John Marcum Wells is an American producer, writer, and director. He is best known for his role as showrunner and executive producer of the television series ER, Third Watch, The West Wing, Southland, Shameless, Animal Kingdom, and American Woman, as well as the miniseries Maid and the upcoming series Rescue: HI-Surf. His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California. Wells is also a labor leader, having served as president of the Writers Guild of America, West from 1999 to 2001 and from 2009 to 2011. Wells serves on the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Board of Governors. In 2011, he developed the series Shameless on Showtime, which ran for eleven seasons ending in 2021.

The 52nd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 10, 2000. The ceremony was hosted by Garry Shandling and was broadcast on ABC. Networks Bravo and The WB received their first major nominations; this remains the only year in which a series from the latter or its descendants received a major nomination. The nominations were announced on July 20, 2000.