Chris McKenna (writer)

Chris McKenna is an American television writer, film producer, screenwriter, and television producer. He has written for American Dad!, Community,^[1] and The Mindy Project, and part of the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man trilogy (2017–2021).

Chris McKenna
McKenna on a Community panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014.
Born	(1969-12-03) December 3, 1969 (age 55) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Television writer, film producer, screenwriter, television producer
Years active	1993-present

Early life

McKenna attended The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California.

Career

McKenna was an uncredited writer on the 2004 film The Girl Next Door, having developed the screenplay with director Luke Greenfield. He was denied credit by the WGA arbitration process.^[2]

McKenna wrote some of Community's most critically acclaimed episodes, including "Paradigms of Human Memory", "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design", and the Emmy- and Hugo-nominated "Remedial Chaos Theory". He also co-wrote (along with his brother Matt McKenna) one of the most acclaimed episodes of American Dad!, "Rapture's Delight".^[3]

During his time as a writer for American Dad, he met Erik Sommers, who would later become his writing partner. Together they have since written for The Lego Batman Movie (2017), co-writing Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and its sequels, Far From Home (2019) and No Way Home (2021), along with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).^[4][5]

Having worked with the Russo brothers on the sitcom Community, McKenna contributed to the script of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) by writing jokes for the film.^{[citation needed]} In Feb 2024, McKenna joined the cast of General Hospital, portraying WSB agent Jack Brennan, replacing Charles Mesure in the role.^[6]

Filmography

Film

Writer

• Igor (2008)
• The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
• Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
• Ghosted (2023)

Assistant

• The Thing Called Love (1993)
• Little Miss Millions (1993) (Production assistant)
• Greedy (1994)
• Grumpier Old Men (1995)

Executive producer

• Registered Sex Offender (2008)

Producer

• Lousy Carter (2023)

Special thanks

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

Television

Year	Title	Writer	Producer	Notes
2005–2011	American Dad!	Yes	Yes	Also staff writer, story editor, executive story editor and supervising producer
2010–2015	Community	Yes	Executive	Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing ("Remedial Chaos Theory") Nominated–Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form Nominated–Online Film & Television Association Television Award for Best Writing
2012–2014	The Mindy Project	Yes	Co-executive	Nominated–Writers Guild of America Award for Television: New Series

References

1. Dropped Last Year, ‘Community’ Creator Returns Archived 2013-06-11 at the Wayback Machine June 10, 2013 NYT
2. "What Really Goes Into Making A Cult Favorite". HuffPost. April 15, 2014. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
3. McFarland, Kevin. ""O, Brother, Where Bart Thou?"/"A Cleveland Brown Christmas"/"Business Guy"/"Rapture's Delight"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
4. Jim (July 8, 2019). "Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers Talk "Spider-Man: Far From Home"". Creative Screenwriting. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
5. Schaefer, Sandy (April 17, 2019). "Spider-Man: Far From Home Release Date Moves Up 3 Days". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
6. "General Hospital Comings & Goings: Chris McKenna Steps In as Jack Brennan!". Soap Opera Daily. Feb 4, 2025. Retrieved Feb 5, 2025.

External links

• Chris McKenna at IMDb