James A. Fino

James A. Fino
Born	1965 (age 60–61)
Other names	James Fino James Andrew Fino
Education	University of Texas at Austin
Occupations	Producer Production manager CEO
Years active	1994-present
Employer	Starburns Industries
Known for	Film and Television
Notable work	Rick & Morty HarmonQuest Animals Woman in the Book
Board member of	Producers Guild of America

James Andrew Fino (born 1965/1966) is an American television and film producer and media executive. ^{[1] [2] [3]} He is best known as a founding partner of Starburns Industries, an animation studio based in Burbank, California.

Fino is also best known for serving as an executive producer on the first two seasons of the animated sitcom Rick and Morty, and as a producer for the Academy Award-nominated stop-motion film Anomalisa . ^[4]

Early life and education

Fino attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in advertising. He later became an instructor at the university's UTLA program in Burbank, teaching courses on new media and emerging entertainment. ^[5]

Career

Early career and Fox (1989–2004)

Fino began his career in advertising as a junior art director for JCPenney, before transitioning into television production. In 1994, he worked as a writer's assistant on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement .

In 1996, he joined the production team of the animated series King of the Hill at 20th Century Fox, eventually serving as the show's animation production manager until 2000. During this period, he also worked as an executive producer for the online animated series, Gary the Rat . From 2003 to 2005, he served as a production coordinator for the live-action series, 8 Simple Rules . ^[6]

Starburns Industries (2010–present)

Main article: Starburns Industries

In 2010, Fino co-founded Starburns Industries alongside Dan Harmon, Dino Stamatopoulos, Joe Russo II, and Duke Johnson. Fino has continued to expand the studio's reach into new media and publishing. ^[7]

In 2018, he helped launch SBI Press, a comic book and graphic novel imprint. More recently, he served as a producer on the Better Call Saul animated spin-off, Slippin' Jimmy (2022). Along with Eric M. Esquivel, he co-wrote the horror anthology comic series, ¡Fantasmagoria!.

Recent projects

In late 2022, he joined the international production company, Final Frontier, as an executive producer to manage their North American expansion.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Electroma	Visual effects
2014	Harmontown	Executive producer	Documentary
2015	Anomalisa	Producer	Nominated—Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
2018	Bubbles	Executive producer	Cancelled
	The Emperor's Newest Clothes
2021	Claydream
	The Black Hole
2022	The Weird Kidz

Television

Years	Title	Role	Notes
1997–2000	King of the Hill	Animation production manager	59 episodes
2000-2001	Gary the Rat	Animation producer for MediaTrip
2003-2005	8 Simple Rules	Production coordinator
2010	Community	Producer	Episode: "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas"
2012	Warehouse 13: Grand Designs	Executive producer
2013–2015	Rick and Morty		Seasons 1–2
2016–2018	Animals
2016–2019	HarmonQuest
2020-2021	The Freak Brothers		Season 1
2021	Alpha Betas		1 episode
	Woman in the Book
2022	Slippin' Jimmy	Producer

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Award / Category	Work	Result
1999	Television Academy	Emmy Award Certificate	King of the Hill	Won
2001	Aspen Comedy Festival	Best Animated Show	Gary the Rat	Nominated
2005	Producers Guild of America	Highest Achievement Membership Enrollment	Professional Service	Won
2006		Marc A. Levey Distinguished Service Award	New Media Leadership	Won

References

1. "James A. Fino - Filmography, Age, Biography, Credits & More". Mabumbe. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
2. "James Fino. Executive producer and producer | Slated". www.slated.com. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
3. "James Fino". MUBI. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
4. "Notable Alumni | Radio, Television and Film". rtf.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
5. "Faculty | UTLA Program". utla.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
6. https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/5416287/#:~:text=Executive%20Producers:%20Greg%20Daniels%2C%20Mike,Science%20in%20Advertising%20%2D%20May%201988
7. KTEP (2017-01-10). "ON FILM: James Fino". KTEP 88.5 FM. Retrieved 2025-12-17.

External links

• James A. Fino at IMDb
• James A. Fino on LinkedIn