David Hemingson

David Hemingson (born July 26, 1964) is an American writer and producer for film and television. He is best known for writing the critically acclaimed film The Holdovers, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

David Hemingson
Born	(1964-07-26) July 26, 1964 (age 61) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Education	Watkinson School Yale University Columbia Law School
Occupations	Producer screenwriter
Spouse	Victoria Morsell ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	2

Hemingson on the set of Whiskey Cavalier in Prague, 2019.

Early life and education

Hemingson was born on July 26, 1964, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father worked both as a teacher and a merchant marine, while his mother was a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. His parents divorced in 1969.^[1]

In 1982, Hemingson graduated from Watkinson School, a prep school in Hartford. His experiences in prep school, along with life lessons acquired from an uncle during his youth, informed Hemingson's screenplay for the 2023 Alexander Payne film The Holdovers.^[2][1]

Hemingson earned a bachelor's degree at Yale University and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1990. After graduation, he worked in the entertainment division of the Loeb & Loeb law firm in Los Angeles before deciding to pursue a writing career.^[3]

Career

Hemingson's first role after leaving the legal field was as an assistant writer on Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete.^[4] In addition to his television writing career, Hemingson served as a producer on series such as Just Shoot Me!, Kitchen Confidential, The Deep End, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, and Whiskey Cavalier. Hemigson is credited with creating The Deep End and Whiskey Cavalier. He adapted Kitchen Confidential from Anthony Bourdain's book.

In 2017, Hemingson wrote a pilot for a series set at a New England boarding school based on his own experiences at the Watkinson School. He was later contacted by director Alexander Payne, who wanted his next film to be set in a prep school environment. Hemingson adapted the pilot script into the screenplay for Payne's 2023 film The Holdovers.^[4]

In March 2024, Variety reported that screenwriter Simon Stephenson had contacted the Writers Guild of America alleging similarities between The Holdovers and Frisco, Stephenson's own unproduced screenplay.^[5] Frisco producer Tom McNulty questioned the validity of Stephenson's claim.^[6]

Personal life

Hemingson married writer and actress Victoria Morsell in 1998. They reside in Los Angeles with their sons.^[7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Writer	Producer
2023	The Holdovers	Yes	Yes

TV series

Year	Title	Writer	Producer	Creator	Notes
1995–1996	The Adventures of Pete and Pete	Yes	No	No	2 episodes
1997–1998	101 Dalmatians: The Series	Yes	No	No	9 episodes
1997–1999	Pepper Ann	Yes	No	No	5 episodes
1998	Hercules	Yes	No	No	2 episodes
1998–1999	For Your Love	Yes	No	No	4 episodes
1999–2000	Jesse	Yes	Co-producer	No	Wrote 2 episodes
1999–2001	Angela Anaconda	Yes	No	No	2 episodes
2000–2003	Just Shoot Me!	Yes	Co-executive	No	Wrote 11 episodes
2004–2006	Cracking Up	Yes	Co-executive	No	Wrote 1 episode
2005–2006	Kitchen Confidential	Yes	Executive	No	Wrote 2 episodes
2005–2008	American Dad!	Yes	Co-executive	No	Wrote 2 episodes
2007–2008	Family Guy	No	Consulting	No
2009	Lie to Me	No	Consulting	No
2010	The Deep End	Yes	Executive	Yes	Wrote 3 episodes
2011	Traffic Light	Yes	Executive	No	Wrote 2 episodes
2012–2013	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	Yes	Executive	No	Wrote 2 episodes
2014	Friends With Better Lives	Yes	Executive	No	Wrote 1 episode
	Bones	No	Consulting	No	5 episodes
2014–2015	Black-ish	Yes	Consulting	No	Wrote 1 episode
2016	Uncle Buck	Yes	Consulting	No	Wrote 1 episode
2016–2017	The Catch	Yes	Co-executive	No	Wrote 1 episode
2019	Whiskey Cavalier	Yes	Executive	Yes	Wrote 3 episodes

TV movies

Year	Title	Writer	Executive Producer	Creator
2007	Two Dreadful Children	Yes	Yes	Yes
	The Call	Yes	Yes	Yes
2016	Chunk & Bean	No	Yes	No

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
2006	Writers Guild of America Awards	Episodic Comedy	Kitchen Confidential	Nominated	[8]
2023	Michigan Movie Critics Guild	Best Screenplay	The Holdovers	Nominated	[9]
	National Board of Review	Best Original Screenplay		Won	[10]
	Boston Society of Film Critics	Best Screenplay		Won	[11]
	Washington DC Area Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[12]
	Chicago Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[13]
	Phoenix Critics Circle	Best Screenplay		Won	[14]
	Boston Online Film Critics Association	Best Screenplay		Won [a]	[15]
	Southeastern Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Won	[16]
	St. Louis Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Runner-up	[17]
	Indiana Film Journalists Association	Best Original Screenplay		Won	[18][19]
	North Texas Film Critics Association	Best Screenplay		Won	[20]
	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association	Best Screenplay		Won	[21][22]
	San Diego Film Critics Society	Best Original Screenplay		Runner-up	[23][24]
	Florida Film Critics Circle	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[25]
	Online Association of Female Film Critics	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[26]
	Nevada Film Critics Society	Best Original Screenplay		Won	[27]
2024	Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[28][29]
	Columbus Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Won	[30][31]
	Georgia Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Won	[32]
	Astra Awards	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[33][34]
	Greater Western New York Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[35]
	National Society of Film Critics	Best Screenplay		Runner-up[b]	[36]
	North Carolina Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[37]
	Utah Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[38][39]
	Seattle Film Critics Society	Best Screenplay		Won	[40]
	San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[41][42]
	Austin Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[43]
	Denver Film Critics Society	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[44][45]
	Hawaii Film Critics Society	Best Screenplay		Nominated	[46]
	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[47]
	Music City Film Critics Association	Best Screenplay		Won	[48]
	North Dakota Film Society	Best Screenplay		Nominated	[49]
	Portland Critics Association	Best Screenplay		Nominated	[50]
	British Academy of Film and Television Arts	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[51]
	Satellite Awards	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[52]
	Film Independent Spirit Awards	Best Screenplay		Nominated	[8]
	Academy Awards	Best Original Screenplay		Nominated	[8]
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Original Screenplay		Won	[53]

Notes

1. Tied with Samy Burch for May December
2. Tied with Celine Song for Past Lives.