Biography

Thomas is an acclaimed screenwriter, director and producer for television and film. He is the co-creator and executive producer for CBS’s series reboot of S.W.A.T, which just celebrated its 8th and final season.

Thomas grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and attended Morehouse College before earning a B.A. with honors in English Literature at the University of Kansas. He moved to Los Angeles and, after earning his MFA at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, was selected for the prestigious CBS Writers Mentoring Program.

Thomas began his professional career as a writer’s assistant on Soul Food: The Series and went on to write for such TV series as NBC’s Friday Night Lights, for which he received a Peabody Award, and the CBS procedurals Numb3rs and CSI:NY. Thomas has also served as a Co-Executive Producer on TNT’s SouthLAnd, Fox’s Sleepy Hollow and Netflix's The Get Down. He is currently a partner in BET Studios, along with Kenya Barris and Rashida Jones.

Thomas is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he teaches MFA Thesis In Television Drama for the John Wells Writing Division for Screen and Television and serves on MFA thesis committees for the Peter Stark Producing Program. Thomas joins Bennington as faculty in the MFA in Screenwriting Low-Residency Program for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Photo Credit: Cheriss May