Starburns Industries

Last updated
Starburns Industries
Genre Television and Film company
Founded2010
Founder
Headquarters Burbank, California, U.S.
Key people
Joe Russo III (CEO)
Products
Services
Divisions
Website www.starburnsindustries.com

Starburns Industries, LLC is an American production company and animation studio based in Burbank, California. It was founded in 2010 by Dan Harmon, Dino Stamatopoulos, Joe Russo II, James A. Fino, and Duke Johnson. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The company is best known for their shows, such as Mary Shelley's Frankenhole and the first two seasons of Rick and Morty for Adult Swim; HarmonQuest for Seeso / VRV; and Animals for HBO.

History

The company's name is a direct reference to the recurring character Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne from Harmon's sitcom Community, who was played by Stamatopoulos.

The studio was initially launched to produce the Emmy Award-winning stop-motion holiday special for Community titled "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas". The success of this project helped solidify the company's focus on high-quality, creator-led animation projects. [4]

In January 2020, Dan Harmon departed from the company to focus his time and attention on the development of his other projects, including Rick and Morty. The production of Rick and Morty had already transitioned to a separate entity, Rick and Morty LLC, which operates out of the Starburns facility. [5]

Filmography

TV

TitleCreator / Developer(s)Premiere dateEnd dateNetworkNotes
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole Dino Stamatopoulos June 27, 2010March 25, 2012 Adult Swim
Rick and Morty Justin Roiland
Dan Harmon 		December 2, 2013presentSeasons 1-2 only. Longest running show.
Great Minds with Dan Harmon Dan Harmon
Richard Korson		February 25, 2016June 16, 2016 History Channel
HarmonQuest Dan HarmonJuly 14, 2016October 20, 2019 Sesso (2016)
VRV (2017-19)
Animals Phil Matarese
Mike Luciano		February 5, 2016October 5, 2018 HBO
Good Game Jesse Cox
Michele Morrow 		August 30, 2017September 27, 2017 YouTube Premium
Alpha BetasChris Bruno
David Howard Lee		March 14, 2021present YouTube Episode 1 only.
The Freak Brothers
November 14, 2021 Tubi Season 1 only.

Movies

TitleDirector(s)Premiere dateDistributorCo-production withRun time
Harmontown Neil BerkeleyMarch 8, 2014 The Orchard 1 hr, 41 min.
Anomalisa Charlie Kaufman
Duke Johnson

September 4, 2015 (Telluride Film Festival)
December 30, 2015 (United States)

 Paramount Pictures 1 hr, 30 min.
Claydream Marq EvansJune 13, 2021 Oscilloscope Laboratories XYZ Films 1 hr, 36 min.
Godkrusher Casey RupDecember 31, 2022

Specials

Television specials

ShowTitlePremiere dateNetworkNotes
Community Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas December 9, 2010 NBC First production by Starburns Industries. Stop-motion special.
Moral Orel Beforel Orel: Trust November 18, 2012 Adult Swim

Standalone

TitlePremiere dateNetworkNotes
The Emperor's Newest ClothesNovember 15, 2018 HBO

Shorts

TitlePremiere dateDirector(s)Notes
Unholy 'Mole September 8, 2019David Bornstein
The Black Hole July 21, 2021Sofia ÅströmMade as a pilot for an animated show on SyFy, but wasn't picked up for a full series.
Better Call Saul Presents: Slippin' Jimmy May 23, 2022Zac Palladino6-part miniseries for AMC+.
My Year of DicksFebruary 17, 2023Sara Gunnsardóttir

Podcasts

TitleCreatorPremiere dateEnd date
Harmontown Dan Harmon June 16, 2012December 3, 2019
Before You Were Funny Justin Michael
Jacob Reed		July 2012September 2016
Whiting WongsDan Harmon
Jessica Gao 		20172018

Divisions

Starburns Audio

Starburns Audio
Genre Radio
Founded2018
DefunctApril 2023
Headquarters Burbank, California
Parent Starburns Industries

Starburns Audio was the podcast network and audio production division of Starburns Industries. It was launched as a new venture in 2018, partially growing out of the assets and shows of the now-defunct Feral Audio podcast network.

The division produced and archived podcasts from its parent network, such as Harmontown, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, Dumb People Town, The Boogie Monster, and Singsongers.

Starburns Audio officially ceased operations and shut down in April 2023, possibly due to financial difficulties, encouraging all of its podcasters to move their shows to other podcasting platforms.

SBI Press

SBI Press
Founded2017
Headquarters Burbank, California
Parent Starburns Industries

SBI Press is the publishing division of Starburns Industries. It primarily publishes comic books, graphic novels, and occasionally other specialty printed media.

The division was launched to provide a quicker outlet for the studio's creators and collaborators to develop original intellectual property (IP) outside of the long production cycles of film and television. It focuses on stories that are often described as "funny, strange, and beautiful."

List of comics

TitleCreatorsPremiere dateNotes
Hellicious

References

  1. ↑ Broughton, Travis (2025-03-05). "Announcing the Adult Comedy Animated Series Fellowship presented by Starburns Industries!". Austin Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-10-14.
  2. ↑ "Starburns Industries Press Comes To PREVIEWS". previewsworld.com. Retrieved 2025-10-14.
  3. ↑ "Starburns Industries - Gaming, Music Company Profile, Funding Rounds and Investors". bouncewatch.com. Retrieved 2025-10-14.
  4. ↑ "Charitybuzz: Meet the Minds Behind Starburns Industries, An Imaginative Production Company Specializing in Animation". /www.Charitybuzz.com. Retrieved 2025-10-14.
  5. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (2020-01-11). "Dan Harmon Departs Starburns Industries". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2025-10-14.
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