Robby Christopher Schrab (born November 12, 1969) is an American
comic book creator
developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under di ...
, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is the creator of the comic book ''
Scud: The Disposable Assassin'', co-writer of the feature film ''
Monster House'', co-creator of the competitive film festival
Channel 101, and the co-creator of Comedy Central's ''
The Sarah Silverman Program''. He has directed three seasons of ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' and episodes of ''
Childrens Hospital
''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospital'' as webisodes) is an American dark comedy television and web series that parodies the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The series began o ...
'', ''
Blue Mountain State'', ''
Community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
'', ''
Parks and Recreation'', ''
The Mindy Project
''The Mindy Project'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its six-season run on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Unive ...
'', ''
Workaholics'', ''
Creepshow'', and the second revival season of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...
''.
Education and early career
Schrab is a graduate of the
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. In the 1990s, he wrote and illustrated the critically acclaimed independent comics series ''Scud: The Disposable Assassin''.
Film and television
In 1997,
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
's company Illusion Entertainment bought the film rights to ''Scud: The Disposable Assassin''. In the hopes of getting a chance to write the script, Schrab and his writing partner
Dan Harmon
Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC sitcom ''Community (TV series), Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast ' ...
moved to Los Angeles. Despite being turned down the pair decided to try their luck in the entertainment business. They wrote a spec script called ''Big Ant Movie'' or ''BAM''. This script found its way to director/producer
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential movies, often blending cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received several accolades incl ...
who signed them to a two-film deal. One of the ideas they pitched was called ''
Monster House''. They subsequently wrote a script and the film was eventually released in 2006 after being rewritten in the meantime.
With their reputation growing, Schrab and Harmon were in talks with numerous producers and companies. They signed a blind deal with
ABC which they then wanted to get out of. They decided to scare the network by "writ
ngour favorite TV show ever." ABC was not impressed but the script made its way to
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...
who decided to produce a pilot. ''
Heat Vision and Jack'' (1999) starred
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...
and, as the voice of a motorcycle,
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''T ...
. The pilot was not picked up but it eventually gained a reputation as a cult classic.
In 2002, Schrab wrote and directed ''Robot Bastard!'', a 17-minute science fiction action comedy film.
Together with
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She first rose to prominence for her brief stint as a writer and cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during its ...
, Schrab and Harmon created ''
The Sarah Silverman Program'' on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
. Harmon was eventually fired
from the show but Schrab stayed on for all three seasons. He also played the cross-dressing host of Cookie Party, Miniature "Mini" Coffee.
Harmon and Schrab later renewed their partnership with the latter working on both ''Community'', the show Harmon created after leaving ''The Sarah Silverman Program'', and ''Rick and Morty'', the show Harmon created after being fired from ''Community''.
Schrab was slated to direct ''
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part'' as his first feature, but left the project in February 2017. He co-directed ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...
''s season 12 along with
Joel Hodgson, wrote and directed episodes of the ''
Creepshow'' reboot for
Shudder, and worked with Harmon as a writer on ''
Rick and Morty
''Rick and Morty'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated science fiction Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadvent ...
'' for
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
.
Other
Schrab is also a regular guest on the podcast ''Fear Initiative'' and appeared regularly on the podcast ''
Harmontown'' before it ended in late 2019.
Schrab has won two
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. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
; one in 2009 fo
co-writing Hugh Jackman's Opening Numberfor the 81st Annual
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
, and one in 2020 as a producer on ''Rick and Morty.''
References
External links
*
Rob Schrabat
Channel 101
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schrab, Rob
1969 births
Living people
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American male writers
American comics writers
American male comedians
American male television writers
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American television directors
American television producers
American television writers
Comedians from Wisconsin
Film directors from Wisconsin
Film producers from Wisconsin
Male actors from Wisconsin
People from Mayville, Wisconsin
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Screenwriters from Wisconsin
American television show creators
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design