Joseph Dougherty is an Emmy and Humanitas Prize winner for his work on the groundbreaking series thirtysomething, he has written several movies for HBO including the remake of Attack of the 50 Ft. Womandirected by Christopher Guest, and the Emmy-winning noir/occult mashup Cast a Deadly Spell, which was nominated for a Ray Bradbury Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

He has contributed as a writer and director to many popular television series, including Judging Amy, Once and Again, and Saving Grace. He was a writer, director, and executive producer on the hit series Pretty Little Liars, cocreated the Pretty Little Liars spinoff Ravenswood, and helped launch Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. His books include Comfort and Joi, Trunk Piece, A Screenwriter's Companion, The First Cylinder, Psychopomp, and The Persistence of Phosphors, which received an AfterEllen Visibility Award as Best Book of 2013.