Michael Schur | |
---|---|
Born | Michael Herbert Schur October 29, 1975 [1] Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
Other names | Ken Tremendous |
Education | Harvard University (BA) |
Occupation(s) | Television producer, director, and screenwriter |
Years active | 1997–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Michael Herbert Schur (born October 29, 1975 [1] [2] [3] ) is an American television producer, writer, director, and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series The Office , and co-created Parks and Recreation with Office producer Greg Daniels. He created The Good Place , co-created the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine , and was a producer on the series Master of None . He also played Mose Schrute on The Office. In 2021, he was one of three co-creators of the Peacock comedy series Rutherford Falls .
Schur's comedies typically include large, diverse casts; breakout stars have emerged from his shows. He features optimistic characters who often find strong friendships and lasting love [4] [5] [6] through plots that showcase "good-hearted humanistic warmth". [7] As of September 2021, Schur has been nominated for 19 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning two for his work on Saturday Night Live (1997–2004) and The Office. [8]
Schur was born in 1975, at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, [2] [9] to a Jewish family. [10] His parents are Warren M. Schur and Anne Herbert. The family moved and he was raised in West Hartford, Connecticut. [3] [11]
Schur attended William H. Hall High School in West Hartford. [12] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in English from Harvard University in 1997, where he was a president of the Harvard Lampoon . [13] Schur's father, Warren, also attended Harvard. [14]
Starting in 1998, Schur was a writer on NBC's Saturday Night Live . [15] [16] He became the producer of Weekend Update in 2001; his first show in the new role was Saturday Night Live's first episode after the September 11 attacks. [17] In 2002, he won his first Primetime Emmy Award as part of SNL's writing team. [8] Schur left Saturday Night Live in 2004. [18]
Soon afterward, he became producer and writer for The Office on NBC, for which he wrote ten episodes and won the 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Schur appeared on The Office as Dwight's cousin Mose in several episodes, including "Initiation", in which Dwight takes Ryan to his beet farm; "Money", in which Jim and Pam spend a night at the farm; "The Deposition"; "Koi Pond"; "Counseling"; and "Finale". He also co-wrote The Office: The Accountants webisodes with Paul Lieberstein. In 2005, Schur served as a co-producer of HBO's The Comeback and wrote two of its 13 episodes.
In April 2008, Schur and Greg Daniels started working on a pilot for Parks and Recreation as a proposed spin-off of The Office. [18] Over time, Schur realized Parks and Recreation would work better if they made it separate from The Office. While Parks and Recreation received negative reviews in its first season, it received critical acclaim in the second, much like The Office. [19] Schur also wrote for Fire Joe Morgan, a sports journalism blog, under the pseudonym "Ken Tremendous". [20] He resurrected the pen name on March 31, 2011, when he began writing for SB Nation's Baseball Nation site. [21] @KenTremendous is also Schur's Twitter handle. [22]
Schur collaborated with The Decemberists on their music video for "Calamity Song" from the album The King Is Dead . [23] This video is based upon Eschaton, a mock-nuclear war game played on tennis courts that David Foster Wallace created in his 1996 novel Infinite Jest . Schur wrote his undergraduate senior thesis on the novel [24] and once held the film rights to it. [25] With Daniel J. Goor, Schur created the cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine , which premiered in fall 2013 on Fox. The show was moved to NBC in its sixth season. In 2013, Joe Posnanski and Schur created The PosCast, which is now hosted by Meadowlark Media. The podcast primarily discusses baseball but meanders into other sports, subjects, and drafts of random items, and prides itself in being meaningless. The podcast has featured notable guests and co-hosts such as Linda Holmes, Ken Rosenthal, Nick Offerman, Ellen Adair, Stefan Fatsis, Brandon McCarthy, Joey Votto, and Sean Doolittle.
