Kat Likkel and John Hoberg

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Kat Likkel and John Hoberg
OccupationScreenwriters and producers
EducationLikkel: Emporia State University
Hoberg: Skidmore College
Years activeLate 1990s–present
Notable works My Name Is Earl , Better Off Ted , Galavant , and Elemental

Kat Likkel and John Hoberg are an American duo of screenwriters and producers of television and film. A married couple who has been working together since the late 1990s, their writing and production credits include television series My Name Is Earl , Better Off Ted , Black-ish , Galavant , Downward Dog , and American Housewife , as well as the Pixar film Elemental .

Contents

Early life and education

Kat Likkel grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan. [1] During her sophomore year in high school, she moved to Colby, Kansas, where she graduated from Colby High School. Likkel went to Emporia State University where she initially studied acting, then later moved to Los Angeles to pursue a writing career. [2]

John Hoberg grew up in Grandview Heights, Ohio. [3] He attended Grandview Heights High School and graduated from Columbus Academy. [1] He was later educated at Skidmore College in Upstate New York. [3]

Career

Likkel and Hoberg began their writing careers separately, working in children's television. [3] Likkel began writing for animated shows in the late 1990s. Among her early credits were episodes of Rugrats and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters , where she also had the opportunity to direct the voice acting performance of Tim Curry who had a recurring role. She also wrote episodes for Disney's Timon & Pumbaa . [1]

In 1999, Likkel was a co-creator of the animated show Sabrina: The Animated Series . Writing for Sabrina: The Animated Series was also among Hoberg's first work, but the couple initially resisted working together with Hoberg's career diverging toward live-action television with Nickelodeon sketch comedies All That and The Amanda Show . [1]

In 2003, the couple began to consistently team up, beginning with Hope & Faith starring Kelly Ripa. The ABC sitcom was their breakthrough writing role and also provided them with experience with a production before a live audience. [1] Their next notable role was on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl , on which by Season 4, Likkel and Hoberg were both serving as co-executive producers. [4] [5]

Likkel and Hoberg next worked on Better Off Ted (2009–2010), Better with You (2010–2011), The Neighbors (2013–2014), [4] [5] and Black-ish . [1] During this period, they had signed a two-year overall contract with ABC Studios beginning 2010 and renewed multiple times. [6]

In 2015, they began to write and executive produce Galavant , a fantasy musical series. To oversee production on the eight-episode first season, they moved to England for four months and were on set everyday running the production. [3] [7] They returned as showrunners for the second season of Galavant. [8]

Likkel and Hoberg were showrunners on ABC's Downward Dog , which premiered with the first four episodes of the first season showing at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival—the first broadcast comedy to be launched at the festival. [9] From 2017 to 2019, Likkel and Hoberg worked as consulting producers on American Housewife continuing their collaboration with ABC Studios. [4] [5] Their work on the show included writing teleplay for the musical Season 3 finale, "A Mom's Parade". [10]

Likkel and Hoberg wrote the screenplay for Elemental with Brenda Hsueh. [11] [12] Having previously only worked in television, the Pixar film was the first feature film for Likkel and Hoberg. [11] [13] They were recruited to take over writing the film in 2019 and the film went through several rewrites before its premiere in 2023. Elemental was directed by Peter Sohn. [14]

Personal life

Likkel and Hoberg are married. They live in Pasadena, California. [3]

Filmography

Kat Likkel only

YearTitleRefs.
1997–1998 Rugrats [1]
1997 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters [1]
1999 Timon & Pumbaa [1]

John Hoberg only

YearTitleRefs.
1999–2001 The Amanda Show [1]
2002 All That [1]

Together

YearTitleRefs.
1999 Sabrina: The Animated Series [1]
2002 Girls Behaving Badly
2003–2004 Hope & Faith [1]
2004–2005 Pet Alien
2005 Life on a Stick
2005–2009 My Name Is Earl [4] [5]
2009–2010 Better Off Ted [4] [5]
2010–2011 Better with You [4] [5]
2011–2012 Man Up! [4] [5]
2013–2014 The Neighbors [4] [5]
2015 Black-ish [1]
2015–2016 Galavant [4] [5]
2016 Uncle Buck
2017 Downward Dog [9]
2017–2019 American Housewife [4] [5]
2023 Elemental [11]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Moorman, Taijuan (July 13, 2023). "Screenwriting duo behind Pixar film Elemental have Columbus connection". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Ackerman, Jan Katz (July 14, 2008). "Colby leads the way to Broadway" (PDF). Colby Free Press. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Nuss, Jeannie (January 17, 2015). "Galavant a knight move for TV writer". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Kat Likkel". Variety. November 11, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "John Hoberg". Variety. November 11, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (April 29, 2014). "Kat Likkel & John Hoberg Re-Up Overall Deal With ABC Studios". Deadline. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  7. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 29, 2016). "Timothy Omundson Sings 'Crazy, Silly' Galavant's Praises, Shares How Psych Rekindled His Love for Musical Theater". TVLine. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (October 9, 2017). "Adoption Family Drama From 'Galavant' Trio With Put Pilot Commitment Among 3 Projects Set Up At ABC By Random Hill". Deadline. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Schneider, Michael (January 20, 2017). "Here's Why ABC's Talking-Dog TV Show Belongs At the Sundance Film Festival". IndieWire. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  10. ↑ "'American Housewife' and 'American Idol' to Air Crossover Episode in March". TheWrap. February 5, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Savoy, Starr (March 29, 2023). "Watch Pixar's New Elemental Trailer". Complex. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ Nicholson, Amy (June 15, 2023). "Elemental Review: Sparks Fly". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  13. ↑ Tyrrell, Caitlin (June 22, 2023). "John Hoberg & Kat Likkel Interview: Elemental". ScreenRant. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Elemental Writers Reveal How They Arrived at the Movie's Ending and What Comes Next (Exclusive)". A.frame. June 20, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
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