J.J. BAILEY - WRITER / PRODUCER
BIO
J.J. went to college in Santa Barbara where he received his B.S. in Business and Economics and started working in Commercial Real Estate. He then decided to become a screenwriter. His parents were super stoked with that decision. The product of an India-born Brit and a Yankee Naval officer, J.J. grew up on family stories of far flung adventure and excitement. One grandfather was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force after WWII, the other was a hunter-for-hire in India, killing man-eating tigers for the British Railway. And this is where J.J. got it – that itch, that need for excitement and for storytelling – it was in his blood. And it’s why Real Estate nearly killed his soul.
Now J.J. lives and writes in Los Angeles where that very same need inspires his work and play. Whether it’s surfing the outer reef passes of Samoa, dirt biking the beaches of Nicaragua in search of isolated waves, sharing a beer with American ex-pats in Central America, or hosting the 2011 award winning travel/adventure show, Clean Break, it all about finding his next story and the characters who will inspire it.
After winning the TV Drama category in the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting contest in 2017, he set up his first pitch, VANISHING POINT, at UTV and NBC with Chris Morgan producing. Most recently, JJ sold his original drama pitch E.C.H.O. to UTV/NBC, where it was picked up to pilot in early 2020 with David Frankel directing and John Davis producing. Currently he’s working on two shows for UTV/NBC: THE INTERNATIONAL, which fulfilled his blind deal with the studio, and THE GETAWAY, which he co-created with Moira Kirland. Both shows are currently awaiting pilot orders by NBC.