On September 19, 2016, the Schur-created sitcom The Good Place began airing on NBC. [26] The supernatural series concerning philosophy and being a good person, starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, became a surprise critical and commercial success, [7] concluding its four-season run on January 30, 2020. In 2016, Schur and Rashida Jones co-wrote the teleplay of "Nosedive", an episode of the television anthology series Black Mirror , from a story by Charlie Brooker. [27]
In 2019, Schur joined other Writers Guild of America writers in firing their agents as part of the WGA's stand against the ATA and the practice of packaging. [28] In 2019, he began development of a scripted comedy, Rutherford Falls , starring Ed Helms. [29] The series premiered on the streaming service Peacock on April 22, 2021. [30] He worked on several projects for IMDb TV. [31] In 2019, he re-upped his overall deal at Universal Television. [32] In 2022, Schur released his first book, How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question , which provides a humorous take on the ethical philosophy questions he studied while writing and producing The Good Place. [33] In 2023, Schur appeared in Sorry/Not Sorry , a documentary about sexual misconduct allegations against Louis C.K. [34] He has developed a comedy series starring Ted Danson titled A Man on the Inside that is scheduled to debut on Netflix in November 2024. [35]
Schur is married to J. J. Philbin, who was formerly a writer on The O.C. and is the daughter of Regis Philbin. Their son was born in 2008 and their daughter in 2010. [36] [37]
He is a vegetarian. [38]
He first became interested in comedy when he was 11 years old when he read Woody Allen's 1975 collection of humorous essays Without Feathers . Schur said he found the book on his father's bookshelf and stayed up reading it until 4 a.m. [39] He has also cited other influences as Monty Python, David Foster Wallace, and The Simpsons . [40]
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997–2004 | Saturday Night Live | No | Yes | Yes | Wrote 138 episodes; produced Weekend Update |
2005–2014 | The Comeback | No | Yes | Yes | Wrote 2 episodes |
2005–2013 | The Office | No | Yes | Yes | Wrote 12 episodes, appeared in 13 episodes |
2006 | Totally Awesome | No | Yes | No | Television film |
2009–2015 | Parks and Recreation | Yes | Yes | Executive | Co-creator, wrote 19 episodes, directed 9 episodes |
2013–2021 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Yes | Yes | Executive | Co-creator, wrote 2 episodes, directed 2 episodes |
2016 | Black Mirror | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Nosedive"; co-wrote with Rashida Jones |
2016–2020 | The Good Place | Yes | Yes | Executive | Creator, wrote 5 episodes, directed 4 episodes |
2020 | Single Parents | Yes | No | No | Episode: "Yarn and Pebbles" |
2021–2022 | Rutherford Falls | No | Yes | Executive | Co-creator |
2024 | A Man on the Inside | Yes | Yes | Executive | Creator; based on the documentary The Mole Agent |
Executive producer only
Acting roles
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998–2001 | Saturday Night Live | Various roles | 3 episodes |
2006–2013 | The Office | Mose Schrute | 13 episodes [41] |
2007 | The O.C. | Paul | Episode: "The Case of the Franks" |
2008 | Miss Guided | Male Teacher | Episode: "Pool Party" |
2015 | Parks and Recreation | Non-speaking cameo | Episode: "Second Chunce" |
Amy Poehler is an American actress and comedian. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. The group moved to New York City in 1996, where their act became a half-hour sketch-comedy series on Comedy Central in 1998. Along with other members of the comedy group, Poehler is a founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
Gregory Martin Daniels is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, adapting The Office for the United States, and co-creating Parks and Recreation and King of the Hill. Daniels attended Harvard University, where he befriended and began collaborating with Conan O'Brien. His first writing credit was for Not Necessarily the News, before he was laid off because of budget cuts.
The Office is an American mockumentary sitcom television series based on the 2001–2003 BBC series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Adapted for NBC by Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons, the show depicts the everyday work lives of the office employees at Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and aired from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes. The show was co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment in association with Universal Television. The original executive producers were Daniels, Gervais, Merchant, Howard Klein and Ben Silverman, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.
Nicholas David Offerman is an American actor. He became widely known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), for which he received the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy and was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
"Office Olympics" is the third episode of the second season of the television series The Office and the show's ninth episode overall. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Paul Feig. It originally aired on October 4, 2005 on NBC. The episode guest starred Nancy Carell, the real-life wife of series star Steve Carell, as Carol Stills.
Parks and Recreation is an American political satire mockumentary television sitcom created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons. A special reunion episode aired on April 30, 2020. The series stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger, Jim O'Heir as Garry "Jerry" Gergich, Retta as Donna Meagle, and Billy Eichner as Craig Middlebrooks.
