Justin Spitzer is an American television and film writer, producer, and showrunner. He is best known for creating the sitcoms Superstore and American Auto.[1][2] His other credits include Scrubs, Courting Alex, and The Office.[3]

Justin Spitzer
OccupationWriter • Television producer
Years active2004–present
Spouse
(m. 2007)
Children2

Career

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Spitzer was an assistant on the sitcom Grounded for Life and on fourteen episodes of the American adaptation of Queer as Folk.[4][5] From 2008 to 2013, he was a writer and producer for the American adaptation of The Office.[6][1] In 2013 he wrote a pilot based on The Money Pit that was put into development by NBC but ultimately never aired.[7][8]

He created the workplace sitcom Superstore, starring America Ferrera and Ben Feldman, which had a midseason premiere on NBC in 2015.[9] He served as showrunner for three seasons before stepping down in 2019 while signing a multi-year deal with NBC and Universal Television.[10] The series continued to run for three more seasons after Spitzer's departure.[11]

In 2020, NBC ordered a pilot for Spitzer's comedy American Auto.[12] The series premiered in 2021 and ran for two seasons before being canceled in 2023.[13] In August 2021, Spitzer had signed a new four-year overall deal with Universal Television.[14]

Personal life

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On November 24, 2007, he married producer and writer Jenna Bans. They have two children named Lucy and Phoebe.[15]

Credits

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Producing

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Television
Year Title Notes
2012–2013 The Office co-executive producer
2014 Mulaney
2015–2021 Superstore executive producer, also creator
2021–2023 American Auto
2024 St. Denis Medical
Television Movie
Year Title Notes
2013 Holding Patterns executive producer

Writing

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Films
Year Title Notes
2006 What Are the Odds? short film
Television
Show Episode Title Season Air Date Notes
Scrubs "My Butterfly" 3 March 16, 2004
Committed "The Snap Out of it Episode" 1 February 1, 2005
Courting Alex "Birthday" March 6, 2006
The Office "Back from Vacation" 3 January 4, 2007
"Product Recall" April 26, 2007 co-written with Brent Forrester
"Did I Stutter?" 4 May 1, 2008
"Moroccan Christmas" 5 December 11, 2008
"Michael Scott Paper Company" April 9, 2009
"Shareholder Meeting" 6 November 19, 2009
"Body Language" April 29, 2010
"Costume Contest" 7 October 28, 2010
"Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager" May 12, 2011
"Garden Party" 8 October 13, 2011
"Angry Andy" April 19, 2012
The Money Pit "Pilot" 1 unaired
Mulaney "Patriot Acts" 1 November 23, 2014
Superstore "Pilot" 1 November 30, 2015
"Shots and Salsa" November 30, 2015
"Tornado" 2 May 4, 2017
"Grand Re-Opening" 3 September 28, 2017
"Town Hall" May 3, 2018 Story credit
"Employee Appreciation Day" 4 May 16, 2019
"All Sales Final" 6 March 25, 2021 Story credit
American Auto "Pilot" 1 December 13, 2021
"White Van" December 13, 2021
"Profile" March 8, 2022 co-written with Eric Ledgin
"Crisis" 2 January 24, 2023
St. Denis Medical "Welcome to St. Denis" 1 November 12, 2024
Television Movie
Year Title Notes
2013 Holding Patterns also credited as creator

Directing

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Show Episode title Season Air date Notes
Superstore "Employee App" 5 February 20, 2020

Nominations

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Television
Year Association Category Work Result Credited As Ref.
2009 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series The Office Nominated Producer [16]
2010
2011 Supervising Producer
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References

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  1. ^ a b "Justin Spitzer". NBC Universal Media Village. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  2. ^ McLevy, Alex (April 19, 2019). "Showrunner Justin Spitzer quits his Superstore". News. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "Justin Spitzer". IMDb. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  4. ^ Ferreira, Johanna (January 15, 2016). "Get to Know the Man Behind the Best Golden Globes Joke". vivala.com. Vivala. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  5. ^ "(article title missing)". Newsweek, Volume 149, Issues 14–26. 2007. p. 64. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  6. ^ Dellecese, Dave (November 1, 2007). "A peek at the Utica Branch of NBC's "The Office"". WKTV. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 4, 2013). "NBC Developing Comedy Based On Movie 'The Money Pit' With Justin Spitzer, Amblin". Deadline. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  8. ^ Blacker, Ben (March 8, 2018). "Episode 23 – The Money Pit written by Justin Spitzer". maximumfun.org. Dead Pilots Society. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  9. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 19, 2015). "NBC Trims Orders For Midseason Comedies 'Superstore' & 'Hot & Bothered'". Deadline. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (April 19, 2019). "'Superstore' Creator Justin Spitzer Steps Down As Showrunner; He, Gabe Miller & Jonathan Green Re-Up Overall Deals With Uni TV". Deadline. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  11. ^ Framke, Caroline (March 26, 2021). "RIP 'Superstore,' a Sharp Workplace Comedy That Was Unafraid to Change With the Times". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 23, 2020). "Jim Jefferies-Suzanne Martin Comedy, Justin Spitzer's 'American Auto' Get NBC Pilot Orders". Deadline. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  13. ^ Porter, Rick (June 16, 2023). "NBC Cancels 'American Auto' After Two Seasons". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 18, 2021). "Justin Spitzer Re-Ups Overall Deal With Universal Television". Deadline. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  15. ^ Spitzer, Justin (March 3, 2016). "My wife @jennabans show @thefamily airs tonight ABC 9:00 EST. It's just like #Superstore but with abducted children and no store. Pls watch!". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  16. ^ "Justin Spitzer". emmys.com. Television Academy. Retrieved January 11, 2019.