Married writers Joan and Tony found their way to Los Angeles and television writing after a decade in New York working as theatre artists. After joining “Grey’s Anatomy” as a writing team at the start of Season 2, the couple rose through the ranks and co-ran the show alongside creator Shonda Rhimes for seasons 7 through 10. Over their nine seasons they wrote eighteen episodes and Tony directed fourteen. For their work on “Grey’s Anatomy” they earned a WGA Award for Best New Series in Television in 2005 and were nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2006 and 2007, both for "Outstanding Drama Series."

Since 2016, Phelan and Rater have been developing and running their own shows including “Council of Dads” for NBC, and “Doubt” “Fire Country” and “Sheriff Country” for CBS.

In 2023 they created the eight episode limited series “A Small Light” for NatGeo and Disney+. Based on the life of Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Anne Frank and her family in Amsterdam during World War II, the show won the Humanitas Prize for Limited Series; the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Series; and the Television Academy Honors for a drama series that creates awareness, enlightens, educates and/or positively motivates audiences.

The husband and wife team enjoyed a successful Off-Broadway run with their stage play GOOD WILL at The Director’s Company in 1998, and The New York Times gave it a rave review, hailing it as “touching and thought-provoking.” Tony is an alum of Yale University. Joan is an alum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. They live in Pasadena with their dogs Lola and Frank and don’t see enough of their grown children Tom and Sally.