Dan Harmon

Writer • Producer • Comedian

Birth Date: January 3, 1973

Age: 50 years old

Birth Place: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Writer-producer-director Dan Harmon's unique perspective on television comedy led him from the improv comedy scene in his native Milwaukee to Hollywood, where he developed the wildly popular Internet sketch series "Channel 101" before creating the popular, but troubled sitcom "Community" (NBC, 2009-15; Yahoo!, 2015). In the late 1990s, Harmon's skewed take on TV tropes captured the attention of Hollywood, where he wrote the original script for the Oscar-nominated animated feature "Monster House" with his partner, Rob Schrab. Attempts to break into TV comedy were met with failure, so the pair began making movie parodies for friends that eventually blossomed into a monthly short film showcase and website that aired the faux "pilots." The showcase's success led to stints as a writer on "The Sarah Silverman Program" (Comedy Central, 2007-2010) before the creation of "Community," an offbeat, almost meta-take on traditional sitcoms disguised as a quirky series about a group of unusual community college students. Despite the show's low ratings and routine clashes with the network brass that eventually led to his temporary dismissal in 2012, Harmon developed a rabid fan base that ensured his status as one of comedy's most gifted and original thinkers. Harmon's improve-comedy podcast "HarmonTown" and a cult animated series that he co-created, "Rick and Morty" (Adult Swim 2013- ), continued to develop his devoted fan following.