David Greenwalt: Television writer, producer and co‑creator of Angel

Roles and working style

Greenwalt has worked in the overlapping roles common in television production: as a writer who crafts scripts and episodes, as a director who stages scenes and performances, and as a producer and showrunner who oversees the creative direction of a series. These duties can include developing season‑long story arcs, hiring writers and directors, and managing the day‑to‑day production schedule. His career illustrates how television writers often move between hands‑on script work and higher‑level production responsibilities. See his credit as a screenwriter and as a producer, and note earlier directing credits listed under directorial work.

Major series and creations

Greenwalt is best known for his contributions to genre television. Highlights include:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer — he wrote for the series that mixed supernatural elements with coming‑of‑age drama and helped define a generation of genre TV.
• Angel — co‑creator and architect of the spinoff that shifted Buffy’s tone toward noir and serialized moral conflict.
• Profit — co‑creator of a short‑lived 1990s drama that earned attention for its dark, psychologically driven protagonist and has been described as ahead of its time.
• Moonlight — announced in 2007 as an executive producer and initial showrunner; his early work on the series helped shape its premise before he stepped away for health reasons.

Moonlight and later developments

In June 2007 The Hollywood Reporter announced that Greenwalt would be executive producer and showrunner for the vampire drama Moonlight, scheduled to debut on CBS. He contributed to the series’ early development and season arc, but left his active showrunning duties prior to the premiere because of unspecified health concerns; production statements noted that his creative contribution remained part of the show even after his departure for health reasons.

Significance and legacy

Greenwalt’s work illustrates how television creators can influence both character‑driven storytelling and genre conventions. As a writer and producer on prominent supernatural dramas, he helped popularize serialized moral complexity and darker tonal shifts that many later series have echoed. Profit, although short‑lived, is often cited as an example of provocative network programming in the 1990s; Angel expanded the Buffy universe and demonstrated how spinoffs can explore different registers of theme and style.

Notable distinctions

• Career spans writing, directing and producing—illustrating the fluid creative roles in television production.
• Associated with influential 1990s and 2000s supernatural dramas that blended serialized plotting with character psychology.
• Worked as an initial showrunner for a major network series before withdrawing for health reasons, while still receiving credit for early development work.

For more on Greenwalt’s credits and interviews, consult industry listings and contemporary coverage of the series mentioned above; these provide episode‑level details and context for his creative contributions.