Biography
Joan Rater is an American television writer and producer. She served as a writer on the medical drama series Grey's Anatomy from 2006, joining at the start of the second season alongside her husband Tony Phelan. The pair later became executive producers on the show and ran the writers' room with creator Shonda Rhimes, remaining until after the tenth season.
Rater has written for series including Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), Madam Secretary (2014–2015) and Fire Country (2022–). She co-created the miniseries A Small Light (2023) and the series Fire Country (2022), Doubt (2017), Council of Dads (2020) and Sheriff Country (2025). With the Grey's Anatomy team she received Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007 for Outstanding Drama Series and a Writers Guild of America Award in 2006 for New Series.
