Justin Spitzer
American screenwriter and producer
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Justin Spitzer is an American television and film writer, producer, and showrunner. He is best known for creating the sitcoms Superstore, American Auto, and St. Denis Medical.[1][2][3] His other credits include Scrubs, Courting Alex, and The Office.[3]
Justin Spitzer | |
|---|---|
| Occupations | Screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Career
Spitzer was an assistant on the sitcom Grounded for Life and on fourteen episodes of the American adaptation of Queer as Folk.[4][5] From 2008 to 2013, he was a writer and producer for the American adaptation of The Office.[6][1] In 2013 he wrote a pilot based on The Money Pit that was put into development by NBC but ultimately never aired.[7][8]
He created the workplace sitcom Superstore, starring America Ferrera and Ben Feldman, which had a midseason premiere on NBC in 2015.[9] He served as showrunner for three seasons before stepping down in 2019 while signing a multi-year deal with NBC and Universal Television.[10] The series continued to run for three more seasons after Spitzer's departure.[11]
In 2020, NBC ordered a pilot for Spitzer's comedy American Auto.[12] The series premiered in 2021 and ran for two seasons before being canceled in 2023.[13] In August 2021, Spitzer had signed a new four-year overall deal with Universal Television.[14]
Personal life
On November 24, 2007, he married producer and writer Jenna Bans. They have two children named Lucy and Phoebe.[15]
He graduated from the Northwestern University School of Communication in 1999.[16]
Credits
Producing
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–2013 | The Office | co-executive producer |
| 2014 | Mulaney | |
| 2015–2021 | Superstore | executive producer, also creator |
| 2021–2023 | American Auto | |
| 2024– | St. Denis Medical |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Holding Patterns | executive producer |
Writing
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | What Are the Odds? | short film |
| Show | Episode Title | Season | Air Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrubs | "My Butterfly" | 3 | March 16, 2004 | |
| Committed | "The Snap Out of it Episode" | 1 | February 1, 2005 | |
| Courting Alex | "Birthday" | March 6, 2006 | ||
| The Office | "Back from Vacation" | 3 | January 4, 2007 | |
| "Product Recall" | April 26, 2007 | co-written with Brent Forrester | ||
| "Did I Stutter?" | 4 | May 1, 2008 | ||
| "Moroccan Christmas" | 5 | December 11, 2008 | ||
| "Michael Scott Paper Company" | April 9, 2009 | |||
| "Shareholder Meeting" | 6 | November 19, 2009 | ||
| "Body Language" | April 29, 2010 | |||
| "Costume Contest" | 7 | October 28, 2010 | ||
| "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager" | May 12, 2011 | |||
| "Garden Party" | 8 | October 13, 2011 | ||
| "Angry Andy" | April 19, 2012 | |||
| The Money Pit | "Pilot" | 1 | unaired | |
| Mulaney | "Patriot Acts" | 1 | November 23, 2014 | |
| Superstore | "Pilot" | 1 | November 30, 2015 | |
| "Shots and Salsa" | November 30, 2015 | |||
| "Tornado" | 2 | May 4, 2017 | ||
| "Grand Re-Opening" | 3 | September 28, 2017 | ||
| "Town Hall" | May 3, 2018 | Story credit | ||
| "Employee Appreciation Day" | 4 | May 16, 2019 | ||
| "All Sales Final" | 6 | March 25, 2021 | Story credit | |
| American Auto | "Pilot" | 1 | December 13, 2021 | |
| "White Van" | December 13, 2021 | |||
| "Profile" | March 8, 2022 | co-written with Eric Ledgin | ||
| "Crisis" | 2 | January 24, 2023 | ||
| St. Denis Medical | "Welcome to St. Denis" | 1 | November 12, 2024 | |
| "People Just Say Stuff Online" | February 4, 2025 |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Holding Patterns | also credited as creator |
Directing
| Show | Episode title | Season | Air date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superstore | "Employee App" | 5 | February 20, 2020 |
Nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Credited As | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | The Office | Nominated | Producer | [17] |
| 2010 | Nominated | |||||
| 2011 | Nominated | Supervising Producer | ||||
| 2022 | Writers Guild of America Award | Episodic Comedy | Superstore | Nominated | Teleplay | [18] |
