---
name: "John Shiban"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-shiban"
fi1m_id: "john-shiban"
imdb_id: "nm0793062"
tmdb_id: 29924
wikidata_id: "Q10307893"
roles: ["Writer","Director","Producer"]
born: "8 February 1962"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-24T11:26:16.134284+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Shiban

## Identity

John Shiban

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-shiban
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-shiban
- **IMDb ID:** nm0793062
- **TMDB ID:** 29924
- **Wikidata ID:** Q10307893
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shiban, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10307893, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0793062/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/29924

Writer and director. Born 8 February 1962 in USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Director, Producer
- **Born:** 8 February 1962, USA
- **Active:** 1993–present
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 4 directing, 4 writing
- **Frequently works with:** [Michelle MacLaren](https://film.one/person/michelle-maclaren.md), [Daniel Sackheim](https://film.one/person/daniel-sackheim.md), [Michael Slovis](https://film.one/person/michael-slovis.md), [Phil Abraham](https://film.one/person/phil-abraham.md), [Terry McDonough](https://film.one/person/terry-mcdonough.md), [Thomas Schnauz](https://film.one/person/thomas-schnauz.md), [Vince Gilligan](https://film.one/person/vince-gilligan.md), [Adam Bernstein](https://film.one/person/adam-bernstein.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 2 Emmy nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 84 (1), 2000s 80 (3), 2010s 69 (3), 2020s 66 (1)
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 2, Action & Adventure 1, Crime 1, Mystery 1, War & Politics 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shiban, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10307893, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0793062/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/29924

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Breaking Bad*](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md) (91), [*Better Call Saul*](https://film.one/tv/better-call-saul.md) (84), [*Ozark*](https://film.one/tv/ozark.md) (70)
- **Disney+:** [*The X-Files*](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md) (84)
- **Peacock:** [*Supernatural*](https://film.one/tv/supernatural.md) (77)
- **AMC+:** [*Hell on Wheels*](https://film.one/tv/hell-on-wheels.md) (52)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John Shiban is an American television writer, producer and director. He began his career as a staff writer on *The X-Files* in its third season and later served as a producer on the series. He earned a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute, where he received the Paramount Fellowship and Mary Pickford Scholarship.

Shiban has written and produced episodes of *Star Trek: Enterprise*, *Supernatural*, *Legend of the Seeker*, *The Vampire Diaries* and *Torchwood: Miracle Day*. On *Breaking Bad* he worked as a writer and producer on the second season and as a consulting producer on the third, also directing one episode. He has received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on *The X-Files*, including for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, tvinsider.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

### Directed (4)

- *Better Call Saul* (2015), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/better-call-saul.md)
- *Hell on Wheels* (2011), Fi1m 52, Director, Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/hell-on-wheels.md)
- *Breaking Bad* (2008), Fi1m 91, Consulting Producer, Writer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md)
- *The X-Files* (1993), Fi1m 84, Writer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)

### Wrote (4) — the average rests on these

- *Masters of the Air* (2024), Fi1m 66, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-the-air.md)
- *Ozark* (2017), Fi1m 70, Writer, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/ozark.md)
- *Torchwood* (2006), Fi1m 73, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/torchwood.md)
- *Supernatural* (2005), Fi1m 77, Writer, Teleplay — [page](https://film.one/tv/supernatural.md)

## Complete filmography (26)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Masters of the Air* (2024), series, Story — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-the-air.md)
- *Law & Order: Organized Crime* (2021), series, Writer, Executive Producer
- *NOS4A2: Ghost* (2019), Director
- *NOS4A2* (2019), series, Director
- *Ozark* (2017), series, Executive Producer, Writer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/ozark.md)
- *Shut Eye* (2016), series, Executive Producer
- *Better Call Saul* (2015), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/better-call-saul.md)
- *Da Vinci's Demons* (2013), series, Executive Producer
- *Hell on Wheels* (2011), series, Writer, Producer, Director — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/tv/hell-on-wheels.md)
- *The Vampire Diaries* (2009), series, Co-Executive Producer — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-vampire-diaries.md)
- *Legend of the Seeker* (2008), series, Writer, Producer
- *Rest Stop: Don't Look Back* (2008), Writer
- *Otis* (2008), Producer
- *Breaking Bad* (2008), series, Director, Consulting Producer, Writer — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md)
- *The Gathering* (2007), series, Writer
- *Torchwood* (2006), series, Writer — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/tv/torchwood.md)
- *Rest Stop* (2006), Author, Executive Producer, Director, Writer
- *Supernatural* (2005), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Co-Executive Producer, Teleplay, Consulting Producer — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/supernatural.md)
- *Frankenstein* (2004), Screenplay, Executive Producer
- *Threat Matrix* (2003), series, Writer, Director
- *Star Trek: Enterprise* (2001), series, Writer, Producer
- *The Lone Gunmen* (2001), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Harsh Realm* (1999), series, Writer
- *Inside The X-Files* (1998), Producer, Writer
- *Point Dume* (1995), Writer
- *The X-Files* (1993), series, Writer, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)

## Gallery

- ![John Shiban speaking at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International, for "The X-Files" 20th Anniversary panel, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, C](https://film.one/media/person/61109/gallery-b79b3d1634a7.jpg) John Shiban speaking at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International, for "The X-Files" 20th Anniversary panel, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, C — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/John_Shiban.jpg/1280px-John_Shiban.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![John Shiban](https://film.one/media/person/61109/gallery-2afc74c917c9.jpg) John Shiban — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/John_Shiban_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/1280px-John_Shiban_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1998: Outstanding Drama Series (nominated), for *The X-Files*
- 1997: Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (nominated), for *The X-Files*

### Other awards — 0 won, 3 nominated

- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series 2011: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series (nominated), for *Breaking Bad*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series 2010: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series (nominated), for *Breaking Bad*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama 2010: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-shiban