Steven Levitan
Encyclopedia
Steven E. Levitan is an American
director
, screenwriter
and producer
of television
comedies. He has created such TV series as Just Shoot Me!
, Stark Raving Mad
, Stacked
, Back to You
, and Modern Family
.
As executive producer, Levitan won an Emmy Award
in 1996 for Frasier
in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. He was also nominated in that same year for Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series category for The Larry Sanders Show
. He was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series category for Just Shoot Me!
and two more as executive producer. Levitan won the Humanitas Prize
(for writers whose work best communicates and encourages human values) in 1996 for the Frasier
episode titled "Breaking the Ice". Levitan has also won a CableACE Award
and a Writers Guild nomination for The Larry Sanders Show
. He also garnered a Producers Guild Award and a Television Critics Association Award for Frasier
, a People’s Choice Award for Stark Raving Mad
and a Golden Globe nomination for Just Shoot Me!
Coming from Chicago
, Illinois
, raised Jewish
, Levitan is married to wife Krista (née Schmuck). They have three children, two daughters Hannah and Alexandra, and a son, Nathaniel, nicknamed "Griffin". He attended Glenbrook South High School
and University of Wisconsin–Madison
(1980–1984), graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He worked as a WKOW-TV
on-air news reporter and morning anchorman in Madison, Wisconsin
and as a copywriter at Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago. Steven came to Hollywood in 1989 after selling a script for an episode of The Wonder Years
. He and his family currently live in Brentwood, California
.
His company, Steven Levitan Productions, has produced the series Just Shoot Me!
, Stark Raving Mad
, Greg the Bunny
, Oliver Beene
and Stacked
.
Levitan and television writer/producer Christopher Lloyd
joined as partners in 2006 and together created a production company named "Picture Day". It is under this company that they produced their co-creations Back to You
and Modern Family
. In 2010, Modern Family won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
, as well as two other Emmy Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series for Eric Stonestreet
, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd
.
Director
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
comedies. He has created such TV series as Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
, Stark Raving Mad
Stark Raving Mad (TV series)
Stark Raving Mad is an American sitcom that aired from on NBC from 1999 to 2000. The series stars Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris.-Synopsis:...
, Stacked
Stacked
Stacked is an American television sitcom that premiered on Fox on April 13, 2005. On May 18, 2006, Stacked was canceled, leaving five episodes unaired in the United States. The last episode aired on January 11, 2006...
, Back to You
Back to You
Back to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling...
, and Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
.
As executive producer, Levitan won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 1996 for Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. He was also nominated in that same year for Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series category for The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
. He was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series category for Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
and two more as executive producer. Levitan won the Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
(for writers whose work best communicates and encourages human values) in 1996 for the Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
episode titled "Breaking the Ice". Levitan has also won a CableACE Award
CableACE Award
The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
and a Writers Guild nomination for The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
. He also garnered a Producers Guild Award and a Television Critics Association Award for Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
, a People’s Choice Award for Stark Raving Mad
Stark Raving Mad (TV series)
Stark Raving Mad is an American sitcom that aired from on NBC from 1999 to 2000. The series stars Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris.-Synopsis:...
and a Golden Globe nomination for Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
Coming from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, raised Jewish
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
, Levitan is married to wife Krista (née Schmuck). They have three children, two daughters Hannah and Alexandra, and a son, Nathaniel, nicknamed "Griffin". He attended Glenbrook South High School
Glenbrook South High School
Glenbrook South High School, or GBS, is a public four-year high school located in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Northfield Township High School District, which also includes Glenbrook North High School...
and University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
(1980–1984), graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He worked as a WKOW-TV
WKOW-TV
WKOW is the ABC-affiliated television station for Madison, Wisconsin. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter in the city's Middleton Junction section; the station is also available on Charter Cable systems in the Madison market...
on-air news reporter and morning anchorman in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
and as a copywriter at Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago. Steven came to Hollywood in 1989 after selling a script for an episode of The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....
. He and his family currently live in Brentwood, California
Brentwood, California
Brentwood is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population is 51,481 as of 2010....
.
His company, Steven Levitan Productions, has produced the series Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
, Stark Raving Mad
Stark Raving Mad
Stark Raving Mad can refer to:*Stark Raving Mad, a 1983 film depicting a fictional account of the Charles Starkweather/Carol Fugate killings*Stark Raving Mad, a 1999 television series*Stark Raving Mad, a 2002 film...
, Greg the Bunny
Greg the Bunny
Greg the Bunny is an American television sitcom that originally aired on Fox TV in 2002. It starred Seth Green and a hand puppet named Greg the Bunny, originally invented by the team of Sean S. Baker, Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano. Milano and Chinoy wrote and co-produced the Fox show. In the show,...
