Lauren Emily Iungerich ( ; born September 14, 1974) is a writer, director and

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

known for '' Awkward.''

Early life

Iungerich was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to social worker mother, Viola Iungerich (née Dube), and attorney father, Russell Iungerich. She grew up in

Rancho Palos Verdes, California Rancho Palos Verdes is a coastal city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated on September 7, 1973, the city has a population of 42,287 as reported in the 2020 United States census. The city sits atop the bluffs of ...

, graduating from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in 1992 and from Claremont McKenna College in 1996. The

Palos Verdes The Palos Verdes Peninsula () is a peninsular subregion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located within southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is often called simply "Palos Verdes", and is made up of a group of cities in the Palos ...

area was the setting of '' Awkward.''

Career

At the end of her junior year of college Iungerich began interning for Hollywood producers. She worked as an assistant to producer Arnold Kopelson on '' U.S. Marshals'' and ''

A Perfect Murder ''A Perfect Murder'' is a 1998 American crime thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and written by Patrick Smith Kelly. Loosely based on Frederick Knott’s 1952 stage play ''Dial M for Murder'', the film stars Michael Douglas and Gwynet ...

''. She wrote scripts for TV show pilots and had a film script optioned by

Icon Productions Icon Productions, also formerly referred to as Icon Entertainment International, is a production company founded in August 1989 by actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey. Icon Productions LLC's headquarters were ...

. She was hired to the writing staff of

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

's ''

10 Things I Hate About You ''10 Things I Hate About You'' is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger in his film directorial debut and starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, and Larisa Oleynik. The scree ...

'' based on her play ''Love on the Line''. She has created some web content, ''My Two Fans'', which she describes as being inspired by ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

''. Iungerich created the MTV sitcom '' Awkward''. She left the show after season three. The New York Times called '' Awkward'' “the smartest, freshest, most moving sitcom of 2011” and it won the 2013 People's Choice Award for Favorite Cable Comedy. From 2018 to 2021 she was the showrunner, director, producer, and writer for the popular

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

show ''

On My Block ''On My Block'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft. Set in the fictional Los Angeles neighborhood Freeridge, it revolves four teenagers who find their friendship test ...

''. In 2018, the show was announced to be

’s most binge-watched series and Google’s tenth most top trended search in all of television. The show also won the Teen Choice Award for “Breakout Show” in 2018. In 2020, Time Magazine called ''

'' one of TV's 10 Best Teen Dramas of All Time. Iungerich directed the pilot of the

limited series '' Boo, Bitch'' that she co-created and executive produced. She executive produced, co-created and directed the

pilot of '' Freeridge''—the On My Block spin-off series.

Filmography

* 2023: '' Freeridge'' - Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Director, Writer * 2022: '' Boo, Bitch'' - Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Director, Writer * 2018–2021: ''

'' - Co-creator, Executive Producer, Director, Writer * 2015: ''Tough Cookie'' (TV movie) - Executive Producer, Director, Writer * 2014: ''Damaged Goods'' (TV movie) – Executive Producer, Writer * 2013: ''Hot Mess'' (TV movie) – Executive Producer, Director, Writer * 2013: ''Dumb Girls'' (TV movie) – Executive Producer, Writer * 2011-2015: '' Awkward'' – Creator, Executive producer (44 episodes); Writer (21 episodes); Director (11 episodes) * 2009: ''

'' – Writer (1 episode "Don't Give Up") * 2009: ''My Two Fans'' (Web series) – Creator, Producer, Director, Writer * 1998: ''

'' – Producer's Assistant * 1998: '' U.S. Marshals'' – Producer's Assistant

Personal life

Iungerich married producer and music supervisor Jamie Dooner in 2012. They reside in Southern California with their two children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iungerich, Lauren Living people 1974 births 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers Television writers from California American women screenwriters American women television producers American women television writers Claremont McKenna College alumni People from Rancho Palos Verdes, California American showrunners Television producers from California Writers from Los Angeles