Josh Appelbaum is an American television writer, screenwriter, showrunner and producer.
Appelbaum is from a Jewish family. He attended the Riverdale Country School in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York, with longtime writing and producing partner André Nemec. He then went on to attend the University of Southern California.
Appelbaum has written for shows such as Life on Mars, October Road, Happy Town and Citadel. He has also written or produced such films as , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Project Almanac, , Wonder Park and Without Remorse.
He frequently collaborates with a tightly-knit group of film professionals which include J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Adam Horowitz, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Edward Kitsis, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg and Bryan Burk.
In March 2025, it was announced Applebaum and Rosenberg will produce an eight episode live action Scooby-Doo series for Netflix.