Megan Amram

Megan Amram (born September 3, 1987) is an American comedy writer, producer, and performer. She is most known for her work as co-writer and producer for the NBC series The Good Place.^[1] Amram created and starred in the comedy web series, An Emmy for Megan, which depicts Amram's quest to win an Emmy.

Megan Amram
Amram in 2012
Born	(1987-09-03) September 3, 1987 (age 37) Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Medium	Television internet
Alma mater	Harvard University
Genres	Alternative comedy surreal comedy dark humor
Notable works and roles	An Emmy for Megan The Good Place
Website	anemmyformegan.com

Early life and education

Amram was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and is Jewish.^[2][3] She was educated at Catlin Gabel School and Harvard University where she graduated in 2010.^[4] While at Harvard, Amram wrote two of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals' comedy drag shows with her roommate and writing partner Alexandra Petri.^[5] She studied violin for twenty years, and appeared as a violinist in an October 2018 episode of The Good Place, a sitcom on which she was a staff writer.^[6]

Career

Previously, Amram was a writer on the Amazon series Transparent, HBO's Silicon Valley, and the final three seasons of the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. Her other past credits include writing for Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital, Fox's The Simpsons, Comedy Central's Kroll Show, the 83rd and 90th Academy Awards, the 2012 MTV Movie Awards, the Disney Channel and contributing to Funny Or Die and the Comedy Central Roasts. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney's, Vulture, Vice Magazine and The Awl, among others, and her first book Science... For Her! was published in November 2015 by Simon & Schuster.

Along with her work as a writer, Amram has occasionally ventured into acting, with a 2011 appearance on RuPaul's Drag U, and on The CW musical comedy series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend in an episode titled "I Need Some Balance" in January 2019.^[7]

In 2018, Amram created, directed, wrote, and starred in the comedy web series, An Emmy for Megan, which depicts Amram's quest to win an Emmy Award by meeting the minimum standards to qualify for an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category.^[8] The first series was nominated for two Emmy Awards, one in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category and one in the Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category for Amram. The second series was released in May 2019 and was nominated for two Emmy Awards: one in the Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category and one, for Patton Oswalt, in the Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category.^[9]

Controversy

In June 2020, tweets resurfaced of Amram making anti-Semitic, homophobic, and anti-Asian American jokes. In one tweet, she wrote "It's not politically correct to say 'retarded' anymore, you have to call them 'Asian-Americans'." In another, she said "If I had a time machine, I'd go back in time and kill Hitler and all of the Jews and gypsies and gay people."

Amram later apologized in a statement saying: "... I am speaking from the heart and trying my best to communicate my sincere regret. I am deeply embarrassed and more apologetic than you can ever know."^[10]

Personal life

Amram currently resides in Los Angeles. In 2019, Amram joined other WGA writers in firing their agents as part of the WGA's stand against the ATA and the practice of packaging.^[11]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Writer	Producer	Actor	Notes
2011	83rd Academy Awards	Yes	No	No
	RuPaul's Drag U	No	No	Yes	Episode: "Like a Virgin" as contestant Smokey St. James (Episode Winner)
2011–2012	A.N.T. Farm	Yes	No	No	Writer – 1 episode Staff writer – 6 episodes
2012	2012 MTV Movie Awards	Yes	No	No
2012–2015	Parks and Recreation	Yes	No	Yes	Writer – 5 episodes Actor – Episode: "The Cones of Dunshire" as Viv
2013	Kroll Show	Yes	No	No	8 episodes
	Sketchy	Yes	No	No	Episode: "Birth Control on the Bottom"
2015–2016	Childrens Hospital	Yes	No	No	3 episodes
	The Adventures of OG Sherlock Kush	No	No	Yes	Episode: "The Deadly Brothel" as Jaclyn Ripper Episode: "The Mystery of the Royal Flasher" as The Queen
2016	Silicon Valley	Yes	Yes	No	Writer – Episode: "The Empty Chair" Co-producer – 10 episodes
2016–2020	The Good Place	Yes	Yes	Yes	Producer – 13 episodes Supervising producer – 12 episodes Writer – 7 episodes Actor – Episode: "Jeremy Bearimy" as Violinist
2018	90th Academy Awards	Yes	No	No
2018–2019	An Emmy for Megan	Yes	Executive	Yes	Creator Director – 12 episodes
2018-2022	The Simpsons	Yes	Consulting	No	Writer – Episodes: "Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy", "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion" and "Marge the Meanie" Consulting producer – 17 episodes
2019	Crazy Ex-Girlfriend	No	No	Yes	Episode: "I Need Some Balance" as Nostalgia Cat
2021	Santa Inc.	No	No	Yes	Episode: "Santa's Birthday" as Heartbreaking Lisp/ER Nurse/ Gummy Mermaids

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2013	Writers Guild of America Awards	Comedy Series	Parks and Recreation	Nominated
2014				Nominated
2016	Writers Guild of America Awards	Comedy Series	Silicon Valley	Nominated
2018			The Good Place	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series	An Emmy for Megan	Nominated	[12]
		Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series		Nominated	[13]
2019	Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy	The Good Place	Nominated
	Hugo Award	Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation		Nominated
	Gold Derby Award	Outstanding Comedy Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series	An Emmy for Megan	Nominated	[14]
		Outstanding Comedy Series	The Good Place	Nominated	[15]
2020				Nominated	[16]

Bibliography

• Amram, Megan (November 7, 2016). "Trump's American Girl Dolls". Shouts & Murmurs. The New Yorker. 92 (36): 27.
• — (May 25, 2017). "Eulogy for America". Daily Shouts. The New Yorker.
• — (September 11, 2017). "Jared Kushner's Harvard Admissions Essay". Shouts & Murmurs. The New Yorker.
• — (April 30, 2018). "Captain's Log". Shouts & Murmurs. The New Yorker.
• — (November 2, 2020). "Goop Coronavirus Guide". Shouts & Murmurs. The New Yorker.
• — (August 22, 2022). "The Tesla Body". Shouts & Murmurs. The New Yorker. 98 (25): 23.^[a]

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Notes

1. Title in the online table of contents is "Elon Musk's new frontier : your body".