Meaghan Oppenheimer is an American screenwriter and producer best known for creating the television drama Tell Me Lies. Her career spans film, television writing, producing, and showrunning, with credits that include Queen America, Fear the Walking Dead, We Are Your Friends, and Broken. She has also attracted public attention through her marriage to actor Tom Ellis, but her professional work remains the central part of her career.
For viewers discovering her through Tell Me Lies, Oppenheimer’s career offers a broader story. She moved from writing film and television projects into creating and running series, developing a reputation for character-focused stories involving complicated relationships, ambition, and emotionally difficult choices.
Who Is Meaghan Oppenheimer?
Meaghan Oppenheimer is a writer and producer whose work has appeared across film and television. Her professional credits include writing for Fear the Walking Dead and We Are Your Friends, while her television-creator credits include Queen America and Tell Me Lies.
She was born Meaghan Reed Oppenheimer and is originally from Oklahoma. Public biographical records list March 28 as her birthday, although a birth year is not consistently provided in reliable public sources.
Her early career included the short film Hot Mess, released in 2010. She later wrote the screenplay The Remains, which made the 2013 Black List, an industry recognition that helped establish her as a screenwriter to watch.
Quick Career Overview
| Career area | Notable work |
|---|---|
| Screenwriting | We Are Your Friends, Broken, Fear the Walking Dead |
| Television creation | Queen America, Tell Me Lies |
| Producing | Tell Me Lies, Queen America, Broken |
| Showrunning | Tell Me Lies |
| Early work | Hot Mess, The Remains |
Meaghan Oppenheimer and Tell Me Lies
The project most closely associated with Meaghan Oppenheimer is Tell Me Lies, the Hulu drama based on Carola Lovering’s novel. Oppenheimer serves as the show’s creator and has writing and executive-producing credits on the series.
The series follows Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco as their relationship develops over several years. Its story examines attraction, deception, friendship, secrecy, and the long-term consequences of complicated relationships. Grace Van Patten plays Lucy, while Jackson White portrays Stephen.
Oppenheimer’s role goes beyond adapting the source material. As the television creator and showrunner, she has been involved in shaping the series’ larger narrative and its approach to the characters. IMDb’s production credits list her as an executive producer and showrunner across the series.
💡 Pro Tip:
If you are researching Oppenheimer because of Tell Me Lies, look at both her creator and writing credits. They show the difference between simply working on a series and having a central role in developing its television adaptation.
Queen America and Earlier Television Work
Before Tell Me Lies, Oppenheimer created Queen America, a comedy-drama series that premiered in 2018. The series starred Catherine Zeta-Jones and centered on a demanding pageant coach helping contestants compete in the world of beauty pageants. Oppenheimer received creator and writing credits on the show.
Her earlier television work also includes an episode of Fear the Walking Dead. Her film credits include We Are Your Friends, while Broken is another project associated with her as a writer and producer.
These projects help explain the progression of her career: from screenwriting and individual television assignments to creating series and taking on broader production responsibilities.
Her Writing Style and Storytelling Career
Oppenheimer’s projects frequently place relationships and personal conflicts at the center of the story. Queen America uses the competitive world of pageantry to explore ambition and identity, while Tell Me Lies focuses heavily on the complicated dynamics between young adults and the people around them.
That does not mean every project she has worked on follows the same formula. Her credits cover different genres and formats, including drama, comedy-drama, film, and television. Her career is better understood as a progression toward creator-led television rather than as a single-genre career.
Her work on Tell Me Lies is particularly notable because the series requires long-term character development. The story moves across multiple years, allowing relationships and consequences to evolve rather than being resolved within a single film.
Meaghan Oppenheimer and Tom Ellis
Oppenheimer is married to Welsh actor Tom Ellis, widely known for playing Lucifer Morningstar in Lucifer. The couple began dating in 2015, became engaged in 2017, and married on June 2, 2019. They have a daughter together.
Their professional lives have also overlapped. Ellis appeared in Tell Me Lies as Oliver, joining a series created and executive-produced by his wife. The two have discussed their experience of working together and have previously collaborated professionally on Queen America.
The couple’s family also includes Ellis’s three daughters from previous relationships, making their household a blended family.
What Is Meaghan Oppenheimer Working On?
One of the projects associated with Oppenheimer is Second Wife, a Hulu series involving Oppenheimer and Tom Ellis, with Emma Roberts also attached to the project. Public industry listings identify Oppenheimer as executive producer and showrunner on the series, which remains a notable part of her current professional profile.
For audiences following her career, the project is significant because it continues her work in television while again connecting her professional responsibilities with Ellis as a performer.
📌 Key Takeaway:
Meaghan Oppenheimer has built her career from screenwriting into television creation and showrunning. While Tell Me Lies brought her work to a much wider audience, her earlier credits on Queen America, Fear the Walking Dead, We Are Your Friends, and Broken show that her career developed over many years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Meaghan Oppenheimer known for?
Meaghan Oppenheimer is best known as the creator of Tell Me Lies. She has also worked as a writer and producer on projects including Queen America, Fear the Walking Dead, We Are Your Friends, and Broken. Her television career includes both writing and executive-producing responsibilities.
Is Meaghan Oppenheimer married to Tom Ellis?
Yes. Meaghan Oppenheimer and actor Tom Ellis married on June 2, 2019. They have one daughter together and are also part of a blended family that includes Ellis’s three older daughters.
Did Meaghan Oppenheimer create Tell Me Lies?
Yes. Oppenheimer is credited as the creator of the television adaptation of Tell Me Lies. The series is based on Carola Lovering’s novel and stars Grace Van Patten and Jackson White. Oppenheimer also has writing, executive-producing, and showrunning credits on the series.
What other shows did she create?
Before Tell Me Lies, Oppenheimer created Queen America, a series starring Catherine Zeta-Jones. She has also worked as a writer on Fear the Walking Dead and as a writer and producer on other film and television projects.
Where is Meaghan Oppenheimer from?
Public biographical sources identify Oppenheimer as being born in Oklahoma. Her birth date is listed as March 28, although reliable public sources do not consistently provide a birth year.
Conclusion
Meaghan Oppenheimer’s career extends well beyond her connection to Tom Ellis or a single television series. She has worked as a screenwriter, producer, creator, and showrunner, gradually moving into larger creative responsibilities. Tell Me Lies remains her most recognizable television credit, while projects such as Queen America and Broken provide important context for how she developed as a storyteller. For anyone exploring Meaghan Oppenheimer’s work, her credits reveal a career built around character-driven television and film storytelling.
