Mitchell Hurwitz | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1963-05-29)May 29, 1963 (age 62) Anaheim, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University |
| Occupations | Television writer, producer, actor |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcomArrested Development as well as the co-creator ofThe Ellen Show. He is also a contributor toThe John Larroquette Show andThe Golden Girls.
Hurwitz was born in 1963[1] to aJewish[2] family inAnaheim, California. In 1976, when Hurwitz was 12, he co-founded a chocolate-chip cookie business,[3] called the Chipyard, on Balboa Boulevard inBalboa Fun Zone[4] inNewport Beach, California,[5] in a former taco place,[6] with his older brother, Michael,[7] and his father, Mark. The Chipyard is still in operation in Boston.[8][9] He graduated fromEstancia High School inCosta Mesa, California, and fromGeorgetown University in 1985 with a double major in English andtheology.[10]
Hurwitz worked on several sitcoms in the 1980s and 1990s, includingNurses,The Golden Girls,The Golden Palace,The John Larroquette Show,The Ellen Show, and theMichael J. Fox-produced pilotHench at Home. He createdEverything's Relative, a midseason comedy starringJeffrey Tambor andJill Clayburgh forNBC in 1999.[11][12]
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Hurwitz was chosen byRon Howard to create a sitcom about a richdysfunctional family, which eventually turned intoArrested Development. Hurwitz wrote the pilot in 2002, which was filmed in March 2003.Fox added the show to its schedule in May. Despite laudatory reviews by television critics,Arrested Development received low ratings throughout its three-season run. In July 2004, the show was nominated for 7 PrimetimeEmmy Awards and won 5, includingOutstanding Comedy Series,Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series andOutstanding Writing in a Comedy Series.
In thesecond season, ratings decreased further and the show was cut down to 18 episodes instead of the planned 22 episodes. Nevertheless, the show was still critically acclaimed and was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards. In the show'sthird and final season on Fox, Hurwitz tried to keepArrested Development on the air, but did not have the advertising funding to promote the series. The show was again cut down, from 18 episodes to 13. Fox announced the cancellation of the show before the production of the final five episodes.
After seven years off the air,Arrested Development returned for a fifteen-episodefourth season on the online movie and television streaming serviceNetflix on May 26, 2013. After yet another multi-year hiatus in which there was uncertainty of future seasons being developed, Netflix and the show's producers announced the development of a fifth season. The release was heralded by a re-edited twenty-two-episode version of the fourth season titledSeason Four Remix: Fateful Consequences, released on Netflix on May 4, 2018. Thefifth season consists of sixteen episodes, 8 of which were released simultaneously on May 29, 2018. The remaining 8 episodes were released simultaneously on March 15, 2019.
Hurwitz created Fox's animated comedySit Down, Shut Up, based on an Australian TV series of thesame name, for the 2008 season.[citation needed]
Hurwitz createdRunning Wilde, which aired for one season from 2010 to 2011. It was a collaboration withArrested Development starWill Arnett.[13]
Hurwitz signed a multiyear deal withNetflix in 2014.[14] He executive producedFlaked starringWill Arnett[15] and produced/co-createdLady Dynamite starringMaria Bamford for the network.[16]
Among Hurwitz's projects have been the US television adaptations of the British comedy showsThe Thick of It[17] (which was not picked up in the running forABC's 2007–2008 TV season, though other networks such asHBO,Showtime andNBC have expressed interest)[18] andAbsolutely Fabulous.[19]
My World And Welcome To It was a 2009 CBS television pilot, executive produced by Hurwitz,Jay Kogen, Kim Tannenbaum, andBarry Sonnenfeld. It was a comedy based on an earlier seriesMy World and Welcome to It about being a dad in the 1960s which, in turn, drew material fromJames Thurber's collection of essays of the same name.Happiness Isn't Everything was also a 2009 CBS pilot, written by Hurwitz andJim Vallely, starringRichard Dreyfuss,Jason Biggs,Ben Schwartz andMary Steenburgen.[20]
Hurwitz co-starred as "Cool Eric" in an episode ofWorkaholics titled "Dry Guys". Hurwitz plays a human resources representative who is aiding them in their pursuit of sobriety.
Hurwitz starred as "Koogler" in theCommunity episode "App Development and Condiments" (season 5, episode 8), which aired on March 6, 2014. He reprised the role in "Modern Espionage" (season 6, episode 11), which aired on May 19, 2015.[21]
Hurwitz is married to actressMary Jo Keenen.[22] They have two daughters; May Asami, born in 2000,[23] and Phoebe Hitomi born in 2002.[24] The name ofArrested Development character "Maeby" was the result of combining the names of Hurwitz's daughters.[24]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Heartland | Co-associate producer |
| 1990 | Empty Nest | Writer |
| 1990–1991 | Nurses | Writer and producer |
| 1990–1992 | The Golden Girls | Story editor, writer and executive producer |
| 1992–1993 | The Golden Palace | Writer and supervising producer |
| 1993–1996 | The John Larroquette Show | Writer and executive producer |
| 1999 | Everything's Relative | Creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2001–2002 | The Ellen Show | Co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2002–2003 | Less Than Perfect | Consulting producer |
| 2003 | Hench at Home | Pilot; co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2003–2006 2013–2019 | Arrested Development | Creator, writer, executive producer and co-director of season 4 |
| 2007 | The Thick of It | Pilot; developer, writer and executive producer |
| 2009 | Sit Down, Shut Up | Developer, writer and executive producer |
| 2009 | Happiness Isn't Everything | Pilot; co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2009 | Waiting to Die | Pilot; executive producer |
| 2009 | The Bridget Show | Pilot; executive producer |
| 2009 | Bless This Mess | Pilot; executive producer |
| 2009 | Absolutely Fabulous | Pilot; executive producer |
| 2009 | Brothers | Executive producer |
| 2010 | Wright vs. Wrong | Pilot; executive producer |
| 2010 | Team Spitz | Pilot; executive producer |
| 2010 | Lee Mathers | Pilot; producer |
| 2010–2011 | Running Wilde | Co-creator, writer, executive producer and directed "Basket Cases" |
| 2011 | In the Flow with Affion Crockett | Executive producer |
| 2016 | Flaked | Executive producer |
| 2016–2017 | Lady Dynamite | Co-creator, writer, executive producer and directed "Pilot" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Surf Ninjas | Surf Dude #2 | |
| 2007 | Clark and Michael | Ramsay | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Workaholics | 'Cool' Eric | Episode: "Dry Guys" |
| 2013 | Kroll Show | Jason Richards | 2 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Community | Koogler | 2 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Portlandia | Various roles | 4 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Animals. | Larry / Dad (voices) | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | A Futile and Stupid Gesture | Time-Life Publisher |
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| Other | |