Fire Joe Morgan was a sports journalism criticism blog which focused primarily on baseball. It was updated regularly from 2005 through 2008. Although the late sports commentator Joe Morgan was often criticized, the site did not target him exclusively, but rather criticized anything the writers considered to be ignorant journalism as a whole. The blog's slogan was "Where Bad Sports Journalism Comes to Die." The blog usually used a format known as fisking.
"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. The episode was written by series creators Michael Schur and Greg Daniels, and directed by Daniels.
"The Reporter" is the third episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 23, 2009. The episode was written by Daniel J. Goor and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. In the episode, Leslie enlists a local reporter to write an article about the park, but the interviews go poorly, and the problem escalates after Mark gets romantically involved with the journalist.
The first season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network between April 9 and May 14, 2009. Produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, the series was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, who served as executive producers with Howard Klein. The season stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, and Aubrey Plaza.
The second season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network starting September 17, 2009, and ended on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, and series co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur served as executive producers. Like the first season, it focuses on Leslie Knope and her staff on the parks and recreation department of the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee. The episodes were approximately 22 minutes long each, all of which aired at 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays. The season stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Pratt.
Ronald Ulysses Swanson is a fictional character portrayed by Nick Offerman in the political satire sitcom Parks and Recreation. The character was created by Michael Schur and Greg Daniels with inspiration from a real-life Libertarian elected official. Offerman provided creative input, and aspects of his own personality were folded into the character. Despite the creators' intentions, NBC was initially reluctant to cast Offerman in the role, until the network finally agreed five months later.
Alan Michael Yang is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He was a writer and producer for the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, for which he received his first Emmy nomination. With Aziz Ansari, Yang co-created the Netflix series Master of None, which premiered in 2015 to critical acclaim. The series was awarded a Peabody Award, and at the 68th Emmy Awards in 2016, Yang and Ansari won for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Master of None and became the first writers of Asian descent to win in the category, which was also nominated in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. Yang also was the screenwriter of the 2014 comedy Date and Switch. In 2018, Yang co-created the Amazon Video series Forever.
The third season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network between January 20 and May 19, 2011. Like the previous seasons, it focuses on Leslie Knope and her staff at the parks and recreation department of the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee. The season featured 16 episodes, most of which were approximately 22 minutes long each and aired at 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays. The season stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, and Rob Lowe, with supporting performances from Jim O'Heir and Retta.
The fourth season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network, and began on September 22, 2011, and ended on May 8, 2012. The season contained 22 episodes. It stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, and Rob Lowe, with supporting performances from Jim O'Heir and Retta.
The fifth season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network, from September 20, 2012 and concluded on May 2, 2013. This season consisted of 22 episodes. It stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, and Rob Lowe, with supporting performances from Jim O'Heir and Retta.
The ninth and final season of the American television comedy The Office premiered on NBC on September 20, 2012, and concluded on May 16, 2013, consisting of 25 episodes. The Office is an American adaptation of the British comedy series, and is presented in a mockumentary format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The ninth season of The Office aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) in the United States, as part of the Comedy Night Done Right television block. It stars Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Ed Helms, with supporting performances from Catherine Tate, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Clark Duke, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Jake Lacy, Paul Lieberstein, B. J. Novak, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, and Phyllis Smith. This is the second season not to star Steve Carell as lead character Michael Scott, although he returned for a cameo appearance in the series finale.
The sixth season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network, from September 26, 2013, with an hour long premiere, and concluded on April 24, 2014, with an hour-long finale. It premiered in its new Thursday 8:00 pm timeslot. This season consisted of 22 episodes. It stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir, and Retta. The show moved to Thursdays at 8:30 pm beginning with its 100th episode.
The seventh and final season of Parks and Recreation aired in the United States on the NBC television network from January 13, 2015, until February 24, 2015. The season consisted of 13 episodes. It stars Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Jim O'Heir, and Retta, with a supporting performance from Billy Eichner.
Fremulon is an American television production company founded by television producer and writer Michael Schur. It is known for producing the series Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Master of None, and The Good Place.
I was born a healthy white dude in America in 1975, [...]
Mr. Schur, 29...
Maybe I'll make it to U of M -- I was born there! University hospital! 46 years ago today! (It's my birthday.)
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