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Patrick Somerville
Patrick Somerville
Patrick Somerville
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Patrick Somerville (born April 14, 1979)[1] is an American novelist and television writer living in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Key Information

Career

[edit]

Novels

[edit]

Somerville graduated from Cornell University in 2005.[2] He published his debut novel, The Cradle, in 2009[3] and his second novel This Bright River in 2012.[4]

Television

[edit]

In 2013, Somerville joined the writing staff of The Bridge,[5] where he wrote two episodes of the series.[6][7] From 2015 to 2017, he was a writer on the HBO series The Leftovers.[8] In October 2016, it was announced that Somerville would write the Netflix series Maniac.[9] In December 2017, he signed a deal to develop new TV and digital projects exclusively for Paramount Television (now Paramount Television Studios).[10] In October 2019, it was announced that he would be the writer and showrunner for a 10 episode HBO Max miniseries Station Eleven.[11] He was also the showrunner for the first season of the series Made for Love.[12]

In April 2022, it was announced that Somerville and Emily St. John Mandel would adapt The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility as two Station Eleven followup series for HBO Max.[13]

In July 2025, it was announced that Somerville would serve as showrunner for the Wolfenstein adaptation for Amazon Prime Video.[14]

Film

[edit]

Somerville is set to write and produce an original script, Ursa Major, directed by Jonathan and Josh Baker for XYZ Films. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Xochitl Gomez are attached to star in the film.[15]

Publications

[edit]

Novels

[edit]
  • The Cradle (2009)[16]
  • This Bright River (2012)[17]

Short story collections

[edit]
  • Trouble: Stories (2006)[18]
  • The Universe in Miniature in Miniature (2010)[19]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Credited as Notes
Creator Writer Producer
2013–2014 The Bridge No Yes No 4 episodes
2014 24: Live Another Day No Yes No 2 episodes
2015–2017 The Leftovers No Yes Yes As writer (4 episodes)
As co-producer (season 2)
As supervising producer (season 3)
2018 Maniac Yes Yes Executive Miniseries (10 episodes)
2021–2022 Made for Love Co-creator Yes Executive Co-created with Alissa Nutting, Dean Bakopoulos and Christina Lee
As writer (3 episodes)
2021–2022 Station Eleven Yes Yes Executive Miniseries (10 episodes)
2025 Predator: Badlands No Yes No Credited for "additional literary material (not on-screen)"[20]
TBA Ursa Major No Yes Yes Pre-production

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Patrick Somerville

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from Grokipedia
Patrick Somerville (born April 14, 1979) is an American novelist, short story writer, and television writer-producer. Somerville grew up in , attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his undergraduate studies, and earned a in from . His literary debut was the Trouble in 2006, followed by the novel The Cradle in 2009, the The Universe in Miniature in Miniature in 2010, and the novel This Bright River in 2012. In television, he gained prominence as a writer on HBO's The Leftovers from 2014 to 2017, before serving as and creator for the limited series Maniac in 2018 and HBO Max's in 2021. In 2022, Somerville co-founded the production company with director David Eisenberg. As of August 2025, he signed a two-year overall deal with to develop projects, including a television adaptation of the video game , for which he is attached as creator, writer, executive producer, and .

Early life and education

Early life

Patrick Somerville was born on April 14, 1979, in . He spent his formative years in Green Bay, where the stark, cold landscape of snowy winters and "dirty snow" profoundly influenced his young imagination and . Raised in a secular household without religious instruction, Somerville developed an early preoccupation with themes of , , and human struggles, drawing from everyday ethical dilemmas rather than doctrinal frameworks. His mother played a key role in instilling these values, enforcing lessons in —for instance, requiring him to learn proper flag-folding after he admitted to cheating during Boy Scouts. Somerville's childhood also involved navigating family dynamics that shifted from an idealized view to revelations of divorce and hidden secrets, experiences that later informed his interest in personal narratives and subversive storytelling. These early encounters with Midwestern life and interpersonal complexities provided the foundation for his engagement with and creative expression before pursuing higher education.

Education

Somerville attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his undergraduate studies, where he majored in English. He later pursued graduate studies at , earning a in Fiction in 2005. During his time in the MFA program, Somerville taught English and courses, serving as a in Cornell's English department. In this role, he incorporated innovative multimedia tools into his First-Year Writing Seminar, utilizing the university's (CL)^3 multimedia production laboratory to enhance student engagement with writing assignments. These academic experiences provided a rigorous foundation for his development as a , emphasizing both pedagogical and creative aspects of craft.

