Eric Coleman (producer)
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Eric Coleman (born February 24, 1968) is an American producer for television and film. From 2008 to 2019, he was the senior vice president of
Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney G ...
(owned by
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
). He currently is a producer at
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.


Biography

Coleman enrolled in
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, where he majored in English literature. In his junior year, he stayed for six months in Florence, Italy, to absorb himself in art; in London, he stayed another six months for his literature studies. After he graduated with a baccalaureate, Coleman continued to travel, moving from Southeast Asia to Australia, while staying in Nepal and New Zealand. Wanting to work in a creative industry after he returned to the United States, Coleman sat in on a
job fair A job fair, also commonly referred to as a job expo or career fair or career expo, is an event in which employers, recruiters, and schools give information to potential employees. Job seekers attend job fairs to speak face-to-face with potential e ...
, where he networked with and took advice from those in the field, including an executive of
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. Afterward, Coleman got a job as an assistant to the vice president of animation at
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. At their animation studio, he worked from 1992 to 1993 on ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Decemb ...
'' and ''
Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, ...
''. His liking of animation came from the way it combines "so many art forms", he said, among which are "painting and graphic design, writing, music and acting". Nickelodeon promoted Coleman to manager of development from 1995 to 1997, before serving as coordinator of current series since 1993. For the network, he helped develop ''
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...
'', on which he found that the qualities of a character in a show are more important than its concept. Coleman also learned that taking risks "if the fundamentals are solid but it just seems unusual or uncertain" is necessary in taking pitches. Later, he became executive in charge of production from 1997 to 2003, and vice president of animation development and production from 2003 to 2008. Among the most popular shows on the network he had supervised include ''SquarePants'' and ''
Avatar: The Last Airbender ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
''. In 2007, he was conominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for the latter show. By then a veteran of Nickelodeon, Coleman left the network to work for
Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney G ...
, where he was hired as senior vice president of the studio on February 4, 2008, replacing Meredith Roberts, who moved to DisneyToon Studios to serve as its general manager and senior vice president. Coleman described the vision of his studio as "looking for people who can create specific and authentic characters". In 2010, he approved ''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...
'', created by
Alex Hirsch Alexander Robert Hirsch (born June 18, 1985) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, storyboard artist, and producer. He is the creator of the Disney Channel series ''Gravity Falls'', for which he provided the voices of Grunkle Stan, Soos ...
, as a series on
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
, as well as a second season of ''
Fish Hooks ''Fish Hooks'' is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The show ran for three seasons from September 3, 2010 to April 4, 2014, airing a total of 59 episodes. Plot The series revolves ...
''. On the network, he helped develop ''
Star vs. the Forces of Evil ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' is an American animated magical girl television series created by Daron Nefcy and developed by Jordana Arkin and Dave Wasson, which aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. It is the first Disney XD series created b ...
'', '' Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero'', ''
Milo Murphy's Law ''Milo Murphy's Law'' is an American animated television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series premiered on October 3, 2016 on Disney XD. It revolves around the title character, Milo ...
'', '' the 2017 DuckTales reboot'', ''
Big City Greens ''Big City Greens'' is an American animated comedy adventure television series created by The Houghton Brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series features the voices of Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, and ...
'', ''
Amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
'', and ''
The Owl House ''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that premiered on Disney Channel on January 10, 2020. The series stars the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hirsch, Tati Gabrielle, Issa ...
'' before leaving in 2019 to go back to
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
as a producer.


References


External links

*
Executive profile
on ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Eric Living people 1968 births American television executives Walt Disney Animation Studios people Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Nickelodeon executives