Michael Ian Walker is a playwright and screenwriter who was hailed by The New Yorker and named one of American Theater Web's Playwrights Worth Watching for the Off-Broadway production of his play, Blackout. His musical Bromance, written with composer Kyle Ewalt, premiered in London to critical acclaim, and was seen in New York in sold-out runs at The Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub and Caroline’s On Broadway. He was most recently a staff writer on the Paramount TV drama Long Slow Exhale for showrunner Pam Veasey.
Michael’s other dramatic writing includes the short film, Chin Up (winner, Audience Choice Award at Atlanta Shortsfest, Best Film at Fusion Film Festival), the play, Letter from Algeria (produced Off-Broadway by GroundUp Productions), and the musicals, The Lucky Ones (commissioned by Broadway Across America and winner, CAP21 Writer’s Residency) and Pumped (commissioned by the producers of The Drowsy Chaperone and winner, TRU’s New Voices Musical Festival). Michael’s theatrical work has also been commissioned/developed at Ars Nova, Playwrights Horizons, 92Y, Athena Theater Company, and The Abingdon Theater, as well as regionally at UNC’s Playmakers Rep, Jacob’s Pillow International Festival, and the Barn Theater in Michigan.
In Television, before writing on Long Slow Exhale, Michael also worked as the WA and Script Coordinator the Netflix hit Sweet Tooth for showrunners Beth Schwartz and Jim Mickle and Season 3 of the critically acclaimed Sundance Chanel/AMC show, Hap & Leonard, for showrunner John Wirth. He also cut his teeth in the non-fiction television world as a producer, writer, and researcher on the hit History Channel show, Hunting Hitler.
Michael earned his BA from Yale University and his Master’s degree from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and King’s College, London. He has taught playwriting workshops at UNC Chapel Hill, Columbia University, and The New York Film Academy.
Michael is represented by The Cartel.