Dave Holstein

Dave Holstein is an American writer, producer, and showrunner known for his work in television and film.

Life and career Dave Holstein, born in Houston, Texas, is a graduate of Northwestern University. 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. 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. Additionally, he has written for Gigantic on TeenNick.

In theater, Holstein's notable work includes the musical adaptation of The Emperor's New Clothes, which was staged at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. As a student, he attended PGT (Play Group Theatre) in White Plains, NY. 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. Additionally, he attended the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals in 2014.

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.

Selected filmography Year Title Writer Producer Creator Notes 2008–2012 Weeds Wrote 19 episodes, produced 13 episodes 2010–2011 Gigantic Wrote 4 episodes 2013–2014 Raising Hope Wrote 1 episode, produced 20 episodes 2015 The Brink Wrote 3 episodes, produced 9 episodes 2017 I'm Dying Up Here Wrote 1 episode, produced 9 episodes 2018–2020 Kidding 20 episodes 2020 68 Whiskey Wrote 2 episodes, produced 10 episodes 2024 Inside Out 2 Feature film Awards and nominations YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.2009 NominatedWriters Guild of America AwardsComedy SeriesWeeds 2019 NominatedGolden Globe AwardsBest Television Series – Musical or ComedyKidding NominatedInternational Online Cinema AwardsBest Adapted Screenplay 2025 NominatedAnnie AwardsOutstanding Achievement for Writing in a Feature Production WonHumanitas PrizeBest Family Feature