Ilene Chaiken

Ilene Chaiken has accomplished extraordinary range and versatility throughout her career as a writer and producer working in film and television and continues to defy all boundaries. Chaiken created the groundbreaking hit series, “The L Word” which is about lesbian life in Los Angeles and airs on Showtime. The show follows a group of friends, both gay and straight, through stories of career, family, inner struggle, friendship and romantic relationships and stars an impressive cast, including Jennifer Beals and Pam Grier. Chaiken made her directorial debut in Season 2 of “The L Word” with the season finale episode, “Lacuna,” and has continued to direct episodes of the series since. The 5th Season of “The L Word,” just premiered January 6th 2008 with positive reviews and excellent ratings.

In January 2007, Ilene Chaiken and a small group of prominent women from the entertainment and technology worlds launched OurChart.com, a full-featured social network on the Web for lesbians and their friends which continues to grow with traffic being over half- million strong and new initiatives underway. In March 2006, “The L Word: Welcome to Our Planet” book Simon & Schuster was published with excerpts throughout the book by Chaiken.

Chaiken’s other writing credits include the Showtime Original Pictures “Damaged Care” and “Dirty Pictures,” which won a Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Movie in 2000. Chaiken’s feature film work includes “Barb Wire” which was produced by Propaganda Films and starred Pamela Anderson. Prior to her writing career, Chaiken was an executive for Aaron Spelling Productions and Quincy Jones Productions.

Chaiken is currently the showrunner for Fox's "Empire."