Greg Daniels facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greg Daniels
Daniels in 2014
Born	Gregory Martin Daniels (1963-06-13) June 13, 1963 (age 62) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Screenwriter television producer director
Alma mater	Harvard University
Period	1987–present
Notable works	King of the Hill The Office Parks and Recreation
Spouse	Susanne Lieberstein ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	4, including Owen
Relatives	Paul Lieberstein (brother-in-law) Warren Lieberstein (brother-in-law)

Greg Daniels, born on June 13, 1963, is a talented American writer, producer, and director for TV shows. He has worked on many popular TV series. These include writing for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. He also helped create the American version of The Office. Plus, he co-created Parks and Recreation and King of the Hill.

Daniels went to Harvard University. There, he became friends with and started working with Conan O'Brien. His first job writing for TV was for Not Necessarily the News. He later joined The Simpsons writing team. He wrote famous episodes like "Lisa's Wedding" and "Bart Sells His Soul". After The Simpsons, he co-created King of the Hill with Mike Judge. This animated show was on TV for thirteen years.

While working on King of the Hill, Daniels also helped create the American version of The Office. He then co-created Parks and Recreation. More recently, he co-created the Netflix comedy series Space Force with actor Steve Carell. He also created the Amazon science fiction comedy Upload.

Early Life and Education

Gregory Martin Daniels was born in New York City on June 13, 1963. His mother, Judy, worked at the New York Public Library. His father, Aaron Daniels, was in charge of ABC Radio Network. Greg's father had Russian-Jewish family roots.

Daniels shared that he became interested in comedy by watching Monty Python's Flying Circus when he was a child. He also enjoyed reading books by the humor writer S.J. Perelman when he was 11. His first joke was for his father. This joke was later used in The Office episode, "The Dundies".

Daniels went to Phillips Exeter Academy for high school. Then he attended Harvard University. At Harvard, he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon with his friend Conan O'Brien. After finishing college in 1985, they both got jobs at Not Necessarily the News. However, they were soon let go because of budget cuts.

Career Highlights

Writing for Saturday Night Live

In late 1987, Daniels and Conan O'Brien met Lorne Michaels. Michaels is the creator of Saturday Night Live. They were given a three-week try-out to write for the show. While working there, Daniels won an Emmy Award for his writing. Daniels left the show's writing team in 1990.

The Simpsons and King of the Hill

Daniels joined the writing team for The Simpsons in 1993. This was during the show's fifth season. He felt he had "missed the boat" because many original writers had left. His first day on the show was Conan O'Brien's last.

For The Simpsons fifth season, Daniels wrote "Homer and Apu" and "Secrets of a Successful Marriage". He also wrote a part of "Treehouse of Horror IV". He received an Emmy nomination for the song "Who Needs The Kwik-E-Mart?" from "Homer and Apu".

In the sixth season, he wrote "Homer Badman" and "Lisa's Wedding". He also wrote a segment for "Treehouse of Horror V". "Lisa's Wedding" won an Emmy Award for best animated show. In the seventh season, Daniels wrote "Bart Sells His Soul". This episode was based on something that happened to him as a child. His last writing credit for the show was "22 Short Films About Springfield". He helped connect all the different stories in that episode.

Daniels left The Simpsons to work on King of the Hill. He co-created this show with Mike Judge. Daniels helped rewrite the first script and created important characters like Luanne and Cotton. He also gave characters like Dale Gribble their unique personalities. Daniels took the writers to Texas to do research for the show. Judge was so happy with Daniels' work that he gave him credit as a co-creator.

The Office and Parks and Recreation

In 2005, Daniels adapted the British TV show The Office for American audiences. The first season received mixed reviews. So, the writers worked to make the show more "optimistic". They also made the main character, Michael Scott, more likable. The second season was much more popular. It was called one of the best TV series of 2006.

Daniels gave the acceptance speech when the American The Office won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. He also won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for an episode of The Office.

After The Office became a hit, Daniels was asked to create a spin-off show. He and co-creator Michael Schur decided not to make a spin-off. Instead, they created a new series called Parks and Recreation. This show was about an optimistic woman working in local government. The idea for Parks and Recreation came partly from how local politics were shown in other TV shows. It also came from the excitement around the 2008 United States presidential election.

Parks and Recreation also had mixed reviews at first. But after some changes, later seasons received great praise. For four years, Daniels worked on both The Office and Parks and Recreation. He then returned to be the main producer for The Office's ninth and final season.

Recent Projects

In 2011, Daniels made a deal with NBC to produce several new shows. He also worked on adapting the British series Friday Night Dinner for American TV. He directed and produced the TBS series People of Earth.

In January 2019, Netflix announced that Daniels would write and produce a new series. It was called Space Force and starred Steve Carell. Daniels also created the Amazon science fiction series Upload, which started streaming in May 2020.

Bandera Entertainment

In 2021, Daniels and King of the Hill co-creator Mike Judge started a new animation company. It is called Bandera Entertainment. Their goal is to make many different types of animated shows. Their first show was Praise Petey, which premiered in July 2023. It received mostly positive reviews.

Other shows being developed by Daniels and Judge include an adaptation of Exploding Kittens for Netflix. They are also working on a reboot of King of the Hill for Hulu, which is set to release in August 2025. Other projects include In the Know and Best Buds. They are also developing Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth with Sacha Baron Cohen.

Personal Life

Daniels met Susanne Dari Lieberstein when she was an assistant at Saturday Night Live. They later got married. Susanne is the sister of Paul Lieberstein, who wrote for King of the Hill and took over as producer for The Office. Daniels was also related to The Office actress Angela Kinsey through her marriage to The Office writer Warren Lieberstein.

Awards and Recognition

Reception

Greg Daniels's work has been very well received. Four of the TV series he worked on—Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and The Office—were named among Time magazine's All Time 100 TV Shows.

His work on The Simpsons has been praised by critics and fans. Two of his episodes, "Bart Sells His Soul" and "22 Short Films About Springfield", were listed among the show's creative team's top five favorite episodes in 2003. The show's creator, Matt Groening, and executive producer, James L. Brooks, have said his episodes are among their favorites.

King of the Hill, his first show as a creator, also received good reviews. IGN named it one of the best animated TV series. They especially liked the show's subtle character humor.

The Office was NBC's highest-rated show for most of its run. Many publications, including Time and The Washington Post, have put it on their lists of top series. His writing for The Office is often seen as some of the best. While the show was very popular, some later seasons received criticism when Daniels was less involved. His next series, Parks and Recreation, was called "the smartest comedy on TV" in 2011.

Awards

Daniels has been nominated for twenty-one Emmy Awards and has won five:

• Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for Saturday Night Live: Season 14 (1989)
• Outstanding Animated Program for The Simpsons episode, "Lisa's Wedding" (1995)
• Outstanding Animated Program for King of the Hill, "And They Call It Bobby Love" (1999)
• Outstanding Comedy Series for The Office: Season 2 (2006)
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Gay Witch Hunt" from The Office (2007)

Daniels also received the Outstanding Television Writer Award from the Austin Film Festival in 2008.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Greg Daniels para niños