Stefani Robinson

Stefani Robinson
Robinson at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival
EducationEmerson College
OccupationsScreenwriter, producer
Years active2017–present
Notable workChevalier

Stefani Robinson is an American screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her work on FX's Atlanta, for which she won two Writers Guild of America Awards, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Robinson was a writer and executive producer for the FX television series What We Do in The Shadows, for which she received Emmy nominations for writing, and for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2020 and 2022. She wrote the screenplay for the 2023 biopic Chevalier.

Early life and education

Robinson moved to the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Georgia from Hong Kong when she was 8 years old. She watched the series The Mighty Boosh on YouTube as a high school student and described it as helping her develop her own writing style. She names Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Austin Powers, and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet as other major influences. At some point, at age 15 or 16, she began taking classes and performed sketch comedy for audiences as part of an ensemble at The Second City Training Center in Hollywood. Robinson studied screenwriting as an undergraduate at Emerson College.

Career

Robinson started her career as an assistant at a talent agency. After submitting a script to the television network FX, she was hired to write for Atlanta, where she was the only woman and the youngest person in the writer's room. She has received praise for her writing and has criticized the idea that she should simply offer a “female” perspective to her work as opposed to one of an individual that’s not directly tied to gender or race. Robinson was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the episode "Barbershop".

Robinson signed a production deal with FX in 2017. She has written for several of the network's programs, including Man Seeking Woman and Fargo. Robinson was a co-executive producer and writer for What We Do in the Shadows until she left the show in 2020. During her tenure she received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the episodes "On the Run" and "The Wellness Center".

Her debut feature film Chevalier, a biopic about the musician of the same name, was released in 2022. It was directed by Stephen Williams and starred Kelvin Harrison Jr.

As of 2023 her pilot for a remake of the British comedy series Peep Show was ordered by FX, starring Minnie Driver and Amandla Jahava, with Yana Gorskaya had been tapped to direct. However John Landgraf, the chairman of the FX Networks, revealed in 2024 that they did not picked up to series.

In June 2025, her pilot Very Young Frankenstein, based on the 1974 film Young Frankenstein, was nearing a pilot order by FX, with Taika Waititi had been tapped to direct. Mel Brooks who wrote the original film, joined the pilot as an executive producer. In September 2025, Cary Elwes, Zach Galifianakis, Dolly Wells, Spencer House, Nikki Crawford, Kumail Nanjiani was cast for the pilot. In May 2026, it was announced that the pilot was picked up to series.

Filmography

Year Title Credited as Notes
Writer Producer Director
2016–2022 Atlanta Yes Executive No Wrote 6 episodes
2017 Man Seeking Woman Yes No No Wrote "Bagel" and "Dolphin"; also story editor
2019–2022 What We Do in the Shadows Yes Executive No Wrote 8 episodes
2020 Fargo Yes Yes No Co-wrote "The Pretend War"
2022 Chevalier Yes Yes No
2024 The Union Uncredited No No
2025 Adults Yes Executive Yes Co-wrote and directed "Annabelle"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2017 Writers Guild of America Award Comedy Series Atlanta Won
New Series Won
2018 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for "Barbershop") Nominated
2019 Writers Guild of America Award Comedy Series Nominated
2020 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for "On the Run") What We Do in the Shadows Nominated
Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award New Series Nominated
2021 Writers Guild of America Award Comedy Series Nominated
2022 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for "The Wellness Center") Nominated
Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated

Notes

  1. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources.