, Oliver Beene
Oliver Beene
Oliver Beene is an American sitcom that premiered on Fox on March 9, 2003. The show was created by Howard Gewirtz. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene , in first person perspective...
and Stacked
Stacked
Stacked is an American television sitcom that premiered on Fox on April 13, 2005. On May 18, 2006, Stacked was canceled, leaving five episodes unaired in the United States. The last episode aired on January 11, 2006...
.
Levitan and television writer/producer Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd (screenwriter)
Christopher Lloyd is an American TV screenwriter and producer of Wings, Frasier, Out of Practice, Back to You, and Modern Family...
joined as partners in 2006 and together created a production company named "Picture Day". It is under this company that they produced their co-creations Back to You
Back to You
Back to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling...
and Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
. In 2010, Modern Family won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an Emmy given to the best television comedy series of the year.-Winners and nominees:...
, as well as two other Emmy Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series for Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet is an American actor, known for his starring role as Cameron Tucker on the ABC comedy Modern Family. Stonestreet has received critical acclaim for his performance in Modern Family and won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his...
, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd (screenwriter)
Christopher Lloyd is an American TV screenwriter and producer of Wings, Frasier, Out of Practice, Back to You, and Modern Family...
.
Creator, writer, producer & director
- Just Shoot Me!Just Shoot Me!Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
(1997–2003) - Stark Raving MadStark Raving Mad (TV series)Stark Raving Mad is an American sitcom that aired from on NBC from 1999 to 2000. The series stars Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris.-Synopsis:...
(1999–2000) - StackedStackedStacked is an American television sitcom that premiered on Fox on April 13, 2005. On May 18, 2006, Stacked was canceled, leaving five episodes unaired in the United States. The last episode aired on January 11, 2006...
(2005–2006) - Back to YouBack to YouBack to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling...
(2007–2008) - Modern FamilyModern FamilyModern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
(2009–present)
Writer & producer
- Wings (1990)
- The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
(1992) - FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
(1993) - Greg the BunnyGreg the BunnyGreg the Bunny is an American television sitcom that originally aired on Fox TV in 2002. It starred Seth Green and a hand puppet named Greg the Bunny, originally invented by the team of Sean S. Baker, Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano. Milano and Chinoy wrote and co-produced the Fox show. In the show,...
(2002) - With You In Spirit (2003) (also director) TV pilot
- Back to YouBack to YouBack to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling...
(2007–2008) - Modern FamilyModern FamilyModern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
(2009–present)
Writer
- The CriticThe CriticThe Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, both of whom had worked as writers on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994,...
(1994) - Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly (U.S. TV series)Men Behaving Badly is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1996 to 1997. It was based on the earlier British sitcom of the same name....
(1996)
Producer
- The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
(1995–1996) (co-executive producer) - Say Uncle (2001) (co-executive producer)
- Oliver BeeneOliver BeeneOliver Beene is an American sitcom that premiered on Fox on March 9, 2003. The show was created by Howard Gewirtz. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene , in first person perspective...
(2003) (executive producer)
Modern Family related credits
Writer- "PilotPilot (Modern Family)The pilot episode of the television series Modern Family, written by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd and directed by Jason Winer, premiered on ABC in the United States on September 23, 2009. The pilot introduces viewers to three sets of people who make up a single family...
" - "The IncidentThe Incident (Modern Family)"The Incident" is the fourth episode of the American family sitcom Modern Family. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company in the United States on October 14, 2009....
" - "Fifteen PercentFifteen Percent"Fifteen Percent" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the ABC sitcom Modern Family.Mitchell plants the seed in Jay's head that he thinks one of Jay's old buddies, "Shorty" , might be secretly gay. Jay doesn't believe it for a second except for all the questionable signs he now keeps...
" - "FearsFears (Modern Family)"Fears" is the sixteenth episode of Modern Family.The episode was written by co-creator, Steven Levitan and directed by Reggie Hudlin. The episode aired March 3, 2010 and achieved a Nielsen Rating of 3.5/9 and 8.08 million viewers...
" - "UnpluggedUnplugged (Modern Family)"Unplugged" is the fifth episode of the second season of the ABC sitcom, Modern Family. The episode originally aired October 20, 2010. The episode was written by series co-creator Steven Levitan and directed by Michael Spiller....
" - "Caught in the ActCaught in the Act (Modern Family)"Caught in the Act" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American television comedy series, Modern Family and the 36th overall episode of the series. Co-creator Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman wrote the episode, and Michael Spiller directed it. The episode originally aired on...
"
Director
- "HawaiiHawaii (Modern Family)"Hawaii" is the twenty-third episode of Modern Family on the first season. The episode originally premiered on May 12, 2010 on American Broadcasting Company ....
"