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The Corinne Kingsbury Playbook: 5 Creative Secrets Of The Showrunner Behind In The Dark

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Corinne Kingsbury has quietly established herself as one of modern television’s most versatile and insightful creators, deftly navigating the stark contrast between broadcast network comedy and prestige dark drama. As of December 18, 2025, while fans eagerly await her next major series announcement following the successful four-season run of her critically-acclaimed CW hit, In the Dark, her influence as a showrunner and writer continues to shape the landscape of character-driven television.

Kingsbury’s career trajectory is a masterclass in creative range, moving from the fast-paced, multi-camera world of a CBS sitcom to the complex, morally ambiguous narrative of a police procedural drama. Her signature touch lies in creating deeply flawed, yet intensely relatable characters—a creative philosophy she has discussed publicly, providing a rare glimpse into the mind of a top-tier industry professional.

Corinne Kingsbury: A Comprehensive Biography & Profile

Corinne Kingsbury is an American writer, television producer, director, and former actress, best known for creating and executive producing the series In the Dark and Fam.

  • Full Name: Corinne Kingsbury
  • Date of Birth: July 11, 1981 (Note: Date based on one public record, age 44 as of late 2025)
  • Occupation: Television Creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Actress
  • Notable Roles: Creator/Executive Producer of In the Dark and Fam. Story Editor on The Newsroom.
  • Spouse: John Francis Daley (m. 2016)
  • Children: One son, Basil Daley
  • Marital Status: Married
  • Early Career: Began her career as a writer and story editor, working on critically-praised series like Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom and the short-lived but beloved sports comedy Back in the Game. [cite: 6 (from first search)]
  • Residences: Has been noted for owning property in the Los Angeles area, including a luxury villa in Encino, which she and her husband sold in September 2022.

The Kingsbury Method: 5 Creative Secrets of a Modern Showrunner

Kingsbury has been open about her disciplined yet experimental approach to writing and showrunning, a process that allowed her to successfully juggle two series—the multi-camera sitcom Fam and the dark crime drama In the Dark—simultaneously in 2019. Her insights reveal a focus on character motivation and an almost obsessive commitment to the rewriting process.

1. Embracing the Rewrite: "The Favorite Part" of the Process

Unlike many screenwriters who dread the revision stage, Kingsbury has stated that rewriting is her favorite part of the writing process. She admits to loathing the "blank page" and does not subscribe to the "vomit draft" method favored by some of her peers. For her, the first draft is "groping in the dark," while the second draft is "working with a light on," allowing her to see the path forward. This belief in the power of revision is central to the quality of her scripts.

2. The Three Rewriting Rules: Endings, Logic, and Character

Kingsbury follows a set of strict, character-focused rewriting rules to ensure the narrative is tight and emotionally resonant. Her primary rules are: "Start at the end," "Make it make sense," and "It's the characters, stupid!" By starting at the ending, she can track the necessary character decisions that lead to the conclusion, ensuring motivation is clear and earned. She stresses that characters must be motivated by more than just plot machinations, which is a hallmark of her work on In the Dark, where the protagonist's questionable decisions are always rooted in her personal, often self-destructive, nature. [cite: 3 (from first search), 6]

3. Character Deep Dive: The "Gumbo" Approach

Kingsbury believes that strong, unique characters are what set a story apart, even in well-trod genres like action or horror. She describes her character creation process as being like cooking "good gumbo," combining research into time periods and specialty knowledge with real-life experiences she's had with family, friends, and associates. This technique resulted in the complex, cynical, and highly unique protagonist of In the Dark, Murphy Mason (played by Perry Mattfeld), a blind, irreverent young woman whose moral compass is constantly shifting. [cite: 3 (from first search)]

4. The Multi-Genre Master: From Multi-Cam to Dark Drama

A true testament to her versatility is her ability to create and run two vastly different series: the traditional, multi-camera CBS sitcom Fam and the serialized, dark crime drama In the Dark, which aired on The CW and streamed on Netflix. [cite: 4 (from first search), 3 (from first search)]

  • Fam (CBS, 2019): Kingsbury created the show with the intention of bringing back the "cozy nostalgic feeling" of '90s sitcoms like Frasier, focusing on a simple premise of a woman (Nina Dobrev) whose seemingly perfect life is upended when her rebellious half-sister moves in. [cite: 12 (from first search)]
  • In the Dark (The CW, 2019–2022): This series, which she developed with executive producers Ben Stiller and Nicky Weinstock, was a complete tonal shift. It centered on Murphy Mason, an anti-hero who attempts to solve the murder of her drug-dealing friend, Tyson Parker, while navigating her own criminal entanglement. [cite: 3 (from first search), 12 (from first search)]

This dual-track success highlights her skill in adapting her storytelling to different formats and audience expectations, from broad comedy to gritty police procedural.

5. Prioritizing a "Satisfying" Conclusion

When In the Dark was unexpectedly canceled ahead of its final season, Kingsbury demonstrated her commitment to the fans by ensuring a proper ending. She revealed that the creative team wrote and shot two endings for the series—one with a cliffhanger and one that provided a "satisfying" wrap-up—just in case the show was not renewed for a fifth season. [cite: 11 (from first search), 13 (from first search)] This foresight, resulting in a conclusive series finale on September 5, 2022, speaks volumes about her dedication to narrative closure for her audience, even amid the uncertainty of network television.

Personal Life and Influences: The Comedy of Contrast

Corinne Kingsbury’s personal life has often informed her professional work, particularly the themes of family and contrast seen in Fam. She married actor, writer, and director John Francis Daley in 2016. Daley is widely recognized for his acting roles, such as Dr. Lance Sweets on Bones and Sam Weir on Freaks and Geeks, and for his successful screenwriting/directing partnership with Jonathan Goldstein on films like Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Kingsbury has humorously described their contrasting upbringings as the inspiration for Fam. She came from a "very dysfunctional background," while Daley came from a "normal background" with a loving, traditional family. [cite: 12 (from first search)] This meeting of two different worlds—her past meeting his present—became the simple, relatable premise for her CBS sitcom, showcasing her ability to mine personal experience for universal storytelling.

What’s Next for the Master Showrunner?

Since the conclusion of In the Dark in late 2022, Corinne Kingsbury has maintained a relatively low profile in terms of new project announcements, a common period of development for a showrunner after a major series wraps. Her last major public professional contribution was an insightful piece on her rewriting rules published in March 2024, confirming her continued active involvement in the craft of screenwriting.

Given her track record, the industry is anticipating her next move. A writer of her stature, known for her ability to navigate both the network multi-cam format and the serialized streaming drama, is highly sought after. Her future endeavors are likely to continue her focus on character-driven narratives, perhaps leaning into the dark comedy or crime genres where she found her greatest success. Whether she returns to a major broadcast network like The CW or CBS, or develops a new series for a streaming giant like Netflix or HBO Max, Corinne Kingsbury remains a key figure whose next project will be keenly watched by fans and industry insiders alike, ready to see what new, complex characters she brings to the screen.

corinne kingsbury
corinne kingsbury

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