Michael Schur

For the electronics researcher, see Michael Shur.
Michael Schur
Born Michael Herbert Schur
October 29, 1975
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Pen name Ken Tremendous
Occupation Television producer, screenwriter, actor
Nationality American
Alma mater Harvard University
Notable works The Office
Parks and Recreation
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Spouse J. J. Philbin (2005–present)
Children William Schur
Ivy Schur

Michael Herbert[1] Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels. He also co-created the FOX comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Schur is also known for his small role on The Office as Mose Schrute, the cousin of Dwight Schrute.

Early life

Michael Schur was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan to Warren M. Schur and Anne Herbert, and was raised in West Hartford, Connecticut.[1][2] Michael Schur first became interested in comedy when he was 11 years old, when he read Without Feathers, a 1975 collection of humorous essays by Woody Allen. Schur said he found the book on his father's bookshelf and stayed up reading it until 4 a.m.[3]

Schur attended William H. Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut.[4] He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1997, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was a member of the Harvard Lampoon.

Career

Schur wrote for six seasons on NBC's Saturday Night Live until 2004. Soon after, he became producer and writer for The Office on NBC, for which he wrote ten episodes. Schur appeared on The Office as Dwight's cousin Mose in the episodes "Initiation," in which Dwight takes Ryan to his beet farm, "Money," in which Jim and Pam spend a night at the farm, "The Deposition", "Koi Pond", and "Counseling." He also co-wrote The Office: The Accountants webisodes with Paul Lieberstein.

In 2005, Schur served as a co-producer of HBO's The Comeback and wrote two of its thirteen episodes.

Schur also wrote for "Fire Joe Morgan," a sports journalism blog, under the pseudonym "Ken Tremendous."[5] Schur resurrected the pen name on March 31, 2011, when he began writing for SBNation's Baseball Nation site. Ken Tremendous is also Schur's Twitter username.

In April 2008, Schur and Greg Daniels started working on a pilot for Parks and Recreation as a proposed spin-off of The Office. Over time, Schur realized Parks and Recreation would work better as a show if they made it separate from The Office. While Parks and Recreation received negative reviews in its first season, it received critical acclaim in the second much like The Office.

Schur collaborated with The Decemberists on their music video for Calamity Song from the album The King Is Dead.[6] This video is based upon Eschaton, a mock-nuclear war game played on tennis courts that David Foster Wallace created in his 1996 novel Infinite Jest. Schur wrote his undergraduate senior thesis on the novel,[7] and he also owns the film rights to it.[8]

With Daniel J. Goor, Schur created the Fox comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which premiered in fall 2013.

Personal life

Schur is married to Jennifer Philbin, who was formerly a writer on The O.C. and is television star Regis Philbin's daughter. Their first child, son William Xavier Schur, was born on February 18, 2008.[9] His middle name, Xavier, is in honor of Regis Philbin's confirmation name.[9] On July 14, 2010, Jennifer Philbin gave birth to a daughter, Ivy Elizabeth, in California.

Episodes written

The Office

  1. "The Alliance" (April 12, 2005) – Season 1
  2. "Office Olympics" (October 4, 2005) – Season 2
  3. "Christmas Party" (December 6, 2005) – Season 2 - (Nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series)[10]
  4. "Valentine's Day" (February 9, 2006) – Season 2
  5. "Branch Closing" (November 9, 2006) – Season 3
  6. "Traveling Salesmen" co-written with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (January 11, 2007) – Season 3
  7. "The Return" co-written with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (January 18, 2007) – Season 3
  8. "The Negotiation" (April 5, 2007) – Season 3 - (Nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series)[11]
  9. "The Job" co-written with Paul Lieberstein (May 17, 2007) – Season 3
  10. "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" (October 4, 2007) – Season 4

Parks and Recreation

  1. "Pilot" (April 9, 2009)  – Season 1, episode 1
  2. "Greg Pikitis" (October 29, 2009)  – Season 2, episode 7
  3. "Christmas Scandal" (December 10, 2009)  – Season 2, episode 12
  4. "Galentine's Day" (February 11, 2010)  – Season 2, episode 16
  5. "The Master Plan" (May 13, 2010)  – Season 2, episode 23
  6. "Time Capsule" (February 3, 2011)  – Season 3, episode 3
  7. "End of the World" (November 3, 2011)  – Season 4, episode 6
  8. "The Trial of Leslie Knope" co-written with Dan Goor (December 1, 2011)  – Season 4, episode 9
  9. "Win, Lose, or Draw" (May 8, 2012)  – Season 4, episode 22 (Nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series)[12]
  10. "Halloween Surprise" (October 25, 2012)  – Season 5, episode 5
  11. "Leslie and Ben" co-written with Alan Yang (February 21, 2013)  – Season 5, episode 14
  12. "Are You Better Off?" (May 2, 2013)  – Season 5, episode 22
  13. "Ann and Chris" co-written with Aisha Muharrar (January 30, 2014)  – Season 6, episode 13
  14. "Leslie and Ron" (January 20, 2015)  – Season 7, episode 4
  15. "One Last Ride" co-written with Amy Poehler (February 24, 2014)  – Season 7, episodes 12 & 13

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

  1. "Pilot" co-written with Dan Goor (September 17, 2013)  – Season 1, episode 1
  2. "Operation: Broken Feather" co-written with Dan Goor (February 2, 2014)  – Season 1, episode 15

Episodes directed

Parks and Recreation

References

External links