Literary career

Short stories

Somerville's short fiction career commenced with individual publications in prominent literary magazines and anthologies. His debut story, "Trouble and the Shadowy Deathblow," appeared in One Story issue #28 in 2003, introducing a narrative of youthful mischief and consequence infused with wry humor. In 2006, "So Long, Anyway" was published in Epoch and subsequently selected for inclusion in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007, where it explored themes of loss and reflection through a dentist's posthumous influence on a patient's life. Additional stories appeared in outlets such as GQ, Esquire, The New York Times, and Guernica, often delving into surreal encounters and personal introspection, though specific titles from these venues remain less documented in public records. His first collection, Trouble: Stories, was published by in September 2006 as a 224-page volume comprising 11 tales centered on the trials of American manhood from to adulthood. Notable entries include "," which portrays a young boy's chaotic entry into maturity amid family tensions, and the Pushcart Prize-nominated title story, featuring a boy's ill-fated scheme involving a shadowy . Critics lauded the book's improvisational wit and empathetic portrayal of vulnerability, with highlighting its energetic humor while noting occasional uneven pacing in character development. Somerville's second collection, The Universe in Miniature in Miniature, emerged from Featherproof Books in November 2010, structured as a series of interconnected "mini-novels" forming a loose arc. Set in a post-apocalyptic and Midwest where the ceases rotating, the book follows characters like a man inheriting a that reveals others' inner psychological universes, enabling explorations of miniature, self-contained worlds. Themes of , marital strain, and existential isolation dominate, with surreal elements amplifying emotional undercurrents—such as a retired mercenary's quest to mend his relationships abroad. Reviews commended its crackling innovation and seamless blending, from realism to whimsy, with ForeWord Reviews praising the realistic character depth amid fantastical premises. Newcity Lit described it as a bold , evoking a dying world's quiet revelations. Throughout his short fiction, Somerville's style matured by intertwining sharp humor with surreal twists and profound emotional resonance, crafting concise vignettes that probe human frailty without sentimentality. This approach laid essential groundwork for his longer-form novels, refining his ability to balance invention with authentic psychological insight.

Novels

Patrick Somerville's debut novel, The Cradle, was published in 2009 by Little, Brown and Company. The story follows Matt Bishop, a Milwaukee factory worker in 1997, who embarks on a quest to locate an antique cradle for his pregnant wife, Marissa, after she insists on retrieving the one from her childhood that her mother took upon leaving the family. Interwoven with Matt's journey is the narrative of Renee Owen, a children's book author whose son is preparing for deployment to Iraq; Renee's past includes the relinquishment of a child for adoption, which resurfaces during a family trip to Hawaii. The novel explores themes of parenthood, loss, buried family histories, and the fragile bonds of marriage and reconciliation, presenting a compact yet multifaceted examination of domestic life and self-discovery. Critics praised its swift, cinematic prose and emotional depth, with The New York Times describing it as a "complex first novel" that achieves epic scope in a lean 203 pages. The Cradle earned Somerville the 2009 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, recognizing significant achievement by a Chicago-based author, and was nominated for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize; it was also selected as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick for Spring 2009. Somerville's second novel, This Bright River, appeared in 2012, also from Little, Brown and Company. The narrative centers on Ben Hanson, a 32-year-old man recently released from prison for arson, who returns to his Wisconsin hometown of St. Helens to handle his late uncle's estate and grapples with the suspicious death of his cousin Wayne. As Ben, aided by Lauren Sheehan—a doctor recovering from a mental breakdown—investigates family mysteries through flashbacks and unexpected connections, the story delves into hidden traumas involving Ben's long-lost brother, Will. Themes of family secrets, mental health struggles, delusion, violence, and the elusive nature of home and redemption drive the plot, blending elements of mystery with introspective literary tragedy. Reviewers noted its gripping tension and narrative sophistication, with The New York Times commending Somerville's "adept control" in merging past and present to explore emotional damage and life's unpredictability. In a 2012 interview with The Rumpus, Somerville described the writing process as an evolution toward darker tones, stating, "there was just something darker and more dangerous that needed to grow out of that first half," while emphasizing the novel's focus on "the problems of idealizing the home [and] the past" amid lurking "monsters." Somerville's novels exhibit a character-driven style rooted in his background in short fiction, where successes in collections like Trouble (2006) paved the way for his full-length prose contracts by allowing him to hone atmospheric, interconnected narratives. His work often incorporates subtle speculative or "weird" elements within realistic frameworks, balancing linear storytelling with emotional complexity to evoke powerful responses, as he reflected in a 2010 Vol. 1 Brooklyn interview: "clear and well-crafted storytelling... is the most emotionally powerful form there is," though he sought formal innovation to avoid constriction. This approach connects his novels to his shorter works by steeping readers in intimate psychological landscapes, prioritizing human relationships and quiet revelations over overt plot machinations.

