"We are not so narrowly defined as society would have us believe. Yet the limits placed on our appetites, talents, and potential are implanted in us when we are children- too young to recognize the prisons built with words. We could blame it all on our families, but the we'd never find the keys to unlock our cells. The awful genius of our confinement is that we are both the prisoner and the warden. We tell ourselves daily that we aren't free to do this or that because we are that or this. To escape such thinking, we don't have to look far. The keys are in our pocket."
~Rasheed Newson, My Government Means to Kill Me
My Government Means to Kill Me by 
Photo Credit: Christopher Marrs
Interview with Rasheed Newson: “You just have to get on with it.” - Famous Writing Routines (2023)
Rasheed Newson Talks Activism and Sex Positivity in His New Book My Government Means to Kill Me - Into (2022)
Rasheed Newson’s Debut Novel Retells the Early Years of AIDS in New York City - them (2022)
T.J. Brady & Rasheed Newson Interview: Bel-Air - screenrant (2022)
Interview: Rasheed Newson Talks ‘Bel-Air’ And Reimagining A Beloved Sitcom - Geeksofcolor (2022)
Rasheed grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is the eldest of three children. He showed an early interest in reading poetry and fiction. Nikki Giovanni and Kurt Vonnegut were among his favorite writers. It was years before Rasheed had the courage to consider himself a writer.
While attending a Jesuit high school, Rasheed realized that he was definitely a homosexual, and he immediately aimed to become a practicing homosexual. No mean feat in Indiana in the mid-1990’s. Rasheed once spent several hours sitting in a coffee shop because he’d heard rumors that gay people frequented the coffee shop. His loitering was fruitless.
Rasheed is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he wrote movie reviews for the school newspaper, The Hoya. During his time in Washington, D.C., he also worked in the communication and media departments for several non-profit organizations, including the Coalition for Juvenile Justice. For five years, he volunteered with friends as a tutor/playmate at Grandma’s House, a group home for foster care children who were HIV+ or living with AIDS.
In 2002, Rasheed moved to Los Angeles and joined the entertainment industry. He worked as a production assistant; an executive assistant; an assistant to a showrunner; and the second assistant to a network president. He has an ID badge from every studio lot.
Rasheed’s writing career began when he partnered up with T.J. Brady, and together they were hired as staff writers on the Fox drama Lie to Me. As a writing team, Rasheed and T.J. have worked on Narcos, The Chi, and Shooter, among other drama series. They are currently executive producers on Bel-Air.
Over the course of roughly two years, Rasheed wrote the novel My Government Means to Kill Me. It was a passion project that he wasn’t sure would attract a publisher. However, his literary agent, Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret, saw potential in the manuscript. So did his literary editor, Nadxieli Nieto of Flatiron Books. Rasheed is grateful to both of them.
Rasheed lives with his husband and their two children in Pasadena, California.
Bel Air Co-Creator/Executive Producer (2021-2025)
The Chi Co-Executive Producer (2020)
Shooter Co-Executive Producer (2019)
Narcos Supervising Producer (2016)
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