Douglas Petrie is a prominent American screenwriter, director, and producer. He rose to fame through his significant contributions to the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where he served as a writer, director, and co-executive producer.

His screenwriting prowess extended to the film industry, co-writing the screenplays for Fantastic Four and Harriet the Spy. Petrie's versatile skills in television also led him to work on shows such as Angel, The 4400, Tru Calling, and American Horror Story: Coven. His role expanded into production with his involvement as a co-executive producer and writer for two seasons of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and as a consulting producer and writer for the second season of Pushing Daisies.

He also made a cameo appearance in Joss Whedon's web-based film, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, as 'Professor Normal'. Petrie escalated his presence in the superhero genre by serving as co-executive producer on the first season of the Netflix show Daredevil, eventually stepping up as showrunner for its second season alongside Marco Ramirez. This dynamic duo was also at the helm of The Defenders, a miniseries that interlinks popular Marvel series Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.