Screenwriting career

Television

Somerville's work as and on the miniseries Maniac (2018) earned nominations from major industry guilds, underscoring the project's collaborative achievements in limited series television. The series received a (WGA) nomination for Long Form Adapted in the 2019 awards, shared with writers Nick Cuse, , Amelia Gray, Danielle Henderson, Mauricio Katz, and . It also garnered a (PGA) nomination for Outstanding Producer of Limited Series Television at the 30th annual awards, shared with producers including , , Doug Wald, , and . His contributions to HBO's The Leftovers (2014–2017), where he served as a writer and producer, aligned with the series' critical acclaim but did not yield personal guild nominations for Somerville; the show itself earned multiple Primetime Emmy nominations across its run, including for Outstanding Drama Series in 2015 and 2017. Somerville's most prominent television recognitions came from the HBO Max miniseries Station Eleven (2021–2022), which he created, wrote, and executive produced. The series received a 2022 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for the episode "Unbroken Circle," Somerville's first personal Emmy nod. It also earned a Gotham Award nomination for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, highlighting the ensemble's contributions including executive producers Jessica Rhoades and Scott Steindorff. Additionally, Station Eleven was nominated for Best New Scripted Series at the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards in 2023, recognizing Somerville's adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel's novel. For , Somerville received a 2022 USC Scripter Award nomination in the Television category for the episode "Wheel of Fire," based on Mandel's novel, celebrating excellence in adaptation from literature to screen. These nominations, particularly for Maniac and , elevated Somerville's profile in prestige television, facilitating subsequent projects like the HBO series Made for Love (2021–2022) and reinforcing his transition from literary fiction to acclaimed screenwriting. In July 2025, announced development of a television adaptation of the video game series, with Somerville attached as creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner under his production banner chaoticgood.tv, in collaboration with Kilter Films. As of August 2025, he signed a two-year overall deal with to develop additional television projects.

Film

Somerville's transition to feature film writing draws on his television background, where collaborative writers' rooms contrast with the more solitary, self-contained process of crafting a single . In interviews, he has described how projects like the limited series Maniac bridged the gap, feeling "more like a movie" due to its fully outlined structure and close director collaboration, allowing for condensed emotional arcs without the iterative revisions typical of ongoing TV seasons. This experience has informed his approach to film, emphasizing tighter storytelling to fit a feature's runtime. A key project in Somerville's film portfolio is the original sci-fi thriller , which he co-wrote and is producing. Directed by Jonathan and Josh Baker for , the script was developed in collaboration with writers Katie French and Colleen O'Brien. The story centers on a mother and daughter, Charlie and Natalie, who struggle for survival on a terraformed, Earth-like while evading a group of relentless hunters. stars as Charlie, with portraying Natalie; the film entered in 2023 and is slated for a 2026 release. Through his production company Tractor Beam, co-founded with David Eisenberg in 2022, Somerville continues to develop original film scripts, leveraging his showrunning expertise to streamline narrative focus for cinematic formats. This venture prioritizes feature-length stories that condense complex themes into cohesive, standalone experiences, differing from the serialized expansion common in television.

Awards and nominations

Literary

Somerville received the 2009 21st Century Award from the Foundation for his debut novel The Cradle. This annual honor recognizes emerging storytelling talent with connections to , highlighting Somerville's early contributions to contemporary . The Cradle was also shortlisted for the 2009 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. In 2010, Somerville was awarded a fellowship at MacDowell, a renowned artists' colony in that provides residencies to support creative work in , music, and . The program's prestige stems from its history of fostering over 9,000 artists since , offering uninterrupted time and space for development. Somerville's short fiction has earned additional recognition, including the inclusion of his story "So Long, Anyway" in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007, an anthology curated by that selects standout nonfiction and fiction from U.S. and Canadian publications. The title story from his debut collection Trouble (2006) was nominated for the , which annually honors exceptional short fiction, essays, and poetry published in literary magazines. For his second novel, This Bright River (2012), Somerville received a nomination for the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, submitted by the . This prestigious €100,000 prize, the world's richest for a single novel, features longlists drawn from worldwide library recommendations, emphasizing works of literary excellence translated into English. These literary accolades helped establish Somerville's reputation, facilitating his later transition to .

