Manny Coto

Manny Coto, born Manuel Hector Coto on June 10, 1961 in Havana, Cuba, fled with his mother to Orlando, Florida as a child, where his early fascination with speculative fiction began. His academic path led him to earn a BA from Loyola University New Orleans before pursuing an MFA at the prestigious American Film Institute, where he honed his storytelling craft. By the early 1980s Coto entered the industry, selling the speculative script The Ticking Man for a million dollars in 1990, a deal that, while never produced, demonstrated his commercial appeal. He subsequently wrote and directed an episode of the cult classic Tales from the Crypt and contributed to the revived The Outer Limits in 1995, where his work caught the attention of Showtime executives. This exposure paved the way for his original series Odyssey 5, starring Peter Weller, a collaboration that would later echo across multiple franchises as Coto repeatedly cast Weller in key roles. Joining the writing staff of Star Trek: Enterprise in its third season, Coto quickly rose to co‑executive producer and, by the fourth season, to executive producer alongside Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, imprinting his passion for the franchise on episodes such as “Similitude”, “Chosen Realm” and the fan‑favorite “Azati Prime.” After steering Enterprise, he became an executive producer on 24, overseeing its fifth through eighth seasons and helping shape its real‑time thriller aesthetic. In 2010 he transitioned to Dexter, serving as writer and executive producer for three seasons, where his deft handling of moral ambiguity earned critical praise. Coto’s later credits include creating the sci‑fi series Next for Fox (2020), directing the acclaimed “Feral” episode of American Horror Stories, and contributing to both American Horror Story and American Horror Stories as writer‑producer. He married Robin Trickett in 2004, and despite a relentless schedule, remained active in the industry until his untimely death from pancreatic cancer on July 9, 2023, leaving a legacy of genre‑defining television.