If Mark Gordon's name isn't familiar, his filmography will be. The producer's diverse 20-year includes “The To Do List,” “Rampart,” “Source Code,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Wonder Boys,” “A Simple Plan,” and “Speed.” He earned an Oscar nomination in 1999 for “Saving Private Ryan.” His upcoming films include Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs biopic and Todd Phillips' upcoming comedy “Arms and The Dudes” starring Shia LaBeouf and Jesse Eisenberg. And today, the Producers Guild of America announced that Gordon would be honored with a lifetime achievement award – for his contributions to television.
Yes, Gordon's success stems to successful TV too. Gordon is currently the executive producer on ABC”s “Grey”s Anatomy,” CBS” “Criminal Minds” and Showtime”s “Ray Donovan,” with notable past work including “Private Practice,” “Army Wives” and “Reaper.” The PGA will present Gordon with the 2015 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television during its 26th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Jan. 24, 2015.
As a former President of the Producers Guild of America and the man who spearheaded The Producer's Mark (the addition of “p.g.a” after names in front-end credits), Gordon is an adored figure in the producing world. In a statement accompanying the announcement, Producers Guild Awards Co-Chairs Todd Black (“The Equalizer,” “The Pursuit of Happyness”) and Ryan Murphy (“The Normal Heart,” “American Horror Story,” “Glee”) make that perfectly clear: “Rarely do we come across an entertainment powerhouse who not only raises the bar for the standard of television, but changes the landscape of the industry altogether. Mark Gordon is that powerhouse, whose vision has brought us some of the most essential television shows of our time.”
Gordon's next series, “Benched,” a courtroom comedy starring Eliza Coupe, Jay Harrington, Oscar Nunez, Maria Bamford, Fred Melamed, will premiere Oct. 28 on USA.