Rob Thomas

Robert James Thomas (born August 15, 1965) is an American author, producer, director and screenwriter. He created the television series Veronica Mars (2004–2007, 2019), co-developed 90210 (2008–2013), and co-created Party Down (2009–2010, 2023) and iZombie (2015–2019). Education and early career Thomas was born in Sunnyside, Washington. He graduated from San Marcos High School in 1983 and went to Texas Christian University (TCU) on a football scholarship. Thomas played 11 games for the TCU Horned Frogs football team in 1984 as a backup tight end and special teams player. He had one interception that season, off a fake punt attempt by Kansas State. He later transferred to the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1987 with a BA in history from its College of Liberal Arts. Before he began writing novels for young adults, Thomas taught high-school journalism at John Marshall High School in San Antonio, Texas, and later at John H. Reagan High School in Austin, Texas. He advised the University of Texas at Austin student magazine. From August 1993 to June 1995 he worked for Channel One News, an experience which informed his 1998 novel Satellite Down. Thomas was a member of three San Marcos, Texas bands—Public Bulletin, Hey Zeus, and Black Irish—from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.