Jake Kasdan

• Name — Jake Kasdan • Birth Name — Jacob Kasdan • Born — 28 October 1974 • Birthplace — Detroit, Michigan, U.S. • Occupation — * Director • producer • screenwriter • actor • Years Active — 1983–present • Spouse — Inara George • Father — Lawrence Kasdan • Relatives — * Jonathan Kasdan (brother) • Mark Kasdan (uncle) • Children — 3

Jacob Kasdan was born to Meg (née Goldman), a writer, and Lawrence Kasdan, a writer and director, in Detroit. Jacob grew up in a Jewish family with little religious education. His younger brother, Jonathan Kasdan, also works in the film and television industry as an actor and writer.

Jake Kasdan has directed nine films. He has also worked in television, most notably with Judd Apatow as a consulting producer and director on Freaks and Geeks and as a director on Undeclared. He has directed numerous stage productions. In 2008, Kasdan received his first Golden Globe nomination for Walk Hard in the Best Original Song category (shared with John C. Reilly, Apatow, and Marshall Crenshaw), but lost to "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild (written by Eddie Vedder). As a child, Kasdan made appearances in his father's movies such as The Big Chill and Silverado (in the former he is an autograph seeker at a funeral and in the latter a stable boy). After the success of New Girl, Kasdan announced that on July 11, 2012, he had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television, through The Detective Agency to pursue his own projects. In February 2015, Fox announced that it had greenlit a pilot for the comedy The Grinder to be directed by Kasdan and starring Rob Lowe. On March 26, 2019, The Detective Agency's producing partners Kasdan and Melvin Mar reupped, and signed a new overall deal at 20th Century Fox Television. In October 2021, it was announced that Disney+ had given a series order to a television adaptation of the graphic novel American Born Chinese. It will be produced by 20th Century Fox Television with Kelvin Yu and Charles Yu as writers and executive producers, Marvin Mar and Kasdan as executive producers, and Destin Daniel Cretton as director and executive producer. Most recently, he served as executive producer of the workplace comedy pilot XYZ at ABC. In late 2024, it was announced that Jake Kasdan, Patty Jenkins and Joe Cornish would each direct a live-action film for the Lego Group and Universal Pictures. The script for Kasdan's film script was written by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul, based on a story and previous draft by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows, and Kasdan will also produce the film through Detective Agency.

Kasdan is married to singer-songwriter Inara George of the duo The Bird and the Bee. They have three children including twins Beau and Lorelei Kasdan and older son Otis Kasdan.

• Year(s) — Title — Director — Executive Producer — Writer — Notes • 1999–00 — Freaks and Geeks — Director (5 episodes) / Also consulting producer (15 episodes) • 2000 — Grosse Pointe — 2 episodes • 2001 — Undeclared — Episode "Prototype" • 2002 — Zero Effect — Co-Executive — Unsold pilot • 2006 — Cracking Up — Episode "The Fixer" • 2008 — Californication — Episode "In a Lonely Place" • 2011–18 — New Girl — Director (7 episodes) / Executive producer (146 episodes) • 2012–13 — Ben and Kate — Director (2 episodes) / Executive producer (16 episodes) • 2015 — Weird Loners — Director (2 episodes) / Executive producer (6 episodes) • 2015–16 — The Grinder — Director (2 episodes) / Executive producer (22 episodes) • 2015–20 — Fresh Off the Boat — Director (Episode "The Shunning") / Executive producer (116 episodes) • 2016–19 — Speechless — 63 episodes • 2019–20 — Bless This Mess — 26 episodes • 2021–2023 — Doogie Kamealoha, M.D — Director (Episode "Aloha – The Hello One") / Executive producer (10 episodes) • 2023 — American Born Chinese TV movies • Year — Title — Director — Executive Producer • 2011 — Spring/Fall • 2017 — Jalen Vs. Everybody • 2019 — Heart of Life • 2023 — Prom Pact Acting credits • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2021 — Young Rock — Tyler the Director — Episode "A Christmas Peril"