Michael Piller, who wrote and executive produced USA's "The Dead Zone" and several "Star Trek" series, died Tuesday, Nov. 1 at the age of 57.

The television veteran passed away at his Los Angeles home after a long battle with cancer, according to published reports.

Piller was born on May 30, 1948 in New York. After a detour into journalism as a news producer in Charlotte, N.C. and Chicago, he began writing for shows such as "Cagney & Lacey" and "Simon & Simon," for which he also became a producer.

He broke into the "Star Trek" franchise by writing a few episodes for "The Next Generation," and then becoming an executive producer. He received a best drama series Emmy nomination in 1994 for the show. Writing and executive producing on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager" followed. Along with his son Shawn, Piller co-created the USA Network's series "Dead Zone" and cast Anthony Michael Hall as the lead after seeing his performance as Bill Gates in the TV movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley." Piller also wrote and executive produced ABC Family's "Wildfire."

For the big screen, Piller wrote and co-produced "Star Trek: Insurrection," the ninth installment of the "Trek" film franchise in 1998.