Brian Wayne Peterson (born c. 1971/1972) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and showrunner. After finding success writing the script for 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader, he and his writing partner Kelly Souders wrote and produced Smallville, Beauty and the Beast, Salem, Genius, and The Hot Zone for National Geographic. Peterson received a Master of Fine Arts in writing for screen and television from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1997. It was here that he met Souders, where the two decided to form their writing partnership.