RJ Fried

Last updated
RJ Fried
Born
Robert J. Fried

1981 (age 43–44)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Education Harvard University (B.A.)
Occupation(s)Comedy writer, producer, performer
Years active2010–present
Known forCo‑creator of Our Cartoon President , Tooning Out the News , and creator of Fairview
AwardsMultiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations; Writers Guild Award winner
Website rjfried.com

RJ Fried (born 1981) is an American comedy writer, producer, and performer. [1] He has written for several late-night and satirical television programs and is the co-creator of the animated series Our Cartoon President and Tooning Out the News . [2] [3]

Contents

Fried also created the Comedy Central animated sitcom Fairview . He is a multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominee and a Writers Guild Award winner, known for his work on political satire and variety comedy. [4]

Early life and education

Fried was born in 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [5] [6] During his prep school years at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, he captained the hockey team and earned All-League honors, also being named a Sports Illustrated/Old Spice Athlete of the Month in 1999. [7] He was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the 2000 NHL entry draft. [8]

Career

Fried worked in broadcast journalism as a segment producer for MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell from 2010 to 2013. [9] He also wrote for Comedy Central's charity special Night of Too Many Stars in 2010 and 2012, earning Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. [4]

In 2013, Fried joined the writing staff of The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS as a writer and occasional performer. [10] After the Late Show ended its run in 2015, Fried wrote for the NBC variety series Maya & Marty in 2016 and began working with comedian Robert Smigel on a series of political satire specials featuring Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. [1] He was a writer and producer on Triumph's Election Special 2016, a satirical election-year special on Hulu that won a 2017 Writers Guild of America Award and earned Fried another Emmy nomination. [4] That same year, he served as head writer for the Comedy Central late-night talk show Problematic with Moshe Kasher. [7]

In 2017, Fried was tapped by Stephen Colbert's production team to work on a new animated satire series for Showtime centered on Donald Trump White House. [11] He co-created the resulting show, Our Cartoon President , with Colbert and others, and served as its showrunner and executive producer during its run from 2018 to 2020. [12]

In 2020, Fried co-created Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News, a topical animated news parody series, alongside Colbert, Chris Licht, and Tim Luecke. [12] He acted as a showrunner, executive producer, and writer on Tooning Out the News, which launched on the CBS All Access streaming platform (later Paramount+) and features animated anchors lampooning current events. [10] It was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2021 and 2022 for Outstanding Short Form Comedy/Variety Series. [4]

In 2022, Fried created Fairview, an animated adult sitcom that premiered on Comedy Central. [13] He served as a showrunner and voice actor on Fairview, which featured a voice cast including comedians Aparna Nancherla and James Austin Johnson. [7]

Filmography

List of television works, with year, title, role, network, and references
YearTitleRoleNetworkReferences
2010, 2012, 2015 Night of Too Many Stars Writer Comedy Central [4]
2010–2013 The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell Segment Producer MSNBC [9]
2013–2015 Late Show with David Letterman Writer and Performer CBS [14]
2016 Maya & Marty Writer NBC [1]
2016Triumph's Election Special 2016Writer and Producer Hulu [15]
2016Triumph's Election Watch 2016Writer and Performer Hulu [16]
2017 Problematic with Moshe Kasher Head Writer Comedy Central [12]
2018–2020 Our Cartoon President Co‑creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer Showtime [11]
2022 Fairview Creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer Comedy Central [13]
2020–2023 Tooning Out the News Co‑creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer Paramount+
Comedy Central 		[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Grobar, Matt (June 10, 2019). "'Our Cartoon President' Co-Creator R.J. Fried On Crafting Topical Animation That Can Respond To Current Events In Real Time".
  2. ↑ Ellis, Emma Grey. "Quarantine Is a Weirdly Good Time for Animation" – via Wired.
  3. ↑ Tangcay, Jazz (February 23, 2020). "'Our Cartoon President' Boss R.J. Fried: 'The World Feels More Cartoonish Than Ever'". Variety.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "RJ Fried". Television Academy.
  5. ↑ "Two-Sport Superstar". The Harvard Crimson.
  6. ↑ "Robert Fried profile". NHL .
  7. 1 2 3 Szabo, Sarah (September 25, 2017). "Showtime's Trump White House Comedy Finds Its Writer". Looper.com .
  8. ↑ "FLORIDA PANTHERS ANNOUNCE 2000 DRAFTEES". Florida Panthers. June 25, 2000. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Very Last Word: Goodbye, R.J. Fried!". NBC News. July 13, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Heller, Jeff (August 8, 2021). "Interview: Talking 'Tooning Out The News' With Showrunner R.J. Fried".
  11. 1 2 Beresford, Trilby (March 14, 2020). ""We Don't Mind Getting in Trouble": How 'Our Cartoon President' Faces Hot-Button Topics".
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Episode 97: RJ Fried, "Tooning Out the News"".
  13. 1 2 "Creator mines small-town roots for Comedy Central's 'Fairview'". Baltimore Sun.
  14. ↑ Wade, Chris (January 30, 2015). "John Oliver's Letterman Appearance and the Clash Between the Old and New Guard of Late Night" – via Slate.com.
  15. ↑ "Triumph's Election Special 2016". Television Academy.
  16. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (December 7, 2018). "CBS Releasing 'Our Cartoon President' S1 on December 18". Animation Magazine.
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