Shonda Rhimes

TV Series: Grey’s Anatomy, two-time Golden Globe Award-winner for best drama series, was Shonda Rhimes’s first foray into television. The show with its ensemble of delicious doctors and their ongoing romantic liaisons has garnered a large fan following. Private Practice, a spin off of Grey’s Anatomy, is also written by Shonda and premiered in 2007 with Kate Walsh from Grey’s Anatomy as the central character of the show.

Movies: In 2002, the then 20-year-old pop star Britney Spears made her debut in Shonda’s Hollywood venture Crossroads, about three best friends and featuring the Britney song I’m not a girl, not yet a woman. Next, Shonda wrote the screenplay for teen flick The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.

What’s to come: Another medical drama series is in the making, called Off The Map, scheduled to air in April 2011.

Director Ryan Murphy acheived huge success with his TV series Glee (top). He is also the maker of the Julia Roberts-Javier Bardem starrer Eat Pray Love that released this year

Ryan Murphy

TV Series: Murphy is director of the smash hit musical comedy Glee, a sitcom about the students of William McKinely High School. Offering a heady mix of drama, music and comedy, the show has quickly achieved cult status, with fans — called ‘Gleeks’ — of all ages. Celebrities like Javier Bardem, Neil Patrick Harris and Britney Spears have all made guest appearances on the show.

Movies: Murphy is the man behind Eat Pray Love, based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling novel, with Julia Roberts in the lead. Murphy decided to make the movie after finding an emotional connect with the book that helped him tide through his own rough break-up.

What’s to come: Upcoming Glee episodes centred on music icons after the Madonna special episode was a hit and another project with Julia Roberts that is still being penned.

David E. Kelley

TV Series: A TV veteran best known for creating legal drama series such as The Practice, Boston Legal, Chicago Hope and Ally McBeal. The former Boston lawyer turned director has been prolific, at one time even being involved in five shows. Boston Legal (2000-2004) and Ally McBeal (1997-2002) have both won him Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

Movies: To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday is one of Kelley’s better known films, starring Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes and wife Michelle Pfeiffer. It is the tale of a widower trying to come to terms with his wife’s untimely death. His other films include From The Hip and Lake Placid.

What’s to come: An all new Wonder Woman TV series for Warner Brothers will be produced by Kelley. A TV series called Harry’s Law, created by Kelley, is slated to air in early 2011.

Alan Ball

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (top) starring Sarah Michelle Gellar is director Joss Whedon’s best known television work. He also co-wrote the Disney-Pixar animation film Toy Story

TV Series: Vampire story True Blood and dark family drama series Six Feet Under are Alan Ball’s most noted small screen creations. Both shows have a haunting and somewhat gory storyline, a signature of Ball’s work. While True Blood is based on the Southern Vampire Mystery novels with ample killing and bloodshed, Six Feet Under was about a family of undertakers with the focus very much on death.

Movies: Ball scripted the Oscar-winning Sam Mendes film American Beauty. His other movie Towelhead, based on Alicia Erian’s novel, had sex, race and privacy as its themes.

What’s to come: Another HBO series titled All Signs Of Death.

Kevin Meade Williamson

TV Series: In 1998, Williamson’s first TV venture Dawson’s Creek became a huge hit amongst the teens with its candy-floss romance and young Katie ‘Mrs Cruise’ Holmes and Joshua Jackson as part of its star cast. His latest show to air on TV is Vampire Diaries, which is a Twilight-type human, vampire love-triangle story.

Movies: Williamson is embedded firmly in the horror space, with big-grossing movies like Scream 1, 2 and 3, I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Faculty to his credit.

What’s to come: Williamson is currently writing and producing Scream 4, scheduled for release in April 2011.

Joss Whedon

TV Series: Buffy The Vampire Slayer is Whedon’s best known television work that ran through seven seasons and won him an Emmy award. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy is the “chosen one”, a slayer destined to battle against vampires and other evils. It put Whedon on the road to fame with great reviews and huge fan following.

Movies: Whedon co-wrote the screenplay for the first pathbreaking Disney-Pixar animated film, Toy Story. Andy and his talking toys changed the rules of the animation game and were all top grossers, with the characters being recreated as real toys, videogames and other merchandise.

What’s to come: Whedon is currently directing a live action film named The Avengers.

Can you add to the list? Tell t2@abpmail.com