Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom ''

Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...

'' as well as the co-creator of '' The Ellen Show''. He is also a contributor to '' The John Larroquette Show'' and ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

''.

Early life

Hurwitz was born in 1963 to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, California. In 1976, when Hurwitz was 12, he co-founded a chocolate-chip cookie business, called the Chipyard on Balboa Boulevard in Balboa Fun Zone in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

, in a former taco place, with his older brother, Michael, and his father, Mark. The Chipyard is still in operation in Boston. He graduated from Estancia High School in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

, and from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1985 with a double major in English and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Early career

Hurwitz worked on several sitcoms in the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Nurses'', ''

'', '' The Golden Palace'', '' The John Larroquette Show'', '' The Ellen Show'', and the

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...

-produced pilot ''Hench at Home''. He created '' Everything's Relative'', a midseason comedy starring

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

and Jill Clayburgh for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

in 1999.

''Arrested Development''

Hurwitz was chosen by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

to create a sitcom about a rich

dysfunctional family In psychology, abnormality (also dysfunctional behavior, maladaptive behavior, or deviant behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when i ...

, which eventually turned into ''

''. Hurwitz wrote the pilot in 2002, which was filmed in March 2003. Fox added the show to its schedule in May. Despite laudatory reviews by television critics, ''Arrested Development'' received low ratings throughout its three-season run. In July 2004, the show was nominated for 7 Primetime

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

and won 5, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. In the second season, ratings decreased further and the show was cut down to 18 episodes instead of the planned 22 episodes. Nevertheless, the show was still critically acclaimed and was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards. In the show's third and final season on Fox, Hurwitz tried to keep ''Arrested Development'' on the air, but did not have the advertising funding to promote the series. The show was again cut down, from 18 episodes to 13. Fox announced the cancellation of the show before the production of the final five episodes. After seven years off the air, ''Arrested Development'' returned for a fifteen-episode fourth season on the online movie and television streaming service

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 ...

on May 26, 2013. After yet another multi-year hiatus in which there was uncertainty of future seasons being developed, Netflix and the show's producers announced the development of a fifth season. The release was heralded by a re-edited twenty-two-episode version of the fourth season titled ''Season Four Remix: Fateful Consequences'', released on Netflix on May 4, 2018. The fifth season consists of sixteen episodes, 8 of which were released simultaneously on May 29, 2018. The remaining 8 episodes were released simultaneously on March 15, 2019.

Later projects

Series

Hurwitz created Fox's animated comedy '' Sit Down, Shut Up'', based on an Australian TV series of the same name, for the 2008 season. Hurwitz created '' Running Wilde'', which aired for one season from 2010 to 2011. It was a collaboration with ''

'' star

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and the titular ch ...

. Hurwitz signed a multiyear deal with

in 2014. He executive produced '' Flaked'' starring

and produced/co-created '' Lady Dynamite'' starring

Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depression, anxiety, suicide and mental illness. Her first comedy alb ...

for the network.

Pilots

Among Hurwitz's projects have been the US television adaptations of the British comedy shows ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series created, written and directed by Armando Iannucci that satirises the inner workings of British government. It was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially ...

'' (which was not picked up in the running for ABC's 2007–2008 TV season, though other networks such as

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, Showtime and

have expressed interest) and '' Absolutely Fabulous''. ''My World And Welcome To It'' was a 2009 CBS television pilot, executive produced by Hurwitz, Jay Kogen, Kim Tannenbaum, and

Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as '' The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel '' Addams Family ...

. It was a comedy based on an earlier series ''

My World and Welcome to It ''My World ... and Welcome to It'' is an American half-hour television sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber. It starred William Windom (actor), William Windom as John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for ...

'' about being a dad in the 1960s which, in turn, drew material from

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...

's collection of essays of the same name. ''Happiness Isn't Everything'' was also a 2009 CBS pilot, written by Hurwitz and Jim Vallely, starring

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor. The accolades he has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, alongside nominations for a Daytime Emmy Awards, Daytime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award ...

, Ben Schwartz and Mary Steenburgen.

Acting

Hurwitz co-starred as "Cool Eric" in an episode of '' Workaholics'' titled "Dry Guys". Hurwitz plays a human resources representative who is aiding them in their pursuit of sobriety. Hurwitz starred as "Koogler" in the ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

'' episode " App Development and Condiments" (season 5, episode 8), which aired on March 6, 2014. He reprised the role in " Modern Espionage" (season 6, episode 11), which aired on May 19, 2015.

Personal life

Hurwitz is married to actress Mary Jo Keenen. They have two daughters; May Asami, born in 2000, and Phoebe Hitomi born in 2002. The name of ''

'' character " Maeby" was the result of combining the names of Hurwitz's daughters.

Television

As actor

Awards

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

– Won *2004

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situat ...

– Won – "Pilot" *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series – Nominated *2005 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series – Won – " Righteous Brothers" (with Jim Vallely) *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series – Nominated *2006 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series – Nominated – "

" (with Richard Day, Chuck Tatham and Jim Vallely) * 2009 16th Annual Austin Film Festival – Outstanding Television Writer Award – Won

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurwitz, Mitchell American male television writers Primetime Emmy Award winners Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American television writers Television writers from California Georgetown University alumni Living people Television producers from California 1963 births People from Amarillo, Texas People from Anaheim, California American showrunners Writers Guild of America Award winners American television directors Screenwriters from Texas Television producers from Texas 21st-century American Jews