STAR, DARREN

STAR, DARREN (1961– ), U.S. television writer and producer. Star was born in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Potomac, Md., the eldest son of an orthodontist father and freelance-writer mother. As a child, he was obsessed with Hollywood. By age 15, he had a subscription to the trade publication Variety, and, while in high school, he took screenwriting classes at American University. After graduating college from UCLA, Star worked odd jobs to support his writing career, and at age 24 sold his first screenplay, Doin' Time on Planet Earth, a sci-fi movie for teens (starring Adam West of TV's Batman). In 1990, Fox paired Star with famed TV producer aaron spelling (Charlie's Angels, Dynasty) to write the pilot for a dramatic series set in high school, and Beverly Hills, 90201 (1990–2000) was born. It was an enormous hit, which spawned another Fox series, Melrose Place (1992–99), based on an apartment complex in Los Angeles where Star once lived. Star's first solo venture, Central Park West (1995), lasted only 17 episodes. However he followed this with the HBO cable hit, Sex & the City (1998–2004), a racy comedy about a New York sex columnist (sarah jessica parker ) and her three best friends (Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrell, and Kristen Davis), which was ground-breaking in its depiction of stylish contemporary women and their relationships. It was a critical hit with many nominations and awards, including winning Golden Globes for Best Comedy Series (2000, 2001, 2002) and the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series (2001). Star continued to create new shows, including Miss Match (2003) starring Alicia Silverstone, and Kitchen Confidential (2005). (Amy Handelsman (2nd ed.)