Daniel Knauf, sometimes credited under the pseudonyms Wilfred Schmidt and Chris Neal, is an American television screenwriter and producer, as well as comic book writer, best known for his creation of the 2003 HBO series Carnivàle.

[2][1] Hoping to become a screenwriter, Knauf's first draft of Carnivàle, written in 1992,[3] was 180 pages long and twice the length of the average feature film.

[2] Knauf went on to write the 1994 HBO-produced television movie Blind Justice,[5] and, during a low-point in his screenwriting career, created his own website, posting his resume and Carnivàle's first act online.

He was also writer and director on the 2002 film Dark Descent (his sole directing credit)[1] before a television production scout brought Carnivàle to television producers Scott Winant and Howard Klein, who brought it to HBO where the series ended up being produced,[5] twelve years after Knauf had first drafted the script.

Knauf was the writer and showrunner of the short-lived NBC series Dracula, before joining the staff of The Blacklist with the beginning of season two.