Jessica Jones and Dawson’s Creek Writer Dana Baratta Passes Away at 59

Dana Baratta, a prolific writer and producer whose work includes Jessica Jones, Dawson’s Creek, and Private Practice, has passed away at the age of 59. Baratta’s death, which was announced by her family on Monday, reportedly occurred on Sunday at her Los Angeles Home, due to complications with ovarian cancer. Active in the film and television industry for more than 25 years, Baratta’s filmography also includes fan-favorite genre series Warehouse 13 and The Secret Circle.

Born and raised in Maine, Baratta first broke into the industry with 1994’s Andre, the George Miller-directed film about a seal who befriends a family in the 1960s. Baratta served as writer, co-producer, and montage designer on the film.

Years later, Baratta worked on the hit series Dawson’s Creek as a writer, co-producer, and producer, and wrote seven episodes of the series in total.

“We had such fun and learned on the fly,” Baratta said of working on Dawson’s Creek in a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair. “We were kind of under the radar. There wasn’t a huge amount of notes [from the network] in the beginning.”

“They didn’t understand that the show was exploding because they were all sequestered in Wilmington,” Baratta said of the cast’s overnight fame. “Then, all of a sudden, they were everywhere.”

In the years that followed, Baratta’s credits included Providence, Pasadena, Runaway, The Studio, Cracking Up, Life Is Wild, Warehouse 13, The Secret Circle, Private Practice, Red Widow, and The Divide.

Baratta was a co-executive producer on the first season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, writing three episodes in the season — “AKA The Sandwich Saved Me”, “AKA Sin Bin”, and “AKA 1,000 Cuts”. After that, she served in the same role on the TNT drama Good Behavior. Late last year, it was announced that she would write and executive produce Rules of Magic, a Practical Magic prequel series for HBO Max.

Baratta is survived by her husband, David; stepsons Mathew (and his wife, Jen) and Michael; sister Lise; and brothers Mark and David.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to support Dr. Beth Y. Karlan’s Research Advancement Fund at UCLA Health Sciences Development, Attn: Heidi Saravia, P.O. Box 7145, Pasadena, CA 91109-9903. (Please make checks payable to The UCLA Foundation and indicate in the memo line that the gift is in memory of Baratta.) Or gifts can be made here.

Our thoughts are with Baratta’s family, friends, and fans at this time.