Jenji Leslie Kohan (born July 5, 1969) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator and

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...

of the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Weeds'' and the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

comedy-drama series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a ...

''. She has received nine

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations, winning one as supervising producer of the comedy series '' Tracey Takes On...''.

Early life

Kohan was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, the daughter of

Rhea Kohan Rhea Kohan (née Arnold) is an American writer, author of the novels ''Save Me a Seat'' (1979) and ''Hand-Me-Downs'' (1980). Biography Born Rhea Arnold, Kohan grew up in a traditional Jewish home in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother was a homemaker ...

and Alan W. "Buz" Kohan. She is the youngest of three siblings; the other two are twins Jono and

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Much of the family is in show business: * Father Buz is an

-winning television writer and producer, as well as a music composer. * Mother Rhea is a television writer, novelist, and occasional actress. * Brother David is an Emmy Award-winning television producer. Kohan's paternal grandparents were Charles Kohan, who was born in Romania in 1902, and May E. Charles, who was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, to parents from Russia. The two knew each other from childhood and grew up in a New York City settlement house on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

.Emmy TV Legends Interview: "Buz Kohan on how he got his nickname"
retrieved October 10, 2015 Kohan says that her father was the "king of variety television in his day," writing and producing the

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and other variety shows. Her mother was a novelist. Kohan grew up in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

and graduated from Beverly Hills High School, in 1987. She first attended

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , p ...

, then transferred to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

as a sophomore, where she graduated, with a degree in English language and literature, in 1991.

Career

Kohan's first job in the industry was with ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'', of which Kohan wrote one episode, and later said was a "rough entrance" to the business. After a series of writing jobs on shows such as ''

Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...

'', '' Tracey Takes On...'', and ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Li ...

'', she collaborated with her brother, David Kohan, writing an outside script for ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...

''. The siblings also worked together on the sitcom '' The Stones'' for CBS, which was ultimately unsuccessful. She has discussed the differences between her and her brother's career saying, "David took the big, commercial, funny route; I was always a little darker personally, and not terrific within the system. I had to make my own way."

''Weeds''

Kohan was the creator of the Showtime dark

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series '' Weeds'', which she executive produced as

and

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

at her writing studio, Tilted Productions, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

throughout its entire eight season airing.

''Orange Is the New Black''

Kohan created the

comedy drama ''

,'' an adaptation that was inspired by Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison'' about her experiences in a minimum-security women's prison. Kohan's executive producing duties as showrunner and head writer consists of running the writer's room, which is located at her writing studio, Tilted Productions, in

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

takes place in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Netflix, as a streaming service distribution model of TV and movie content, is unique in that it does not provide ratings information, so Kohan does not know exact ratings for ''

,'' which has been characterized as the most watched original series on Netflix, in a new distribution model where binge viewing is enabled by full seasons of shows being made available at once.

Other projects

Producing

Kohan has an overall deal with Netflix. She is currently credited as Executive Producer on the

series

Teenage Bounty Hunters ''Teenage Bounty Hunters'' is an American teen comedy-drama streaming television series created by Kathleen Jordan for Netflix which was released on August 14, 2020. In October 2020, the series was canceled after one season. Blake McCormick an ...

Hayworth Theatre

Kohan owns the historic Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles. One floor is used for production and two for postproduction. She plans on turning the auditorium into a venue for performances.

Personal life

Kohan has three children. The oldest was her son Charlie, who died in a skiing accident on December 31, 2019; the middle child is her daughter Eliza, and the youngest is her son Oscar. They live in the Los Feliz neighborhood of

. Kohan and her family are practicing Jews of the Reform denomination.

Filmography

* 1994: ''

'' – writer (1 episode, "Stop Will! in the Name of Love") * 1996: '' Boston Common'' – writer (1 episode, "Relationship of Fools") * 1996–1999: '' Tracey Takes On...'' – writer (18 episodes); supervising producer/producer (47 episodes) * 1997: ''

'' – producer, writer (1 episode, "The Recital"), written by credit (1 episode, "Astrology") * 1998: ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'' – story (1 episode, "The Power of Female Sex") * 2000: ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel ( Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flag ...

'' – producer (12 episodes), writer (1 episode, "Kiss and Tell") * 2002: ''

'' – writer (1 episode, "Fagel Attraction") * 2002: ''My Wonderful Life'' (TV movie) – writer, executive producer * 2004: '' The Stones'' – writer, executive producer * 2005–2012: '' Weeds'' – creator, writer, executive producer (102 episodes) * 2009: ''Ronna & Beverly'' (TV movie) – writer, executive producer * 2010: ''Tough Trade'' (TV movie) – creator, writer, executive producer * 2013–2019: ''

'' – creator, writer, executive producer * 2015: ''The Devil You Know'' – creator, writer, executive producer (1 pilot episode) * 2017–2020: '' GLOW'' – executive producer * 2019: '' American Princess'' – executive producer * 2020: ''

'' – executive producer

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohan, Jenji American television writers Television producers from California American women television producers Primetime Emmy Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners Jewish women writers American women television writers Living people Writers from Los Angeles Showrunners Jewish American writers Columbia College (New York) alumni American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent People from Beverly Hills, California 1969 births Screenwriters from California 21st-century American Jews People from Los Feliz, Los Angeles 21st-century American women