Josh Berman

Josh Berman was born in 1972. Berman's writing career began in comedy in 1998 when he won an NBC writing contest.^[1]

Drop Dead Diva, created by Berman originally for Fox, premiered on Lifetime on July 12, 2009. Produced by Sony Pictures Television, the series stars stage actress Brooke Elliott as Jane, a brilliant, thoughtful, and overweight attorney whose body is inhabited by the soul of a vapid fashion model, and Margaret Cho as her loyal assistant, Teri. Berman's grandmother, who he described as having “carried herself as a supermodel,” inspired the character Jane, as Berman sought to bring his grandmother's self-acceptance and life-affirming energy to the screen.^[2] His Osprey Productions company most recently signed a deal with Sony Pictures Television.^[3]

Berman has written and directed Drop Dead Dave, an hour-long series that is still in development as of October 2021. It explores a similar concept to his popular series Drop Dead Diva; the new series follows the character Dave as he finds new perspective when reincarnated as a complicated Gen X lawyer.^[4]

Berman is a native of Encino and is gay.^[2] His brother, David Berman, is head researcher for CSI, and occasionally plays assistant coroner "Super Dave" Phillips.^{[citation needed]}