Alex Kurtzman

Kurtzman is known, alongside Orci, for frequently collaborating with Michael Bay and J.J. Abrams, as well as co-creating for numerous Paramount Plus series: Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024), Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023), and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present); he also serves as showrunner of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2026–present).

Kurtzman was born into a Jewish family and raised in Los Angeles, California. His longtime screenwriting partner Roberto Orci was his best friend in high school. Kurtzman attended Wesleyan University.

Kurtzman first teamed with Orci on the syndicated series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, for the television unit of Pacific Renaissance Pictures, then operating out of Universal International. After they produced several storylines to cope with the absence of lead actor Kevin Sorbo following a stroke that Sorbo had suffered during the fourth season, Kurtzman and Orci, both aged 24, were placed in charge of the show. They moved into films after they were asked to rewrite Michael Bay's The Island. The film earned nearly $163 million at the worldwide box office, on a budget of $126 million, which was enough of a success that they were brought in to write Bay's Transformers, which earned $710 million. Though The Island and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were not particularly well received by critics, the two films earned a combined $1.7 billion. They co-created the Fox TV series Fringe in 2008 along with J. J. Abrams. After the pilot, Kurtzman served as consulting producer on the show for the remainder of its run. They then co-wrote the 2009 film Star Trek. In 2011, Forbes magazine described Orci and Kurtzman as "Hollywood's Secret Weapons". Kurtzman has frequently worked with a tight-knit group of film professionals which include J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Adam Horowitz, Roberto Orci, Edward Kitsis, Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, Jeff Pinkner, and Bryan Burk. In April 2014, both Orci and Kurtzman confirmed to Variety that they would no longer work together on film projects; they added that they would still work together—but only on television projects. In 2018, Kurtzman signed a new five-year deal with CBS Television Studios to oversee and expand the Star Trek franchise on television, including serving as executive producer on Star Trek: Discovery (which he also co-showran with Michelle Paradise), Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Starfleet Academy (which he co-showruns with Noga Landau). In August 2021, Kurtzman and his production company Secret Hideout extended their overall deal with CBS Studios through 2026.

In 2002, Kurtzman married Samantha Counter, the daughter of lawyer Nick Counter.