Starburns Industries

Last updated
Starburns Industries
Company type Private
Genre Television and Film company
Founded2010
Founder
Headquarters Burbank, California, U.S.
Key people
James A. Fino (CEO)
Duke Johnson (CFO)
Dino Stamatopolous (Secretary)
Products
Services
$20 million (2025)
Number of employees
51-200 (2025)
Divisions
Website www.starburnsindustries.com

Starburns Industries, LLC is an American animation studio and production company 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)Co-production(s)Premiere dateEnd dateNetworkNotes
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole Dino Stamatopoulos ShadowMachine
Fragical Productions (both; season 1)		June 27, 2010March 25, 2012 Adult Swim Season 2 only.
Rick and Morty Justin Roiland
Dan Harmon 		Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions!
(seasons 1–8)
Harmonious Claptrap 		December 2, 2013presentSeasons 1-2 only. Longest running show.
Animals Phil Matarese
Mike Luciano		Karen BBQ
Duplass Brothers Television
HBO Entertainment 		February 5, 2016October 5, 2018 HBO
Great Minds with Dan Harmon Dan Harmon
Richard Korson		 Matador Content February 25, 2016June 16, 2016 History Channel
HarmonQuest Dan Harmon
Spencer Crittenden 		Harmonious Claptrap
Universal Content Productions 		July 14, 2016October 20, 2019 Seeso (2016)
VRV (2017-19)
Good Game Jesse Cox
Michele Morrow 		August 30, 2017September 27, 2017 YouTube Premium
Alpha BetasChris Bruno
David Howard Lee		3BLACKDOT
Bush House
Bruno & Lee
Octopie Studios		March 14, 2021present YouTube Episode 1 only.
Woman in the Book N/A Crypt TV June 4, 2021August 6, 2021 Facebook (Facebook Watch)First Internet series.
The Freak Brothers
Pure Imagination Studios
WTG Enterprises
Lionsgate Television 		November 14, 2021present Tubi Season 1 only.

Movies

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

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

 Paramount Pictures P1 hr, 30 min.
Dope State Gabriel Sunday April 20, 2019 YouTube Route One Entertainment2 hr, 12 min.
Claydream Marq EvansJune 13, 2021 Oscilloscope Laboratories XYZ Films 1 hr, 36 min.
Godkrusher Casey RupDecember 31, 2022 YouTube Infinite Timelines

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
The Emperor’s Newest ClothesNovember 15, 2018 HBO Based on The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen.

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 FunnyJustin 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, U.S.
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.

On April 7, 2023, comedian Adam Conover stated on X that Starburns Audio officially ceased operations and shut down. [6] [7]

SBI Press

SBI Press
Industry Comics and Graphic novels
Founded2017
Headquarters Burbank, California, U.S.
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 outside of the long production cycles of film and television.

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.
  6. ↑ Conover, Adam (04-07-2023). "Some news: Factually's podcast network, Starburns Audio, suddenly shut down last week. Starburns was an awesome, creator-powered network that helped countless comedians start and monetize their podcast, and I'm really going to miss working with them".{{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ↑ "Reddit - The heart of the internet". www.reddit.com. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
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