and pushed the boundaries of what TV could do.

20th anniversary of LOST (2004–2024)

In September 2024, Lost celebrated its 20th anniversary. Many articles talked about how much the show changed television. They highlighted its new ways of storytelling, mixing big mysteries with deep character stories. Lost set new standards for TV shows.

USA Today wrote that Lost changed how people watched TV. Now, it's common to watch a show and then listen to podcasts or read discussions about it. While some of this happened before, Lost played a big part in making it popular for everyone.

For its 20th anniversary, Lost also became very popular again. The Hollywood Reporter noted that it was the number one show among older series on streaming services in October 2024.

Bates Motel (2013–2017)

Carlton Cuse was the creator, writer, and showrunner for the A&E series Bates Motel. It started in 2013. The show was a modern "prequel" to the famous 1960 movie Psycho. It showed the early life of Norman Bates and his relationship with his mother, Norma. The series was planned for five seasons, and it followed that plan.

The show received great reviews. Actress Vera Farmiga, who played Norma Bates, was nominated for an Emmy Award. An episode from season 4, "Forever," written by Carlton Cuse, was listed as one of the most memorable TV episodes of 2016. The show also won People's Choice Awards in 2017. In the final season, Carlton Cuse even had a small acting role alongside singer Rihanna. The last two seasons of Bates Motel have perfect ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Strain (2014–2017)

Carlton Cuse was the showrunner, producer, and writer for The Strain, an FX drama series. It was based on a vampire book series by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Guillermo del Toro helped write and directed the first episode. Carlton Cuse also directed an episode for the first time in the third season. Carlton and Guillermo decided to end the series after four seasons, feeling it was the right time to finish the story. The final season also has a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Returned (2015)

Carlton Cuse was a showrunner, writer, and producer for The Returned. This show was based on a popular French series. The story was about a small town where several people who were thought to be dead suddenly came back to life. The show was canceled after one season in June 2015.

Colony (2016–2018)

Carlton Cuse and Ryan Condal created and led the show Colony for the USA Network. Colony was a family drama and thriller about life in Los Angeles after a mysterious "foreign" group took over. It showed the efforts of the government to stop a growing resistance movement. The show starred Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies. Colony was very popular and was renewed for a second and third season. Overall, Colony earned a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018–2023)

Carlton Cuse and writer Graham Roland created a TV series called Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. It was based on the CIA analyst character, Jack Ryan, from Tom Clancy's novels. Carlton Cuse was the showrunner for the first two seasons. The series starred John Krasinski as Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who uncovers a dangerous terrorist plot. Amazon Video ordered eight episodes for the first season. Carlton co-wrote many episodes and directed one.

Jack Ryan became the most-watched series ever on Amazon Prime Video after its second season. In 2019, Carlton Cuse announced he would step back from leading the show day-to-day after the second season to work on other projects, but he remained a producer. The series was renewed for a fourth season, which aired in 2023.

Locke & Key (2020–2022)

Carlton Cuse was the showrunner, producer, writer, and director for Locke & Key. This show was based on a Joe Hill comic-book series. It was a horror and fantasy series about three siblings who move into their old family home after their father is murdered. They discover the house has magical keys that give them special powers. But a tricky demon also wants the keys and will do anything to get them.

Netflix picked up Locke & Key for 10 episodes. The show became very popular, being the top "binge show" on TV time charts and one of the most-watched Netflix original series of 2020. Locke & Key was renewed for a second and third season. Season 2 received even better reviews than Season 1, with an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Five Days at Memorial (2022)

Carlton Cuse and John Ridley wrote all eight episodes of Five Days at Memorial. They also led the series as showrunners. The show was based on a book by New York Times journalist Sheri Fink. Her original reporting, which won a Pulitzer Prize, showed the difficulties a hospital in New Orleans faced after Hurricane Katrina hit the city in 2005. The series starred Vera Farmiga and Cherry Jones.

The show received positive reviews. The Guardian called it "utterly brutal and utterly compelling." The New Yorker praised the "truly masterly performances." Hollywood Life said it was "one of the most important series to come out in a long time."

Pulse (2024)

In February 2024, it was announced that Carlton Cuse would be the showrunner and producer for Netflix's first medical drama series, Pulse. The show looks at the lives of staff at Miami’s busiest trauma center. It follows a young emergency room doctor, Danny Simms, who gets promoted to Chief Resident.

The show stars Willa Fitzgerald, Colin Woodell, and Justina Machado, among others. Production for Pulse began in March 2024.

Mentorship

Carlton Cuse is well known for helping other screenwriters succeed. He believes that working together with other writers is the best way to create great TV. He has said that "collaboration is at the foundation of most great creative achievements."

More than 30 writers who have worked with Carlton Cuse have gone on to lead their own shows. These include Damon Lindelof, Shawn Ryan, and Ryan Condal. In 2015, Carlton Cuse received Variety's Creative Leadership Award for his mentorship work. Damon Lindelof presented him with the award.

Additional

The character of Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) on the TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was named after Carlton Cuse. The creators of the series were friends and classmates of Cuse's at Harvard.

Filmography

Film

• San Andreas (2015)
• Rampage (2018)

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Unsold television pilots

Awards and nominations

Carlton Cuse has won many awards for his work. For Lost, he was nominated for ten Primetime Emmy Awards and won twice: for Best Drama Series in 2005 and for Creative Achievement in Interactive Media in 2009. He also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama in 2005.

He has received five nominations for Producers Guild of America Awards, winning in 2006 for Television Producer of the Year. He also won three awards from the American Film Institute. The Television Critics Association nominated him twelve times, and he won three times for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and once for Outstanding New Program.

Carlton Cuse won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series in 2006. He also won four Saturn Awards for Best Network Television Series. In 2007, he shared the British Academy Television Award for Best International Series for Lost.

In 2009, he won the Peabody Award and the Jules Verne Award. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." He also won a TV Guide Award for Martial Law in 1999. In 2015, he received Variety's Creative Leadership Award and the Dan Curtis Legacy Award for his lifetime achievements. His show Bates Motel won the 2017 People's Choice Award for Favorite Cable TV Drama.

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See also

In Spanish: Carlton Cuse para niños