Stefani Robinson
Robinson at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival
Alma materEmerson College
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, producer
Years active2017–present
Notable workChevalier (2022 film)

Stefani Robinson is an American screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her work on FX's Atlanta, for which she won two Writers Guild of America Awards, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Robinson was a writer and executive producer for the FX television series What We Do in The Shadows, for which she received Emmy nominations for writing, and for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2020 and 2022. She wrote the screenplay for the 2023 biopic Chevalier.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Early life and education

Robinson moved to the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Georgia from Hong Kong when she was 8 years old.[8] She watched the series The Mighty Boosh on YouTube as a high school student and described it as helping her develop her own writing style.[1] She names Willy Wonka, Austin Powers, and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet as other major influences.[9] At some point, at age 15 or 16, she began taking classes and performed sketch comedy for audiences as part of an ensemble at The Second City Training Center in Hollywood.[10][11][12] Robinson studied screenwriting as an undergraduate at Emerson College.[13]

Career

Robinson started her career as an assistant at a talent agency.[14] After submitting a script to the television network FX, she was hired to write for Atlanta, where she was the only woman and the youngest person in the writer's room.[15][16] She has received praise for her writing and has criticized the idea that she should simply offer a “female” perspective to her work as opposed to one of an individual that’s not directly tied to gender or race.[17] Robinson was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the episode "Barbershop."[18]

Robinson signed a production deal with FX in 2017.[19] She has written for several of the network's programs, including Man Seeking Woman and Fargo.[20] Robinson was a co-executive producer and writer for What We Do in the Shadows until she left the show in 2020.[9][15][13] During her tenure she received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the episodes "On the Run" and "The Wellness Center."[18]

Her debut feature film Chevalier, a biopic about the musician of the same name, was released in 2022.[13] It was directed by Stephen Williams and starred Kelvin Harrison Jr.[21]

As of 2023 her pilot for a revival of the British comedy series Peep Show is in production.[22]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2017 Writers Guild of America Award Comedy Series Atlanta Won [23]
New Series Won [23]
2018 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for "Barbershop") Nominated [24]
2019 Writers Guild of America Award Comedy Series Nominated [25]
2020 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for "On the Run") What We Do in the Shadows Nominated [24]
Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated [24]
Writers Guild of America Award New Series Nominated [26]
2021 Writers Guild of America Award Comedy Series Nominated [27]
2022 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for "The Wellness Center") Nominated [28]
Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated [28]

References

  1. ^ a b Turchiano, Danielle (16 August 2018). "'Atlanta' Scribe Stefani Robinson on Creating a 'Low-Key' Workspace".
  2. ^ "Stefani Robinson on Being the Only Female Writer on 'Atlanta'". 31 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Emmys 2018: Donald Glover and "Atlanta" Dominate Nominations - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. 12 July 2018.
  4. ^ "72nd Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". emmys.com.
  5. ^ "72nd Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". emmys.com.
  6. ^ "74th Emmy Awards Nominees / Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  7. ^ babrams (2023-04-24). ""Chevalier" Screenwriter & Executive Producer Stefani Robinson on Hitting the Right Narrative Notes". Motion Picture Association. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  8. ^ "The Sky's The Limit For 'Atlanta' Writer Stefani Robinson". 19 April 2018.
  9. ^ a b Travers, Ben (5 June 2019). "'What We Do in the Shadows': How Writer Stefani Robinson Puts Herself Into the Batshit Vampire Comedy". Indie Wire. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Stefani Robinson". secondcity.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022. Stefani Robinson is a comedy writer and performer from Atlanta. She has studied at Second City Hollywood and is currently a television writer living in Los Angeles.
  11. ^ "Hot Tin Roof Presents: Ladies Night". secondcity.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022. Hot Tin Roof runs on Girl Power and is made up of Angela B. Getz, Silvana Gargione, Sarah Barenberg, Darby Rae, Danielle Marcucci, Kelly Hernandez, Gavrielle Harris, Stefani Robinson, Chelsey Ireland, and directed by Eileen Montelione.
  12. ^ Katie Rife (25 August 2020). "What We Do In The Shadows' Stefani Robinson thinks Jackie Daytona's human disguise is pretty convincing, actually". www.avclub.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022. So I was with them, and they had these LA trips, and I took a trip and I came out to LA for the first time [through them]. I was 15 or 16. And you just walked around LA, and you took classes at Second City, and you met casting directors. And I was just like, 'Wow, the mystery is dissolved here.' But there's nothing like that for writing, you know?
  13. ^ a b c Thompson, Anne (2023-04-21). "'Chevalier' Writer Stefani Robinson Has Always Been an Overachiever — So Is the Subject of Her First Feature". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  14. ^ "'Atlanta' Writer Stefani Robinson on Paper Boi's Fate: 'I Don't Think We're Afraid of Killing Anybody'". Complex.
  15. ^ a b "I Went from Being an Agency Assistant to Writing for 'Atlanta'". 1 March 2018.
  16. ^ Ferber, Taylor (2018-09-18). "Stefani Robinson on What It's Like to Be the Only Woman in Atlanta Writers Room". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  17. ^ "'Atlanta' Writer Sounds Off: Female Creator Label Suggests "Separate but Equal"". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 August 2018.
  18. ^ a b "What We Do in the Shadows and Atlanta's Stefani Robinson Knows Vampires, Barbershops, and Everything In-Between". Vanity Fair. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  19. ^ Petski, Denise (4 October 2017). "'Atlanta' Producer Stefani Robinson Inks Overall Deal With FX Productions".
  20. ^ "Making Bieber Black — And Other Things Only "Atlanta" Can Do".
  21. ^ Donnelly, Matt (June 30, 2020). "'Black Mozart' Biopic Lands at Searchlight From Director Stephen Williams, Writer Stefani Robinson (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  22. ^ "How This Award-Winning Screenwriter Navigates Egos On Set". Bustle. 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  23. ^ a b Erbland, Kate (2017-02-20). "2017 Writers Guild Awards Winners: 'Moonlight,' 'Arrival,' 'Atlanta' and 'The Americans' Win Big". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  24. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-08-18). "Stefani Robinson On Breaking Into Writers Room, Future 'Atlanta' Seasons & Her Double Emmy Nom 'What We Do In The Shadows' – Crew Call Podcast". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  25. ^ McNary, Dave (2019-02-18). "WGA Awards 2019: 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?,' 'Eighth Grade' Win Screenplay Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  26. ^ "2020 Writers Guild Awards Winners Announced". www.wga.org. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  27. ^ "2021 Writers Guild Awards Nominees & Winners". awards.wga.org. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  28. ^ a b Cordero, Rosy (2022-07-13). "'What We Do In The Shadows' EP Stefani Robinson On Emmy Noms & Baby Colin Robinson's "Supernatural Aging Process"". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-07-16.

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