Emily Kapnek
Birth dateMarch 27, 1972 (age 54)
Birth placeManhattan, New York, U.S.
Known forCreator of As Told by Ginger, Suburgatory, and Selfie
OccupationWriter, actress, television producer
Years active1996–present
SpouseDan Lagana (m. 2008)

Emily Kapnek (born March 27, 1972) is an American television writer, producer and voice actress. Kapnek is best known for creating the animated program As Told by Ginger as well as the television series Suburgatory and Selfie. She was a consulting producer on the television series Parks and Recreation and has written the theme songs for several shows.[1]

Career

Before her career in television writing began, Kapnek wrote the story and script for the 1996 adventure comedy edutainment computer game The Pink Panther: Passport to Peril, which she also partially designed, when she was age 23-24. She collaborated with composer Jared Faber in writing lyrics for the game's music, and they each voice-acted supporting characters in the game.[2] She returned to write the script for the sequel, The Pink Panther: Hokus Pokus Pink, published in 1997, once again collaborating with Faber for both the soundtrack and supporting voiceover roles.

In 1999, Kapnek rose to mainstream prominence as the creator of the Nickelodeon animated series As Told by Ginger which was produced by Eryk Casemiro, Gábor Csupó, and Arlene Klasky. Kapnek also voiced the character of Noelle Sussman. In 2005, Kapnek had two pilots produced. "Wiener Park" starred Donal Logue and Fred Willard [3] for FOX and Emily's Reasons Why Not for ABC, which starred Heather Graham and was based on a novel of the same name. The latter was picked up to series and premiered on January 9, 2006, but was cancelled after the first episode.

In 2007, Kapnek wrote and was a consulting producer for Aliens in America, which aired on The CW.[4] In 2008, Kapnek wrote a pilot for Fox titled The Emancipation of Ernesto, which starred Wilmer Valderrama.[5]

In 2009, Kapnek served as a co-executive producer and wrote two episodes for the HBO show Hung which premiered on June 28, 2009, and ran for three seasons. From 2010 to 2011, Kapnek was a consulting producer on the third season of the NBC series Parks and Recreation, which starred Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. Kapnek penned the episode "Ron and Tammy Part Two." In January 2011, it was announced ABC had picked up the pilot for Suburgatory, a show which Kapnek created.[6] The series starred Jeremy Sisto and Jane Levy. Suburgatory premiered on September 28, 2011[7] and ran for three seasons. She had a Warner Bros. Television-affiliated production company called Piece of Pie Productions.[8] In the same year, Kapnek created Selfie, which starred Karen Gillan and John Cho. Selfie ran for just one season but developed a cult following after its cancellation.[9] In 2015, Kapnek was given a pilot commitment for Front Man, a new FOX series created by Kapnek, which would have been produced by Elizabeth Banks, and Max Handelman.[10] However, the pilot did not move to production.[11] In 2018, Kapnek wrote and produced the ABC pilot Splitting Up Together, starring Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson which was picked up to series and ran for two seasons on ABC.

Kapnek's new banner "Specifica Productions" (specificaproductions.com) launched in 2019 as part of her deal with ABC Studios, a three-year contract. Her former production company which worked with Warner Bros. Television was Piece of Pie Productions.[12][13] In February 2020, an ABC pilot order was signed for a show starring Quintessa Swindell for Wild Child,[14] but there were no further developments on the project. In November 2021, it was reported that Kapnek is working again with Selfie star Karen Gillan and Danny Elfman on a musical animation for Disney+ called Rhona Who Lives by the River.[15]

Personal life

In December 2008, Emily Kapnek married Dan Lagana. They have two children, Oszkar Nosek and Guy Lagana.

Kapnek is Jewish.[16]

Filmography

YearTitleCredited asNotes
CreatorWriterExecutive
producer
1996The Pink Panther: Passport to PerilComputer game, also partial designer, voice actress and song lyricist
1997The Pink Panther: Hokus Pokus PinkComputer game, also partial designer, voice actress and song lyricist
1998–1999Hercules2 episodes
1999Rocket Power2 episodes
2000Psyko FerretTelevision short
The Wild Thornberrys1 episode ("Monkey See, Monkey Don't")
Noah Knows Best3 episodes
2000–2006As Told by GingerAs writer (14 episodes)
As co-executive producer (22 episodes)
As executive producer (12 episodes)
Also consulting producer (23 episodes)
Also voiced Noelle Sussman (6 episodes)
2001The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald1 episode ("Have Time, Will Travel")
Additional material by ("Birthday World")
2005The Legend of Frosty the SnowmanDirect-to-video
Also creative producer
Wiener ParkPilot
2006Emily's Reasons Why NotAs writer (2 episodes)
As executive producer (6 episodes)
2007–2008Aliens in AmericaAs writer (3 episodes)
Also consulting producer (17 episodes)
2008The Emancipation of ErnestoPilot
2009HungAs writer (2 episodes)
As co-executive producer (9 episodes)
2010–2011Parks and Recreation1 episode ("Ron & Tammy: Part Two")
Also consulting producer (23 episodes)
2011–2014SuburgatoryAlso director ("Stray Dogs")
As writer (10 episodes)
As executive producer (11 episodes)
2014SelfieAs writer (2 episodes)
As executive producer (13 episodes)
2018–2019Splitting Up TogetherBased on the Danish series Bedre skilt end aldrig
As writer (3 episodes)
As executive producer (26 episodes)
Rhona Who Lives by the River †Post-production

References

  1. ^ "Alih Jey Sings Theme Song for ABC Show "Suburgatory"". Entertainmentaffair.com. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  2. ^ "The Pink Panther: Passport to Peril for Windows (1996)". MobyGames. Archived 5 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Wiener Park". IMDb. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  4. ^ Rueben (11 December 2013). "Women Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Emily Kapnek". NiceGirlsTV.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  5. ^ Hibbe & Nordyke, James & Kimberly (19 January 2008). "Fox pilots the epic quest of 'Ernesto'". TheHollywoodReporter.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (14 January 2011). "ABC Picks Up Suburban Comedy Pilot". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  7. ^ "ABC 2011–12 Primetime Schedule Announced". Zap2it. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  8. ^ Marich, Robert (2013-12-10). "Showbiz Strategists: Variety's Dealmakers Impact Report". Variety. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  9. ^ "Projects". Specifica Productions. Archived April 10, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  10. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (17 September 2015). "Fox Sets Up Comedy from Elizabeth Banks & 'Suburgatory' Creator Emily Kapnek". Variety. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  11. ^ Dead Pilots Society (2017-08-31). "Episode 15: Front Man, Written by Emily Kapnek". Maximum Fun. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  12. ^ ""Suburgatory" Creator, Elizabeth Banks Sell Family Comedy to Fox)". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  13. ^ Otterson, Joe (2019-01-23). "'Splitting Up Together' Creator Emily Kapnek Inks Overall Deal at ABC Studios (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (20 February 2020). "Quintessa Swindell To Headline ABC Comedy Pilot From Emily Kapnek & Dean Holland". Deadline. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  15. ^ Petski, Nellie Andreeva,Denise; Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (2021-11-16). "Karen Gillan To Star In Emily Kapnek's 'Rhona Who Lives By The River' Animated Musical Series With Danny Elfman In Works At Disney+". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  16. ^ https://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2013/04/17/suburgatory-season-2-finale-post-mortem-emily-kapnek-on-the-tears-spoilers-and-pleasant-nightmares-from-stray-dogs-plus-some-very-early-season-3-plans/