RJ Fried
{{Short description|American television producer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = RJ Fried
| birth_name = Robert J. Fried
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1981}}
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| nationality = American
| occupation = Comedy writer, producer, performer
| education = Harvard University (B.A.)
| years_active = 2010–present
| known_for = Co‑creator of Our Cartoon President, Tooning Out the News, and creator of Fairview
| awards = Multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations; Writers Guild Award winner
| website = {{URL|rjfried.com}}
}}
RJ Fried (born 1981) is an American comedy writer, producer, and performer.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/our-cartoon-president-creator-rj-fried-stephen-colbert-showtime-emmys-1202628426/|title=‘Our Cartoon President’ Co-Creator R.J. Fried On Crafting Topical Animation That Can Respond To Current Events In Real Time|first=Matt|last=Grobar|date=June 10, 2019}} He has written for several late-night and satirical television programs and is the co-creator of the animated series Our Cartoon President and Tooning Out the News.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/story/animation-tv-covid-19-coronavirus/|title=Quarantine Is a Weirdly Good Time for Animation|first=Emma Grey|last=Ellis|via=Wired}}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/features/our-cartoon-president-rj-fried-season-3-politics-interview-1203510831/|title=‘Our Cartoon President’ Boss R.J. Fried: ‘The World Feels More Cartoonish Than Ever’|first=Jazz|last=Tangcay|date=February 23, 2020|website=Variety}}
Fried also created the Comedy Central animated sitcom Fairview. He is a multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominee and a Writers Guild Award winner, known for his work on political satire and variety comedy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/rj-fried|title=RJ Fried|website=Television Academy}}
Early life and education
Fried was born in 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/4/9/two-sport-superstar-this-past-saturday-junior/|title=Two-Sport Superstar |website=The Harvard Crimson}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/player/robert-fried-8468557|title=Robert Fried profile|website=NHL}} During his prep school years at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, he captained the hockey team and earned All-League honors, also being named a Sports Illustrated/Old Spice Athlete of the Month in 1999.{{Cite web|url=https://www.looper.com/87651/showtimes-trump-white-house-comedy-finds-writer/|title=Showtime's Trump White House Comedy Finds Its Writer|first=Sarah|last=Szabo|date=September 25, 2017|website=Looper.com}} He was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the 2000 NHL entry draft.{{cite web |title=FLORIDA PANTHERS ANNOUNCE 2000 DRAFTEES |url=http://www.floridapanthers.com/pressbox/news/flpanthersannounce2000.shtml |website=Florida Panthers |access-date=June 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010418080034/http://www.floridapanthers.com/pressbox/news/flpanthersannounce2000.shtml |archive-date=April 18, 2001 |date=June 25, 2000}}
Career
Fried worked in broadcast journalism as a segment producer for MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell from 2010 to 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna52465141|title=Very Last Word: Goodbye, R.J. Fried!|date=July 13, 2013|website=NBC News}} He also wrote for Comedy Central's charity special Night of Too Many Stars in 2010 and 2012, earning Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.
In 2013, Fried joined the writing staff of The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS as a writer and occasional performer.{{Cite web|url=https://awardsradar.com/2021/08/08/interview-talking-tooning-out-the-news-with-showrunner-r-j-fried/|title=Interview: Talking 'Tooning Out The News' With Showrunner R.J. Fried|first=Jeff|last=Heller|date=August 8, 2021}} After the Late Show ended its run in 2015, Fried wrote for the NBC variety series Maya & Marty in 2016 and began working with comedian Robert Smigel on a series of political satire specials featuring Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He was a writer and producer on Triumph's Election Special 2016, a satirical election-year special on Hulu that won a 2017 Writers Guild of America Award and earned Fried another Emmy nomination. That same year, he served as head writer for the Comedy Central late-night talk show Problematic with Moshe Kasher.
In 2017, Fried was tapped by Stephen Colbert's production team to work on a new animated satire series for Showtime centered on Donald Trump White House. He co-created the resulting show, Our Cartoon President, with Colbert and others, and served as its showrunner and executive producer during its run from 2018 to 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wgaeast.org/onwriting/episode-97-rj-fried-tooning-out-the-news/|title=Episode 97: RJ Fried, "Tooning Out the News"}}
In 2020, Fried co-created Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News, a topical animated news parody series, alongside Colbert, Chris Licht, and Tim Luecke. He acted as a showrunner, executive producer, and writer on Tooning Out the News, which launched on the CBS All Access streaming platform (later Paramount+) and features animated anchors lampooning current events. It was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2021 and 2022 for Outstanding Short Form Comedy/Variety Series.
In 2022, Fried created Fairview, an animated adult sitcom that premiered on Comedy Central. He served as a showrunner and voice actor on Fairview, which featured a voice cast including comedians Aparna Nancherla and James Austin Johnson.
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+List of television works, with year, title, role, network, and references |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Network ! References |
|---|
| 2010, 2012, 2015
| Writer |
| 2010–2013
| The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell | Segment Producer | MSNBC |
| 2013–2015
| Late Show with David Letterman | Writer and Performer | CBS |
| 2016
| Writer | NBC |
| 2016
| Triumph's Election Special 2016 | Writer and Producer | Hulu |
| 2016
| Triumph's Election Watch 2016 | Writer and Performer | Hulu |
| 2017
| Problematic with Moshe Kasher | Head Writer |
| 2018–2020
| Co‑creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer | Showtime |
| 2022
| Fairview | Creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer |
| 2020–2023
| Co‑creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://rjfried.com/}}
- {{Ice hockey stats}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fried, RJ}}
Category:American comedy writers
Category:Deerfield Academy alumni
Category:Florida Panthers draft picks