Dave Holstein

Dave Holstein is an American writer, producer, and showrunner known for his work in television and film.^[1][2][3]

Dave Holstein
Born	David Holstein Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupations	Writer producer showrunner
Years active	2004 – present

Life and career

Dave Holstein, born in Houston, Texas, is a graduate of Northwestern University.^[4] He created and wrote for the Showtime series Kidding, starring Jim Carrey, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.^[5] He has been a writer and producer for shows like Weeds, The Brink on HBO, I'm Dying Up Here on Showtime, and the final season of Raising Hope on FOX.^[6][7] Additionally, he has written for Gigantic on TeenNick.^[4] His film work includes co-writing the screenplay for Pixar’s sequel Inside Out 2.^[8]

In theater, Holstein's notable work includes the musical adaptation of The Emperor's New Clothes, which was staged at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.^[9] He also co-wrote the interactive musical short film My Little Red/Green Coat with Alan Schmuckler, which premiered at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2015.^[10] Additionally, he attended the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals in 2014.^[11]

In addition to his television and theater work, Holstein has ventured into podcasting with "Wait Wait Don't Kill Me," the first ever serialized podcast musical which he co-wrote with Alan Schmuckler, for which he received the 2017 Webby Award.^[12]

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Writer	Producer	Creator	Notes
2008–2012	Weeds	Yes	Yes	No	Wrote 19 episodes, produced 13 episodes
2010–2011	Gigantic	Yes	No	No	Wrote 4 episodes
2013–2014	Raising Hope	Yes	Yes	No	Wrote 1 episode, produced 20 episodes
2015	The Brink	Yes	Yes	No	Wrote 3 episodes, produced 9 episodes
2017	I'm Dying Up Here	Yes	Yes	No	Wrote 1 episode, produced 9 episodes
2018–2020	Kidding	Yes	Yes	Yes	20 episodes
2020	68 Whiskey	Yes	Yes	No	Wrote 2 episodes, produced 10 episodes
2024	Inside Out 2	Yes	No	No	Feature film

Awards and nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category	Work	Ref.
2009	Nominated	Writers Guild of America Awards	Comedy Series	Weeds	[13]
2019	Nominated	Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy	Kidding	[5]
2024	Won	Hamptons International Film Festival	Achievement in Screenwriting Award	Inside Out 2	[14]
	Nominated	International Online Cinema Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay
2025	Nominated	Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement for Writing in a Feature Production		[15]