Dave Caplan
Dave Caplan, Ph.D. (born May 6, 1959) is an American television writer and Executive Producer of prime-time comedies. He co-developed and serves as writer/executive producer of ABC's "The Conners". He was a writer/co-Executive on the reboot of "Roseanne", which was the most-watched scripted TV show of the 2018-2019 season. Education. Born in Los Angeles, California, Caplan graduated from the TV/Film school at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. Caplan began his career when he was accepted into the prestigious Warner Brothers Writers Workshop  in 1989, having his script chosen out of thousands of submissions. Caplan also holds a doctoral degree in psychology, with a specialty in media psychology, from Fielding Graduate University. Writing career. Caplan’s early career saw him writing for such critically lauded comedies as "Roseanne" and "Parker Lewis Can't Lose". He was promoted to writer/Producer on the acclaimed hit ABC-TV series "Dinosaurs". Based on his work on that show, Caplan was rewarded with the first of three "overall" talent deals with Disney Television. Moving on to Warner Brothers Television, Caplan served as writer/Executive Producer on the  ABC hit comedies "George Lopez" and "The Drew Carey Show". In addition to comedy, Caplan helped to launch the record-setting TNT drama "Rizzoli & Isles" by serving as Consulting Producer. Most recently, Caplan was writer/Executive Producer/co-showrunner for the unprecedented 90-episode pickup of FX comedy "Anger Management", starring Charlie Sheen. Awards. Caplan was awarded the Humanitas Certificate for the "George Lopez" episode, “The Kidney Stays in the Picture”. The award was for addressing the pressing need for organ donation. The Writers Guild of America West recognized Caplan for his writing contribution to "Roseanne", which was feted as  one of the 101 best written TV series. In 2011, Caplan was honored with the Cinematheque Award for Alumni by California State University, Northridge.