Rob Kutner is an American comedy writer-producer.

Career

As a writer for ''

Dennis Miller Live ''Dennis Miller Live'' is an American weekly late-night talk show on HBO, hosted by comedian Dennis Miller. The show ran 215 episodes from 1994 to 2002, and received five Emmy awards and 11 Emmy nominations. It was also nominated six times for th ...

'', he was nominated for a 2003 Writers' Guild of America Award. After ''

'' left the air, Kutner went on to write for ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'', where he has won five Emmies to date. Additionally, he has won a Peabody Award and an award from the Television Critics' Association, and a Grammy for contributing to the bestselling book/audiobook ''

America (The Book) ''America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction'' is a 2004 humor book written by Jon Stewart and other writers of ''The Daily Show'' that parodies and satirizes American politics and worldview. It has won several awards, and gen ...

''. He was a writer for ''

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fifth installment of ''The Tonight Show'', hosted by Conan O'Brien. It aired from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, succeeding ''The ...

'' until January 22, 2010 and has stayed on

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...

's writing staff for the TBS television program, '' Conan''. Since then, he has written for animated shows including ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...

'', ''

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise conceived by Man of Action and owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. The franchise, mainly consisting of animated series produced by Cartoon Network Studios, revolves around a young boy named Ben Tennys ...

'', and '' Angry Birds: Summer Madness'', and developed animated shows for the Syfy network and Warner Brothers Animation. He also co-created the topical sketch comedy show ''Gander'', and is currently Head Writer of ''

God's Gang ''God's Gang'' is an animated YouTube series designed for children and young adults, created by Nimrod Avraham May. The series is centered on an interfaith team of superheroes, comprising four heroes from Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Hindu b ...

'', an independently produced action-comedy animated series featuring a team of interfaith heroes, that has garnered over 2 million subscribers online. In 2003, Kutner wrote the short film ''Pie Chi'', which has been seen at numerous festivals and was broadcast on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

Television. His humor pieces have appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

'', and ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''. In 2016, he created the scripted podcast miniseries ''Runaway Brains'', starring

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

and

Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, former contestant, and author. He is best known for his work on the syndicated quiz show ''Jeopardy!'' as a contestant and later its host. Jennings was born in Edm ...

. His book ''Apocalypse How'' (Running Press/Perseus), a humorous guide on how to "make the end times the best of times," was released in May 2008 and was a national bestseller. His Kindle Single, "The Future According to Me," was released in July 2011. "The Future According to Me" was released as an Audible audiobook in June 2015, featuring voice performances by Emo Phillips, Kurt Andersen, Cecil Baldwin, and Eddie Pepitone. Kutner was also a co-creator of the comedy-music album "2776", which features numerous celebrities and benefits the charity OneKid OneWorld. He is the creator of the sci-fi comedy comic book "Shrinkage" for Farrago Comics. In 2024, Kutner came out with ''Snot Goblins & Other Tasteless Tales'' (First Second/MacMillan), a middle-grade "horror-comedy grossout" graphic novel anthology, illustrated by '' Mad'' artist David DeGrand, with positive testimonials by R. L. Stine and

Felicia Day Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, singer, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and ...

. He also ghostwrote '' Look Out for the Little Guy'', (Disney Hyperion) the fictional memoir of

Scott Lang Ant-Man (Scott Edward Harris Lang) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne, Scott Lang first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #181 (March 1979) ...

, aka "Ant-Man" as depicted in the 2023 Marvel film '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania''. In the book's acknowledgments, "Lang" credits Kutner as his writing coach, which technically makes him part of the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

. Kutner has shown an interest in melding the worlds of neurodivergence and entertainment. He co-produced ''Let it Out'', the first-ever standup comedy show tailored for a neurodivergent audience, and headlined by

Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He has earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He first gained widespread attention during his tenure as a cast member on ...

at Los Angeles'

Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record for ...

. He hosted a podcast calle
"Genius Revisited
produced by Jett Road Studios, where Kutner and guests explored whether filmmaker

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

might have been considered neurodivergent. His book, ''The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting'' (Point Hill Press/Simon & Schuster) released on March 11, 2025. The book is a comedic survey of all of Jewish history, "from Adam & Eve to Zabar's".

Personal life

Kutner was born 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 and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended

The Westminster Schools The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten–12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951. History Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' school ...

. Comic actors

Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...

and

Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kevin Malone on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'' (2005–2013) and its related spin-off webisodes, which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards ...

attended Westminster at the same time. He studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, achieving an AB in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

in 1994. At Princeton he was the editor of the school's humor magazine, '' The Tiger'' and was a member of the improv comedy troupe "Quipfire". He was also a member and the announcer for the

Princeton University Band The Princeton University Band serves as the official marching band and pep band of Princeton University. Like most other Ivy League bands, it is a scramble band. To members and fans, it is often known as the PUB (pronounced ''Pea You Bee'') or s ...

. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, writer Sheryl Zohn. He is an observant Jew.

References

External links

Personal Site for Rob Kutner

Apocalypse How: Official Book Website

Tiger Magazine

Quipfire

Princeton University Band
21st-century American Jews American male television writers American television writers Jewish American screenwriters Living people Primetime Emmy Award winners Princeton University alumni The Westminster Schools alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-comedian-stub