Biography
Writer Alan Yang rose from staff writer and producer on such audience and critical favorites "South Park" (Comedy Central, 1997- ) and "Parks and Recreation" (NBC, 2009-2015) to co-create the smart, observant and award-winning comedy "Master of None" (2015- ) for Netflix. Born in Riverside, California in 1982, Yang was the son of Taiwanese parents, and initially decided to pursue biology as his major at Harvard. But he joined the staff of the school's acclaimed humor magazine, the Harvard Lampoon, in his junior year, and the experience convinced him to try his hand at comedy writing as a career. With a pair of fellow Lampoon staffers, Yang moved to Los Angeles, where he worked for an animation company before joining the writing staff of "Last Call with Carson Daly" (NBC, 2002- ). He later wrote for "South Park" (Comedy Central, 1997- ) before moving up to consulting producer for the long-running animated series. Yang also wrote numerous feature scripts that attracted industry attention, resulting in his inclusion on a "10 Screenwriters to Watch" list compiled by Variety in 2009; one of these scripts, originally titled "Gay Dude," was made into a 2014 feature, "Date and Switch." While honing these projects, Yang joined the writing staff of "Parks and Recreation," which netted him consecutive Writers Guild of America nominations between 2012 and 2014 and a Primetime Emmy nod in 2015. Yang eventually served as a producer and director on "Parks" before the series ran its course in 2015; with "Parks" co-star Aziz Ansari, he created the Netflix comedy series "Master of None," which explored issues of race from the perspective of an aspiring Indian actor (Ansari). The series was a critical and ratings success, and brought Yang and Ansari a slew of accolades, including a 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Writing, as well as a Peabody and American Film Institute Award, as well as nominations from the Golden Globes and numerous other critical entities. During this period, Yang also served as consulting producer on another critical hit, "The Good Place" (NBC, 2017- ).