Television

Somerville's work as and on the miniseries Maniac (2018) earned nominations from major industry guilds, underscoring the project's collaborative achievements in limited series television. The series received a (WGA) nomination for Long Form Adapted in the 2019 awards, shared with writers Nick Cuse, , Amelia Gray, Danielle Henderson, Mauricio Katz, and . It also garnered a (PGA) nomination for Outstanding Producer of Limited Series Television at the 30th annual awards, shared with producers including , , Doug Wald, , and . His contributions to HBO's The Leftovers (2014–2017), where he served as a writer and producer, aligned with the series' critical acclaim but did not yield personal guild nominations for Somerville; the show itself earned multiple Primetime Emmy nominations across its run, including for Outstanding Drama Series in 2015 and 2017. Somerville's most prominent television recognitions came from the HBO Max miniseries Station Eleven (2021–2022), which he created, wrote, and executive produced. The series received a 2022 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for the episode "Unbroken Circle," Somerville's first personal Emmy nod. It also earned a Gotham Award nomination for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, highlighting the ensemble's contributions including executive producers Jessica Rhoades and Scott Steindorff. Additionally, Station Eleven was nominated for Best New Scripted Series at the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards in 2023, recognizing Somerville's adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel's novel. For , Somerville received a 2022 USC Scripter Award in the Television category for the episode "," based on Mandel's , celebrating excellence in from to screen. These nominations, particularly for Maniac and , elevated Somerville's profile in prestige television, facilitating subsequent projects like the series Made for Love (2021–2022) and reinforcing his transition from to acclaimed .

References

  1. https://ffrf.org/publications/day/patrick-somerville/
  2. https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/patrick-somerville
  3. https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/wolfenstein-tv-show-patrick-somerville-amazon-overall-deal-1236494216/
  4. https://deadline.com/2022/01/station-eleven-patrick-somerville-tractor-beam-production-company-launch-1234916331/
  5. https://www.cleveland.com/books/2009/07/patrick_somerville_author_of_t.html
  6. http://midwestgothic.com/2014/01/interview-patrick-somerville/
  7. https://therumpus.net/2012/06/10/the-sunday-rumpus-interview-patrick-somerville/
  8. https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/patrick-somerville-the-bright-river
  9. https://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/qa-with-station-eleven-showrunner-patrick-sommerville/
  10. https://johnaugust.com/2022/scriptnotes-episode-553-adapting-station-eleven
  11. https://www.wpr.org/person/patrick-somerville
  12. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2005/09/cl3-multimedia-production-laboratory-marks-its-first-year
  13. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/books/a-little-start-up-entertains-one-story-at-a-time.html
  14. https://one-story.com/product/trouble-and-the-shadowy-deathblow/
  15. https://www.barcelonareview.com/66/e_ps2.html
  16. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/170289/trouble-by-patrick-somerville/
  17. https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Miniature-Patrick-Somerville/dp/0982580819
  18. https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-universe-in-miniature-in-miniature/
  19. https://lit.newcity.com/2011/07/27/fiction-review-the-universe-in-miniature-in-miniature-by-patrick-somerville/
  20. https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/patrick-somerville/the-cradle/9780316036117/
  21. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/books/review/Bakopoulos-t.html
  22. https://www.chipublib.org/chicago-public-library-foundation-awards/
  23. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/books/review/this-bright-river-by-patrick-somerville.html
  24. https://www.vol1brooklyn.com/2010/12/07/an-interview-with-patrick-somerville/
  25. https://www.wga.org/news-events/news/press/2018/tv-new-media-news-radio-audio-promotional-writing-nominations-announced
  26. https://deadline.com/2019/01/producers-guild-awards-2019-nominees-movies-tv-full-list-1202529101/
  27. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2022-gotham-awards-winners-full-list-1235270305/
  28. https://theplaylist.net/abbott-elementary-the-bear-2023-spirit-award-tv-nominations-20221213/
  29. https://libraries.usc.edu/article/finalists-named-34th-annual-usc-libraries-scripter-awards
  30. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2019-wga-nominations-tv-new-media-radio-news-more-noms-1165913/
  31. https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/wolfenstein-tv-series-amazon-kilter-patrick-somerville-1236469609/
  32. https://deadline.com/2023/04/jessica-biel-set-for-sci-fi-thriller-ursa-major-from-patrick-somerville-1235329540/
  33. https://productionlist.com/production/ursa-major/
  34. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17218858/
  35. https://cplfoundation.org/awards/archive/
  36. https://www.centerforfiction.org/awards/first-novel-prize/
  37. https://www.macdowell.org/artists/discipline/liiterature-fiction/p47?sort=dateAdded
  38. https://books.google.com/books/about/Trouble.html?id=38G8bHL4HcwC
  39. https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/the-library/authors/patrick-somerville/
  40. https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/the-library/libraries/chicago-public-library/
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