Shawn Ryan Net Worth

What is Shawn Ryan's Net Worth?

Shawn Ryan is an American screenwriter and television producer who has a net worth of $30 million. Shawn Ryan is known for creating or co-creating such shows as "The Shield," "Timeless," "S.W.A.T.," and "The Night Agent." He also co-wrote the screenplay to the 1998 mockumentary film "Welcome to Hollywood." Among his other notable credits, Ryan served as a writer on the television series "Nash Bridges," "Angel," "The Unit," and "Lie to Me."

Early Life and Education

Shawn Ryan was born on October 11, 1966 in Rockford, Illinois to a schoolteacher mother and a CPA father. As a youth, he was educated at Keith Country Day School. Ryan went on to attend Middlebury College in Vermont.

Career Beginnings

After graduating from Middlebury College, Ryan entered and won the Norman Lear playwriting contest, sponsored by Columbia Pictures Television. As part of his award, he won a $25,000 cash gift and meetings with Columbia's top television producers.

(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Television Career, 1990-2010

Ryan had his first major television credit in 1990 as a writer on the NBC sitcom "My Two Dads," starring Paul Reiser, Greg Evigan, and Staci Keanan. Later, in 1997, he began writing for the Fox animated sitcom "Life with Louie" and the CBS police procedural series "Nash Bridges." After leaving the latter show in 2000, Ryan wrote for the WB supernatural drama series "Angel," a spinoff of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" starring David Boreanaz as the titular remorseful vampire.

In 2002, Ryan created his first show: the crime drama "The Shield." The FX series starred Michael Chiklis as Vic Mackey, a corrupt police officer leading a fictional experimental division of the LAPD. A major success with both critics and audiences, "The Shield" ran for seven seasons through 2008 and won numerous awards. Ryan served as head writer of the series. Meanwhile, from 2006 to 2007, he wrote a couple episodes of David Mamet's CBS series "The Unit." After that, in 2010, Ryan wrote for the Fox series "Lie to Me" and the short-lived FX series "Terriers."

Getty Images

Further Television Career

In 2011, Ryan created his second show, another crime drama series: "The Chicago Code." Focused on the work of officers in the CPD, it starred Jason Clarke, Jennifer Beals, and Matt Lauria, among others. Ultimately, the Fox show was short-lived, airing only 13 episodes. Ryan went on to co-create the ABC military drama series "Last Resort" with Karl Gajdusek; it, too, only lasted 13 episodes. His next project was the Amazon Prime Video series "Mad Dogs," which he wrote an episode of in 2016. Also that year, Ryan co-created the NBC science-fiction series "Timeless" with Eric Kripke. Starring Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, and Malcolm Barrett as members of a team trying to stop an enigmatic organization from changing the course of history via time travel, the series ran for two seasons through 2018.

In 2017, Ryan co-created the CBS series "S.W.A.T." with Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. Based on the 1975 television series and the 2003 film of the same name, it starred Shemar Moore as LAPD Sergeant and former US Marine Daniel 'Hondo' Harrelson. The show, which existed in a shared universe with Ryan's previous show "The Shield," ran for seven seasons through 2024. Meanwhile, in 2023, Ryan created and wrote for the Netflix series "The Night Agent," based on the novel by Matthew Quirk about a vast US government conspiracy. It stars Gabriel Basso in the titular role as FBI agent Peter Sutherland.

(Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Film Career

Although primarily known for his television work, Ryan has contributed to film. In 1998, he co-wrote the mockumentary film "Welcome to Hollywood" with its directors Tony Markes and Adam Rifkin. Markes also starred in the film, which featured dozens of celebrity cameos by the likes of Halle Berry, Glenn Close, Roger Ebert, Laurence Fishburne, Salma Hayek, and John Waters, among others.

Personal Life

In 1998, Ryan married actress Cathy Cahlin, who later played Corrine Mackey on Ryan's show "The Shield" and Dr. Wendy Hughes on his "S.W.A.T." Together, they have two children.