Michael Patrick O'Brien (born June 22, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his tenure as a writer on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' from 2009 to 2015, and as a featured player for one season. He is also the creator of the 2018

comedy series ''

A.P. Bio ''A.P. Bio'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on February 1, 2018, on NBC as a mid-season replacement. It aired on NBC for two seasons until June 13, 2019, and moved to Peacock streaming, Peacock for its subsequent seasons. The se ...

''.

Career

O'Brien was born in Blissfield, Michigan to Connie and James O’Brien. He attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he majored in film-video and was the founder and editor of a monthly comedy newspaper named ''The Anti-Daily''. O'Brien moved to Chicago and began taking improv and sketch classes. At iO Chicago he performed with a group called The Reckoning (2001–present). He trained at the Second City in Chicago, eventually joining the company's mainstage, where he performed for one year as a part of "America: All Better".

''Saturday Night Live''

O'Brien worked as a staff writer on ''

'' for seven seasons, joining the show in 2009, and also appeared as a featured player for the 2013–14 season. After his sole season as a featured player, he left the cast but continued to write for the show in his final season from 2014 to 2015. Some of O'Brien's sketches include "Monster Pals" starring James Franco as well as "Puppet Class" starring Bill Hader. His short films "Grow a Guy" and "The Jay-Z Story" were each given the title card, "A Mike O'Brien Picture" in season 40. After leaving the writing staff in season 41, O'Brien continued to contribute short films under the title, ''A Mike O'Brien Picture'' for a brief period.

''7 Minutes in Heaven with Mike O'Brien''

In 2011, O'Brien introduced ''7 Minutes in Heaven with Mike O'Brien'', a comedy routine in which he interviews celebrities in a closet and closes by trying to kiss the celebrity.

''Tasty Radio''

In 2015, O'Brien released a sketch comedy album entitled ''Tasty Radio'', which features

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 20 ...

, Fred Armisen,

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. I ...

, Vanessa Bayer, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Jorma Taccone, John Lutz and

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

''A.P. Bio''

In 2018, he created the comedy series ''

'', starring Glenn Howerton and

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...

. O'Brien's former ''SNL'' colleagues

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

and Seth Meyers are also executive producers on the show. The series premiered on February 1, 2018. The series was canceled after two seasons on May 24, 2019. On July 17, 2019, it was announced that ''

'' would return for a third season on NBCU's streaming platform

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

in 2020, and the show was renewed for a fourth season which ran in 2021 before the show was canceled again.

Filmography

As actor

As writer

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Mike Living people 1976 births 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American screenwriters American male comedians American male television actors American male television writers American sketch comedians American television writers Male actors from Michigan The New Yorker people People from Blissfield, Michigan Place of birth missing (living people) Screenwriters from Michigan University of Michigan alumni 21st-century American male writers Comedians from Michigan