Eric Kaplan
Encyclopedia
Eric Kaplan is an American television
writer
, producer
, and story editor
. His work has included such shows as The Late Show with David Letterman, Andy Richter Controls the Universe
, Malcolm in the Middle
, and Futurama
. He currently works on the The Big Bang Theory
.
) in 1989. Prior to committing to a career in professional writing
, Kaplan had been an English teacher in Thailand
. After that he took five years of philosophy
graduate school
at Columbia
and UC Berkeley. While in philosophy graduate school he studied with Donald Davidson
, John Searle
, Hubert Dreyfus
and Bernard Williams
. He is qualified to teach philosophy of science, metaphysics, medieval philosophy, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language, and is at work on a thesis on the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty.
Starting in 1986, Kaplan interned for Spy Magazine, where his duties included mopping the floors and writing blurb-length film reviews.
doing a show set in the year 3000. This show would turn out to be Futurama
. After applying for work on the show using some writing samples, Eric would have to, as he says, "sweat it out", for over a month before getting the job. Upon Futurama's cancellation, Kaplan went to work for the short-lived comedy series Andy Richter Controls the Universe
, writing just one episode. After Fox
dropped Andy Richter..., Eric Kaplan then began work on the hit-show Malcolm in the Middle
, Eric also wrote the "Girlfriends" episode of the HBO hit, "Flight of the Conchords".
on every episode. Though having an input on many aspects of the entire first season, Kaplan would not get a writing credit until 9 episodes in. After this premiere season, he would be promoted to producer
status. This was a role that he would keep through the show's end. He returned to those roles in the Futurama DVD movies.
Futurama episode writing credits:
Futurama DVD movies writing credits:
throughout the rest of the series' run.
Malcolm in the Middle episode writing credits:
s.
Kaplan described the premise of Zombie College as
, based on the Maakies
comics by Tony Millionaire
, for Adult Swim
. The pilot aired on May 17, 2007 and the series premiered on November 2008.
.
.
, an animation studio and VFX house. In addition to "The Drinky Crow Show" Mirari Films produces "Baxter and McGuire" for Comedy Central
and is developing shows with several artists in the fields of comedy and comics.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
writer
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
, 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...
, and story editor
Story editor
Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". A story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits stories for screenplays....
. His work has included such shows as The Late Show with David Letterman, Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe is a sitcom which aired from 2002–2003 on the Fox network. The series was Andy Richter's first starring role after leaving Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000....
, Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, and Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. He currently works on the The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
.
Early life
Kaplan graduated from Harvard College (where he wrote for the Harvard LampoonHarvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
) in 1989. Prior to committing to a career in professional writing
Professional writing
Professional writing involves the use of clear language to convey information in a way that is easily understood by the intended audience. Individuals who can use language well may be employed as full-time professional writers in a variety of communications-related occupations, such as journalist,...
, Kaplan had been an English teacher in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. After that he took five years of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and UC Berkeley. While in philosophy graduate school he studied with Donald Davidson
Donald Davidson (philosopher)
Donald Herbert Davidson was an American philosopher born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who served as Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley from 1981 to 2003 after having also held teaching appointments at Stanford University, Rockefeller University, Princeton...
, John Searle
John Searle
John Rogers Searle is an American philosopher and currently the Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
, Hubert Dreyfus
Hubert Dreyfus
Hubert Lederer Dreyfus is an American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley....
and Bernard Williams
Bernard Williams
Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams was an English moral philosopher, described by The Times as the most brilliant and most important British moral philosopher of his time. His publications include Problems of the Self , Moral Luck , Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy , and Truth and Truthfulness...
. He is qualified to teach philosophy of science, metaphysics, medieval philosophy, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language, and is at work on a thesis on the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty.
Starting in 1986, Kaplan interned for Spy Magazine, where his duties included mopping the floors and writing blurb-length film reviews.
Career in television
Eric Kaplan's first television writing job was with The Late Show with David Letterman which he worked on for a year and a half before quitting and moving to Hollywood to look for a job in "half-hour" work. It was at this time that Kaplan learned of Matt GroeningMatt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
doing a show set in the year 3000. This show would turn out to be Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. After applying for work on the show using some writing samples, Eric would have to, as he says, "sweat it out", for over a month before getting the job. Upon Futurama's cancellation, Kaplan went to work for the short-lived comedy series Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe is a sitcom which aired from 2002–2003 on the Fox network. The series was Andy Richter's first starring role after leaving Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000....
, writing just one episode. After Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
dropped Andy Richter..., Eric Kaplan then began work on the hit-show Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, Eric also wrote the "Girlfriends" episode of the HBO hit, "Flight of the Conchords".
