Anthony Sparks hails from Chicago’s South Side and has worked in television over the last 19 seasons. A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in television, theatre and film, Anthony is in his 3rd season as the Showrunner, Head Writer, and Executive Producer of the critically acclaimed OWN/Warner Bros. Television drama, “Queen Sugar”. Queen Sugar, created by Ava DuVernay, is currently airing its 5th season and filming its 6th season. Anthony has been with the show since its inception. He is also developing multiple series with Blumhouse Television, where he recently signed an overall First Look Deal.
It was also recently announced that Sparks will write, showrun, and executive produce a scripted drama about the Detroit Youth Choir, which rose to prominence on America's Got Talent in 2019. The show was sold to and is being written and developed for the Disney+ streaming network.
Other writer/producer credits include: The Blacklist (NBC); the J.J. Abrams series “Undercovers” (NBC); the groundbreaking "Lincoln Heights" (ABC Family), and "The District" (CBS). Anthony started his career in theatre. He performed at prestigious theatres such as the The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival, the Old Globe Theatre, Williamstown Theater Festival and Crossroads Theatre. He also performed a lead role for five years in New York in the hit theatre show STOMP, before garnering the attention of television executives with his acclaimed play, Ghetto Punch.
Anthony recently received a 2020 Television Honors Award from the Television Academy for his work as showrunner on Queen Sugar and has also been nominated for 3 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Television Drama Writing over the last 12 years. In addition to his television work, he was also nominated for the 2017 NAACP Image Awards for his first book, Running the Long Race in Gifted Education and he has also received two writing awards from the Norman Lear Center.
Anthony holds a BFA degree in theatre, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in American Studies & Ethnicity, all from USC, the University of Southern California. Anthony received the Jack Nicholson Award, LeVar Burton Award, and Doolittle Associates Award while an undergraduate at USC and the Anna Bing Arnold Fellowship while pursuing graduate work at USC.
Dr. Sparks is also a cutting-edge scholar of media, performance studies, and African American politics and culture. When time allows, he teaches screenwriting and cultural studies at Cal State Fullerton, Occidental College, and USC.
Anthony Sparks is based in Los Angeles, where he is married to actor-director and USC School of Dramatic Arts professor and Associate Dean, Anita Dashiell-Sparks. They live in Los Angeles and are working hard to raise their three young children.
