K a r e n J a n s z e n wrote two of six episodes of MGM+’s 2024 sci-fi miniseries Earth Abides as well as writing the pilot and co-developing the Nat Geo and FX series Mars. She’s worked on wide-ranging projects but always digs into character and story, seeking the unexpected while grounding narratives in humanity and emotional truth.

She’s written pilots for original series for ABC, CBS, and Tandem, and her television credits include an episode of HBO’s From the Earth to the Moon. Her feature credits include Netflix’s Rescued by Ruby, Warner Bros. films Dolphin Tale, A Walk to Remember, and Duma as well as the indies Gracie, Digging to China, and The Matchmaker.

The daughter of a physicist and psychologist, Janszen grew up exploring and imagining in fields and woods outside Boston. She was a late bloomer who often ate lunch in the library stacks. It took until college for her to find her place and her people, and to wed her outsized curiosity and varied interests to her story sense. She studied at the University of California, Harvard, MIT, and the AFI as she made several quick transitions from anthropology to science journalism to publishing to series development to screenwriting and producing. She was one of Variety’s Ten Screenwriters to Watch.

She’s represented by Sandra Lucchesi and Katy McCaffrey at Gersh, and Nicholas Bogner at Affirmative Entertainment.