Minear was an assistant director on the film Platoon, and wrote episodes for several television series including The X-Files, Zorro, and Lois and Clark.

He later wrote, executive-produced, and directed episodes of Strange World, Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, and The Inside (which he also created, with Howard Gordon).

Tim Minear has worked on several shows that have lasted for only one season, including Strange World, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside, Drive, Terriers, and The Chicago Code.

Because of all of the shows he has written and produced that lasted for only one season, he took the Twitter handle "@CancelledAgain" to mark his status as a writer/producer who was consistently in search of more work.

[8] Minear, since 2011, when American Horror Story (AHS) debuted, has been an executive producer for multiple successful shows for 20th Century Fox Television.