Manuel Hector Coto (June 10, 1961 – July 9, 2023) was a Cuban-born American screenwriter, television and film director, and producer of films and television programs.^[1]

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Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Manny Coto
Coto in 2013
Born	Manuel Hector Coto (1961-06-10)June 10, 1961 Havana, Cuba
Died	July 9, 2023(2023-07-09) (aged 62) Pasadena, California, U.S.
Occupation	Director, screenwriter and television producer
Alma mater	American Film Institute
Period	1983–2022
Genre	Drama, adventure, science fiction
Spouse	Robin Trickett

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Coto was the executive producer and showrunner of Star Trek: Enterprise in its final season, and executive producer of four seasons of 24. He was an executive producer and writer for the fifth season of the Showtime television series Dexter.

Coto graduated from the American Film Institute and has experience in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. In 1990, Brian Helgeland and Coto sold a script, The Ticking Man, for $1 million, but the film was never made.^[2] He wrote and directed an episode of Tales from the Crypt and also wrote an episode for and produced The Outer Limits when it was revived on Showtime in 1995. He was given the chance to create and write a series for Showtime after The Outer Limits was cancelled. The resulting series was Odyssey 5 and starred Peter Weller (Coto would later cast Weller in roles on Enterprise, 24 and Dexter).

Coto joined the writing crew of Enterprise in 2003, when the show was in its third season; his episodes include "Similitude", "Chosen Realm" and "Azati Prime". He became a co-executive producer later that season. In the fourth season, he became executive producer of the show, alongside series creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. According to his bio on StarTrek.com, he has been a fan of Star Trek all his life and once wrote a Star Trek comic book.^[3]

After that he became executive producer on the fifth, sixth, seventh and the eighth and final season of 24.

In 2010, Coto joined the crew of Showtime drama series Dexter as a writer and executive producer for the fifth season. He continued to work as a writer and executive producer for the show's sixth and seventh seasons, airing 2011 and 2012.

Films Coto has directed include Cover Up, Dr. Giggles and Star Kid.

Coto was the creator and executive producer of Next, which premiered on October 6, 2020, on Fox.

Coto was the executive producer of American Horror Story and American Horror Stories, having written numerous episodes of both series. He directed the well-received episode, "Feral", from season one of American Horror Stories, and wrote the season opener, "Dollhouse", for season two.

Coto was born in Havana on June 10, 1961, fleeing with his mother to Orlando, Florida.^[4]

Coto married Robin Trickett on December 27, 2004, in Venice, Italy.^[5]

Coto died of pancreatic cancer on July 9, 2023, at the age of 62.^[4]