Gene Stupnitsky

Gene Stupnitsky
Гена Ступницький
Born	Hena Stupnitsky (1977-08-26) August 26, 1977 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Kyiv, Ukraine)
Alma mater	University of Iowa
Occupations	Writer producer director

Gene Stupnitsky (born August 26, 1977) is a Ukrainian-born American film and television writer, producer, and director. He usually works with Lee Eisenberg, with whom he founded Quantity Entertainment. From 2005 to 2010, he served as a writer, director and producer of the NBC sitcom The Office for which he earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He served as a co-creator, writer, and producer of the HBO comedy series Hello Ladies (2013-2014). In 2023 he co-created the Peabody Award-winning series Jury Duty with Eisenberg.

Stupnitsky worked on comedy films writing Year One (2009), and Bad Teacher (2011) and directing Good Boys (2019) and No Hard Feelings (2023).

Early life and education

Stupnitsky was born in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Kyiv, Ukraine) to Jewish parents. He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He attended Stevenson High School and graduated from the University of Iowa in 2000.

Career

2005–2011

In 2005, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky joined the staff of the NBC comedy series The Office, where they remained from seasons 2 to 6. In addition to writing, he served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Eisenberg, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and "The Lover". Although he is not credited for directing "The Lover", similarly Eisenberg is not credited for directing "Michael Scott Paper Company", as only one person can be credited with directing the episode. They directed The Outburst, a webisode series for The Office. He acted as Leo, one of the Vance Refrigeration delivery people, along with Eisenberg, present in several episodes of The Office. Stupnitsky, alongside Eisenberg, co-wrote two of the most critically acclaimed episodes, including "Dinner Party" and "Scott's Tots".

Eisenberg and Stupnitsky have worked together on several screenplays, many of which they have produced as well. Alongside Harold Ramis, they wrote the screenplay for Year One, which starred Jack Black and Michael Cera, and was released in 2009. Following that, they wrote and produced the film Bad Teacher, which starred Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. They were to serve as producers of a proposed sequel. Eisenberg and Stupnitsky wrote a screenplay for Ghostbusters III, but it was never produced.

2013–present

In 2013, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky were listed as two of Deadline Hollywood's "Overachievers" of the pilot season. Along with Stephen Merchant, they created, executive produced, and wrote for the HBO series Hello Ladies, which ran for one season and concluded with a feature-length special. That same year, they wrote a pilot for ABC based on the BBC series Pulling, in addition to serving as executive producers on the series Trophy Wife, which aired for one season on ABC. They also executive produced the TV series Bad Teacher for CBS, which is based on their original screenplay. Stpunitsky and Eisenberg co-created the hit television series Jury Duty, which won a 2023 Peabody Award.

Stupnitsky made his directorial debut with the 2019 comedy film Good Boys. He co-wrote and directed No Hard Feelings, which stars Jennifer Lawrence and was released June 2023.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Executive Producer
2009	Year One	No	Yes	No
2011	Bad Teacher	No	Yes	Yes
2019	Good Boys	Yes	Yes	No
2023	No Hard Feelings	Yes	Yes	No

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Executive Producer	Notes
2005–2010	The Office	Yes	Yes	Yes	15 episodes (writer); Directed episodes "The Lover" (uncredited) and "Michael Scott Paper Company"
2013–2014	Hello Ladies	No	Yes	Yes	Also creator
2014	Bad Teacher	No	No	Yes
	Trophy Wife	No	Yes	Yes	Episode "Mother's Day"
2016	Gorgeous Morons	No	Yes	Yes	TV movie
2017	Downward Dog	No	No	Yes	Episode "Pilot"
	SMILF	No	No	Yes	9 episodes
2023	Jury Duty	No	No	Yes	Also creator

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
2008	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Comedy Series	The Office	Nominated
2008		Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series		Nominated
2009		Outstanding Comedy Series		Nominated
2015		Outstanding Television Movie	Hello Ladies	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie		Nominated
2006	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best New Series	The Office	Nominated
2006		Best Comedy Series		Nominated
2007				Won
2008				Nominated
2009				Nominated
2010				Nominated
2011				Nominated
2018			Master of None	Nominated
2019	Peabody Awards	Entertainment Honoree	Good Boys	Nominated
2023	SXSW Film Festival	Audience Award	Jury Duty	Won

External links

• Gene Stupnitsky at IMDb