Futurama
In his first year with Futurama, which was also the show's first season, Kaplan served as story editorStory editor
Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". A story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits stories for screenplays....
on every episode. Though having an input on many aspects of the entire first season, Kaplan would not get a writing credit until 9 episodes in. After this premiere season, he would be promoted to 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...
status. This was a role that he would keep through the show's end. He returned to those roles in the Futurama DVD movies.
Futurama episode writing credits:
- "Hell Is Other RobotsHell Is Other Robots"Hell Is Other Robots" is the ninth episode of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 18, 1999, as the season finale of the first season. The episode was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore. Guest stars in this episode include the Beastie Boys as themselves and Dan...
" - "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?"Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love" is episode five in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 6, 2000. The episode is a parody of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Amok Time".-Plot:...
" - "A Bicyclops Built for TwoA Bicyclops Built for Two"A Bicyclops Built for Two" is episode nine in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on March 19, 2000.-Plot:The Professor opens the episode by bearing good news to the Planet Express crew: several years ago he had tried to log onto AOL, and it has finally connected. He sends...
" - "Parasites LostParasites Lost"Parasites Lost" is the second episode in season three of Futurama. Although the title is a play on John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the episode is a parody of the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage. The plot also borrows from the novel Flowers for Algernon...
" - "I Dated a RobotI Dated a Robot"I Dated a Robot" is the fifteenth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired on May 13, 2001.-Plot:After the crew sees an episode of The Scary Door, Fry decides to do all the things he always wanted to do and the Planet Express crew obliges...
" - "Jurassic BarkJurassic Bark"Jurassic Bark" is the seventh episode of season four of the television series Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. It was nominated for an Emmy Award, but lost to The Simpsons episode "Three Gays of the Condo".-Plot:...
" - "Three Hundred Big BoysThree Hundred Big Boys"Three Hundred Big Boys" is the sixteenth episode of season four of Futurama, which aired June 15, 2003.-Plot:Zapp Brannigan leads an attack on Tarantulon VI, claiming silken artworks. Earth President Richard Nixon gives the riches to the citizens of Earth as a $300 tax rebate. Leela plans to swim...
"
Futurama DVD movies writing credits:
- "The Beast with a Billion Backs"
- "Bender's Game"
Malcolm in the Middle
In his two years as a writer on Malcolm in the Middle, Kaplan wrote four episodes while serving as supervising producer in the first half of the 5th season and co-executive producerExecutive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
throughout the rest of the series' run.
Malcolm in the Middle episode writing credits:
- Dirty Magazine
- Victor's Other Family
- Dewey's Opera
- Ida's Dance
- Blackout
- Hal Grieves
Zombie College
Zombie College was an internet webtoon Kaplan created that revolved around a student at a college full of zombieZombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s.
Kaplan described the premise of Zombie College as
the idea of the human ability to get used to practically anything. That there's nothing so horrible that we can't get used to it and accept it as part of life (...) Zombie College is an environment where there are undead monsters running around and trying to eat your brain but everybody is o.k. with it and they're more interested in getting good grades.
The Drinky Crow Show
Kaplan co-created The Drinky Crow ShowThe Drinky Crow Show
The Drinky Crow Show is an American animated television series created by Eric Kaplan and Tony Millionaire, based on the latter's comic strip Maakies. The pilot episode aired on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim on May 13, 2007. The series premiered on November 23, 2008 and...
, based on the Maakies
Maakies
Maakies is a syndicated weekly comic strip by Tony Millionaire. It began publication in February 1994 in the New York Press. It currently runs in many American alternative newsweeklies including The Stranger, LA Weekly and Only...
comics by Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip Maakies and the Sock Monkey series of comics and picture books.-Early life:...
, for Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
. The pilot aired on May 17, 2007 and the series premiered on November 2008.
Flight of the Conchords
Kaplan wrote the episode GirlfriendsGirlfriends (Flight of the Conchords)
"Girlfriends" is the eighth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 5, 2007.-Plot synopsis:...
.
The Big Bang Theory
Kaplan is a co-executive producer on the CBS comedy The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
.
Mirari Films
Kaplan runs Mirari FilmsMirari Films
-Animations / Additional live-action:*Baxter and McGuire - Comedy Central*Cheetah with No Spots*Cute Attack*Destination Domination*The Drinky Crow Show - Adult Swim*Les Gnoufs*Mongo Wrestling Alliance - Adult Swim...
, an animation studio and VFX house. In addition to "The Drinky Crow Show" Mirari Films produces "Baxter and McGuire" for Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
and is developing shows with several artists in the fields of comedy and comics.