Megan Ganz
Megan Ann Ganz (born June 1, 1984) is an American comedy writer and former associate editor of The Onion. She is a writer and executive producer on the FXX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, worked on the NBC series Community for three years, and in 2013 left to write for Modern Family.[2]
Megan Ganz | |
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Ganz at the 2012 Comic Con | |
Born | Megan Ann Ganz[1] June 1, 1984 Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2006–present |
Spouse(s) |
Early life and education
Ganz was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2002 she graduated from Hackett Catholic Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[3]
In 2006, she graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, where she was editor-in-chief of The Every Three Weekly.[4]
Career
After completing her junior year at the university, she interned at Mad Magazine in New York City. Ganz had planned to move back to Michigan after her internship was over, but Mad's editor-in-chief John Ficarra encouraged her to remain in New York and pursue comedy writing.[5] She returned to New York and became assistant editor at The Onion and was later promoted to associate editor.
In 2008 Ganz was featured on an episode of This American Life along with other Onion staff members. An agent from United Talent Agency heard the broadcast and suggested that she move into television writing.[6] In summer 2009 Ganz left her job at The Onion and moved to Los Angeles to become a writer for the Comedy Central sketch show Important Things with Demetri Martin.[7]
In 2010, she began writing for the NBC comedy series Community.[8] In 2013, after the shortened season 4 of Community had wrapped, Ganz joined the writing staff of the ABC series Modern Family.[9] In 2015, Ganz created and produced an animated action-comedy pilot called Cassius and Clay which was expected to be paired with Archer on FXX, but the show never progressed beyond the pilot stage.[10]
In 2016, Ganz announced on her Instagram that she had been hired as a writer for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where she has been promoted to executive producer.[11]
In 2019, Apple TV+ announced Ganz as co-creator, along with Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, of the new comedy series Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet, which premiered February 7, 2020 on the streaming platform.
Ganz cites Dave Barry, Louis Sachar, Mad, Charles Schulz, and Bill Watterson as influences.[5]
Personal life
Ganz began dating British comedian Humphrey Ker in 2013. The couple were engaged in late 2014, and married on May 30, 2015.
In 2018, during a Twitter exchange with Community creator and executive producer Dan Harmon, Ganz accused Harmon of having engaged in inappropriate behavior toward her during their time on the show together.[12] Harmon detailed his behavior on an episode of his podcast, Harmontown, in which he went into detail about his wrongdoings which included making advances on her and then mistreating her after she turned him down. Ganz said that she felt vindicated by the admission and accepted his apology, urging her Twitter followers to listen to this episode of Harmontown, and calling it a "master class in how to apologize", ultimately forgiving him.[13][14] The exchange, the apology and Ganz's thoughts about them were covered in episode 674 of This American Life in which she was interviewed.[15]
Filmography
The following is a partial list of television episodes written by Ganz.
Community
- 2.08 "Cooperative Calligraphy" (writer)
- 2.16 "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" (writer)
- 3.08 "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" (writer)
- 3.17 "Basic Lupine Urology" (writer)
- 4.02 "Paranormal Parentage" (writer)
- 4.13 "Advanced Introduction to Finality" (writer)
Modern Family
- 5.09 "The Big Game" (writer)
- 5.17 "Other People's Children" (writer)
- 5.19 "A Hard Jay's Night" (co-writer)
- 5.24 "The Wedding (Part 2)" (co-writer)
- 6.02 "Do Not Push" (writer)
- 6.16 "Connection Lost" (co-writer)
- 6.23 "Crying Out Loud" (co-writer)
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
- 12.08 "The Gang Tends Bar" (writer)
- 13.02 "The Gang Escapes" (writer)
- 13.04 "Time's Up for the Gang" (writer)
- 14.03 "Dee Day" (writer)
- 14.06 "The Janitor Always Mops Twice" (writer)
The Last Man on Earth
- 4.02 "Stocko Syndome" (co-writer)
- 4.08 "Not Appropriate for Miners" (co-writer)
- 4.13 "Release the Hounds" (writer)
References
- "Megan Ganz on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- Megan Ganz (January 3, 2013). "Reddit Post".
- "NBC's 'Community' writer Megan Ganz, a Kalamazoo-area native, takes writing job for 'Modern Family'". MLive.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- Van Hyfte, Laura (July 4, 2005). "Court limits student publishing freedom". The Michigan Daily.
- Singer, Andrew (August 5, 2008). "Inside With: Megan Ganz, Assistant Editor at The Onion". The Apiary.
- "Interview: 'Community' Writer Megan Ganz". Feminist Film. February 22, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- Konigsberg, Eric (November 2, 2009). "Collecting Headlines Funnier Than This". New York TImes. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
- Frucci, Adam (March 28, 2011). "Behind the Scenes at Community with Writer Megan Ganz". Splitsider. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
- Zakarin, Jordan (January 3, 2013). "'Community' Writer Megan Ganz Heads to 'Modern Family'". Hollywood Reporter.
- "'Cassius and Clay' Animated Series Dead at FXX".
- "Megan Ganz (@meganganz) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com.
- Barsanti, Sam (January 3, 2018). "Former Community writer Megan Ganz calls out Dan Harmon for misconduct". AV Club. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- Framke, Caroline (January 11, 2018). "Most harassment apologies are just damage control. Dan Harmon's was a self-reckoning". Vox. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- Bromwich, Jonah Engel (January 14, 2018). "Megan Ganz on Dan Harmon's Apology: 'I Felt Vindicated'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- "Get a Spine!". This American Life. Public Radio Exchange. April 26, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
External links
- Megan Ganz on IMDb
- Megan Ganz on Twitter
- This American Life episode featuring Megan Ganz
- Megan Ganz Reddit Questionnaire (January 7, 2012)