Lucia Aniello | |
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| Born | 1983 (age 40–41) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
| Spouse | Paul W. Downs |
| Children | 1 [1] |
Lucia Aniello (born 1983) is an Italian-born [2] American director, writer, and producer best known for her work on Hacks , for which she won multiple Emmy Awards, and Broad City. She has directed and written episodes of both shows, as well as the miniseries Time Traveling Bong and the 2017 film Rough Night .
Aniello was born in Italy and grew up in Hadley, Massachusetts, where her parents owned Italian restaurants, before moving to New York City. [3] [2] In 2004, she graduated from Columbia University, where she was a film and media studies major and studied with film critic Andrew Sarris. [4] [5] She was in Sigma Delta Tau sorority. She also played varsity tennis for Columbia. [6]
Aniello is an alumna of the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational and sketch comedy group founded in 1990 by a group of comedians including Amy Poehler who is an executive producer of Broad City. [7]
Aniello and Paul W. Downs met at a Upright Citizens Brigade Level One improvisational comedy class. [7] Aniello and Downs began working together on a series of digital shorts and improv. [7] They started their own website and comedy production company called Paulilu Productions. Together they have been writing, directing and acting in digital shorts since 2007. Some of their most well-known web series include The Diary of Zac Efron and The Real Housewives of South Boston. [3]
Aniello also met Ilana Glazer of Broad City through the same Upright Citizens Brigade class where she met Downs. As Aniello and Downs began to make digital shorts and build the foundations of Paulilu, Glazer and Abbi Jacobson worked on the prototype of Broad City. The two comedic duos occasionally acted in each other's shorts or directed them. [3] When Broad City moved to television Glazer and Jacobson asked Aniello to direct the pilot and cast Downs as Trey, the trainer and boss of Jacobson's character on the show. After the show was picked up by Comedy Central, they asked both Aniello and Downs to join the group of writers for the show. [8]
Aniello also co-created Time Traveling Bong . Her interest in the subject began in college when she wrote a thesis on time-travel movies at Columbia University. The movie is a stoner film comedy about two cousins who acquire a bong that acts as a time traveling device. [9]
Aniello directed and, with Downs, co-wrote the comedy Rough Night , which was released in June 2017. It stars Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Kravitz, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, Demi Moore, Ty Burrell and Colton Haynes. [10] During the time of the film's release, Aniello was the first woman to direct an R-rated comedy in nearly 20 years. [11]
In 2020, she directed and executive produced the Comedy Central series Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens as well as Netflix's Baby-Sitters Club .
Aniello is showrunning and directing the HBO Max show Hacks , starring Jean Smart. The first season of Hacks garnered 15 Emmy nominations and 3 wins, including “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series,” “Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series,” and Jean Smart won “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.” [12] [13] The series won two Writers Guild of America Awards in the categories of “Comedy Series” and “New Series,” [14] and Aniello won a Directors Guild of America Award in the category of “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series.” [15] The series also took home two Golden Globe Awards for “Best Musical or Comedy TV Series” and “Best Television Actress in a Musical or Comedy”. [16] Hacks was honored as one of the “Outstanding Television Programs of the Year” at the American Film Institute Awards [17] and won a 2022 Peabody Award. [18] Season 1 of Hacks also received various award nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, [19] Critics Choice Awards, [20] Producers Guild of America Awards, [21] and the Gotham Awards, [22] among others.
In its second season, Hacks received 17 Emmy nominations and 3 wins, including “Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series,” “Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series” and “Outstanding Contemporary Costumes.” [23] The series won a Writers Guild of America Award in the "Episodic Comedy" category, [24] and was honored as one of the “Outstanding Television Programs of the Year” at the American Film Institute Awards for its second consecutive year. [25] Jean Smart also won a Critics Choice Award for “Best Actress in a Comedy Series” for her second consecutive year. [26] The series was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, [27] two Writers Guild of America Awards, [28] two Screen Actors Guild Awards, [29] and a Producers Guild of America Award, [30] among numerous others.
More recently, Aniello and Paul W. Downs signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television. [31]
Aniello resides in Los Angeles with her husband and comedic partner Paul W. Downs, with whom she co-wrote Rough Night . [32] They have a son, born in 2022. [1]
Melina Matsoukas is an American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time MTV Video Music Awards winner for her "We Found Love" and "Formation" music videos. She was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the American Film Institute in 2019. Her directorial debut in film was Queen & Slim, starring Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya, and written by Lena Waithe. She then worked as executive producer and director for television series Insecure, being nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2020.
The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Comedy Series is one of the award categories presented annually by the Critics' Choice Television Awards (BTJA).
Broad City is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web series, is based on Glazer and Jacobson's real-life friendship, and their attempt to "make it" in New York. The sitcom premiered on Comedy Central on January 22, 2014, and aired for five seasons, ending on March 28, 2019. The show received critical acclaim throughout its run and has been ranked among the best television shows of the 2010s.
Paul W. Downs is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is the co-creator, co-showrunner and star of the critically-acclaimed HBO Max series Hacks, for which he has received a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody Award, among others. Downs first gained attention for his role in the Comedy Central series Broad City, which ran for five seasons and for which he was also a writer, director and executive producer.
Jen Statsky is an American television writer and comedian known for her work on Hacks, The Good Place, Parks and Recreation, and Broad City. She is the co-creator and co-showrunner of the critically-acclaimed HBO Max series Hacks, for which she has received a Primetime Emmy, Peabody Award, and multiple WGA Awards, among others.
Hacks is an American comedy-drama television series created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky that premiered on May 13, 2021, on HBO Max. Starring Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins, the series centers on the professional relationship between a young comedy writer and a legendary stand-up comedian. The series received critical acclaim and won accolades including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing, and for Smart, Outstanding Lead Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. In June 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on May 12, 2022. In June 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, which is set to premiere on May 2, 2024.
The Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy/Variety - Sketch Series is an award presented by the Writers Guild of America to the best writing in a comedy/variety sketch series, until 2015, sketch series competed along with comedy/variety talk programs in the category Television: Comedy-Variety Talk Series. In 2016, a separate category was added only for sketch series.
"There Is No Line" is the pilot episode of the American comedy-drama television series Hacks. It was directed by Lucia Aniello and co-written with Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. The episode establishes the plot of the series, which centers comediennes from different generations who are thrust into a working relationship after separate circumstances threaten their careers. The episode premiered on streaming network HBO Max on May 13, 2021 with an approximate running time of 29 minutes.
Ali Barthwell is an American writer. She reviews television for Vulture and is a staff writer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards ceremony was held live on September 12, 2022, and was preceded by the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 3 and 4, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was broadcast in the United States on NBC and Peacock. During the ceremony, Emmy Awards were handed out in 25 categories. The event was produced through Done and Dusted and Hudlin Entertainment and was directed by Hamish Hamilton. Kenan Thompson was the ceremony's host.
The first season of American comedy-drama streaming series Hacks debuted on May 13, 2021, on HBO Max. The series was co-created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. Starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, the season follows two comedians from different generations who forge a working relationship. Season one received critical acclaim and earned accolades including Primetime Emmy Awards for directing, writing, and acting.
The second season of the HBO Max streaming comedy-drama television series Hacks debuted on May 12, 2022, and concluded on June 2, 2022. It consists of eight episodes, each with approximate runtime of 30–35 minutes. The season centers Deborah Vance perfecting material for her new stand-up show, in which she shares previously unrevealed information about her personal life. In an effort to become a better person, Ava gets a "dumb phone" and swears off alcohol. The season received critical acclaim. Jean Smart won her second successive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
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