Brian Buckner

Brian Buckner has built a career quietly working behind the scenes on some of the most popular sitcoms on television. He started off as a writer and story editor for ABC's Michael J. Fox vehicle "Spin City" in 1996 and took on additional production duties in 1998. The next year he jumped over to NBC to work on creator Steven Levitan's quirky sitcom "Stark Raving Mad." Although Buckner had originally written an episode of "Friends" back in 1996 he officially joined the show as a writer and producer in 2000. "Friends" would also be the third time he had teamed up Sebastian Jones -- over the years the two had become frequent writing partners. Buckner worked on the show, for which he won an Emmy, until its last season in 2004. Afterwards he was tapped by "Friends" executive producer Shana Goldberg-Meehan to produce the spin-off series "Joey." Although it enjoyed the same time slot and many of the same crew as its parent series, the show failed to connect with fans of "Friends" and was cancelled after two seasons, leaving Buckner looking for the next project. He reunited with "Friends" creator David Crane for his short-lived CBS ensemble sitcom "The Class" in 2006. The show's quick demise ended up being a blessing in disguise for Buckner, who found himself available when tapped by "Six Feet Under" creator Alan Ball to write and produce his new hit series for HBO, "True Blood."