Matthew Williams (born April 18, 1951) is an American television producer, television writer, and professor.^[1]

Williams, whose birth name is Mark, is a graduate of the University of Evansville and did post-graduate work in theater at The University of New Orleans.^[2] Before becoming a writer and producer, he was an actor, appearing in commercials, theater and as Ben Martin on the CBN soap opera Another Life in the early 1980s.^[3]

One of his many credits is creating and executive producing, along with Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean, the TV series Home Improvement. He produced films such as What Women Want. He was a writer/producer for The Cosby Show and A Different World, and wrote the screenplay for Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.

Williams created the TV series Roseanne, starring comedian Roseanne Barr. Barr became upset learning that he was credited as the creator. During the first season, she refused to stay some of his lines and by the thirteenth episode threatened to quit if he wasn't fired. ABC fired him, but he retained "created by" credit for its series run and also for its spin-off The Conners.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Additionally, he has written the play "Between Daylight and Boonville", and directed and co-produced the feature film Where the Heart Is starring Natalie Portman. He also wrote and directed Walker Payne in 2006, starring Jason Patric, Drea de Matteo, and Sam Shepard.^[12]

Williams is originally from Evansville, Indiana.^[13] Williams is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Film at Columbia University School of the Arts in New York, NY.^[14]