Rasheed Newson (born May 27, 1979) is an American television drama writer, producer, and novelist. He co-developed and is an executive producer of the drama series Bel-Air. His debut novel, âÂÂMy Government Means to Kill Me,â was a 2023 Lambda Literary finalist for Gay Fiction and was named one of âÂÂThe 100 Notable Books of 2022â by The New York Times. The book was rated as one of the three 'Best Book of the Year' in 2022 by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Rasheed grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attendedÃÂ Georgetown University and graduated in 2001. AtÃÂ Georgetown University, Rasheed was a movie reviewer for the student newspaper, The Hoya.
Rasheed identifies himself as gay. He and his husband live in Pasadena with their two children.
In 2008, Rasheed and T.J. Brady were hired as a television writing team to serve as staff writers on the drama series Lie to Me.
In 2020, Rasheed and Brady wrote pilot script to reboot the movie Finding Forrester into a television drama series for NBC.
In 2021, Rasheed co-developed Bel-Air along with Morgan Cooper and Malcolm Spellman. Bel-Air, a retooling of the comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, premiered on Peacock on February 13, 2022. Rasheed and T.J. were executive producers and the showrunners for Season 1 of Bel-Air.
Rasheed worked as co-writer and co-producer on Army Wives; as co-writer and co-producer on The 100; as co-writer and co-supervising producers on Narcos; as co-writer and co-supervising producer on Animal Kingdom; as co-writer and co-executive producers Shooter; as co-writer and consulting producer on The Fix; and as co-writer and co-executive producers on Bel-Air.
Rasheed sold his debut novel, âÂÂMy Government Means to Kill Me,â in 2021 to executive editor Nadxieli Nieto at Flatiron Books. Set in New York during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, the book centered on a Black, gay protagonist. âÂÂMy Government Means to Kill Meâ was published on August 23, 2022. The novel garnered reviews from the Washington Post and New York Times. The Philadelphia Inquirer named âÂÂMy Government Means to Kill Meâ one of the best books of 2022.