RJ Fried
American television producer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
1981 (age 44–45)
RJ Fried | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert J. Fried 1981 (age 44–45) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (B.A.) |
| Occupations | Comedy writer, producer, performer |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | Co‑creator of Our Cartoon President, Tooning Out the News, and creator of Fairview |
| Awards | Multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations; Writers Guild Award winner |
| Website | rjfried |
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
| Year | Title | Role | Network | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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] |
| 2016 | Triumph's Election Special 2016 | Writer and Producer | Hulu | [15] |
| 2016 | Triumph's Election Watch 2016 | Writer 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] |