References

  1. 1 2 Turchiano, Danielle (16 August 2018). "'Atlanta' Scribe Stefani Robinson on Creating a 'Low-Key' Workspace".
  2. ↑ "Stefani Robinson on Being the Only Female Writer on 'Atlanta'". 31 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Emmys 2018: Donald Glover and "Atlanta" Dominate Nominations - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. 12 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "72nd Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". emmys.com.
  5. ↑ "72nd Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". emmys.com.
  6. ↑ "74th Emmy Awards Nominees / Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  7. ↑ babrams (2023-04-24). ""Chevalier" Screenwriter & Executive Producer Stefani Robinson on Hitting the Right Narrative Notes". Motion Picture Association. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  8. ↑ "The Sky's The Limit For 'Atlanta' Writer Stefani Robinson". 19 April 2018.
  9. 1 2 Travers, Ben (5 June 2019). "'What We Do in the Shadows': How Writer Stefani Robinson Puts Herself Into the Batshit Vampire Comedy". Indie Wire. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Stefani Robinson". secondcity.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022. Stefani Robinson is a comedy writer and performer from Atlanta. She has studied at Second City Hollywood and is currently a television writer living in Los Angeles.
  11. ↑ "Hot Tin Roof Presents: Ladies Night". secondcity.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022. Hot Tin Roof runs on Girl Power and is made up of Angela B. Getz, Silvana Gargione, Sarah Barenberg, Darby Rae, Danielle Marcucci, Kelly Hernandez, Gavrielle Harris, Stefani Robinson, Chelsey Ireland, and directed by Eileen Montelione.
  12. ↑ Katie Rife (25 August 2020). "What We Do In The Shadows' Stefani Robinson thinks Jackie Daytona's human disguise is pretty convincing, actually". www.avclub.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022. So I was with them, and they had these LA trips, and I took a trip and I came out to LA for the first time [through them]. I was 15 or 16. And you just walked around LA, and you took classes at Second City, and you met casting directors. And I was just like, 'Wow, the mystery is dissolved here.' But there's nothing like that for writing, you know?
  13. 1 2 3 Thompson, Anne (2023-04-21). "'Chevalier' Writer Stefani Robinson Has Always Been an Overachiever — So Is the Subject of Her First Feature". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  14. ↑ "'Atlanta' Writer Stefani Robinson on Paper Boi's Fate: 'I Don't Think We're Afraid of Killing Anybody'". Complex.
  15. 1 2 "I Went from Being an Agency Assistant to Writing for 'Atlanta'". 1 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Ferber, Taylor (2018-09-18). "Stefani Robinson on What It's Like to Be the Only Woman in Atlanta Writers Room". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  17. ↑ "'Atlanta' Writer Sounds Off: Female Creator Label Suggests "Separate but Equal"". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 August 2018.
  18. 1 2 "What We Do in the Shadows and Atlanta's Stefani Robinson Knows Vampires, Barbershops, and Everything In-Between". Vanity Fair. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  19. ↑ Petski, Denise (4 October 2017). "'Atlanta' Producer Stefani Robinson Inks Overall Deal With FX Productions".
  20. ↑ "Making Bieber Black — And Other Things Only "Atlanta" Can Do".
  21. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (June 30, 2020). "'Black Mozart' Biopic Lands at Searchlight From Director Stephen Williams, Writer Stefani Robinson (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  22. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2023-04-13). "'Peep Show': Minnie Driver & Amandla Jahava To Headline FX Pilot Remake Of British Comedy". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  23. ↑ Joe, Chloe (2023-04-20). "How This Award-Winning Screenwriter Navigates Egos On Set". Bustle. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  24. ↑ White, Peter (2024-09-16). "How This Award-Winning Screenwriter Navigates Egos On Set". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  25. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (2025-06-25). "'Very Young Frankenstein' Series From Mel Brooks, 'What We Do In The Shadows' Team Nears FX Pilot Order". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  26. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (2025-09-02). "Cary Elwes To Get Presidential In FX's 'Very Young Frankenstein' Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  27. ↑ Grobar, Matt (2025-09-30). "'Very Young Frankenstein' Gets FX Pilot Order; Zach Galifianakis, Dolly Wells, Spencer House, Nikki Crawford & Kumail Nanjiani Join Cary Elwes In Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  28. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2026-05-18). "'Very Young Frankenstein' Pilot Gets FX Series Order - Exclusive". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  29. ↑ "The Union". Writers Guild of America West. March 3, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  30. 1 2 Erbland, Kate (2017-02-20). "2017 Writers Guild Awards Winners: 'Moonlight,' 'Arrival,' 'Atlanta' and 'The Americans' Win Big". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  31. 1 2 3 D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-08-18). "Stefani Robinson On Breaking Into Writers Room, Future 'Atlanta' Seasons & Her Double Emmy Nom 'What We Do In The Shadows' – Crew Call Podcast". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  32. ↑ McNary, Dave (2019-02-18). "WGA Awards 2019: 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?,' 'Eighth Grade' Win Screenplay Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  33. ↑ "2020 Writers Guild Awards Winners Announced". www.wga.org. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  34. ↑ "2021 Writers Guild Awards Nominees & Winners". awards.wga.org. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  35. 1 2 Cordero, Rosy (2022-07-13). "'What We Do In The Shadows' EP Stefani Robinson On Emmy Noms & Baby Colin Robinson's "Supernatural Aging Process"". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-07-16.