SOLD OUT ~ Paul Reiser

You know him behind the mic and in front of the television camera, but Paul Reiser is much more than these accomplishments, notable as they are. He’s a television writer, best-selling author and musician and in front of the camera or behind it, he’s known as one of Hollywood’s most prolific and talented minds. He was voted one of the “Top 100 Comedians of All Time” by Comedy Central.

Reiser was the co-creator, producer, and star of one of the most beloved shows of the 1990s, Mad About You, in which he co-starred with Helen Hunt. The show won Emmy, Peabody and Golden Globe Awards and Reiser had 10 Emmy nominations. It was reprised 20 years after its ending as a limited series on Spectrum Originals. A graduate of the State University of New York/ Binghamton’s prestigious music program, Reiser co-wrote the theme song for the show The Final Frontier.

Reiser is starring in two hit shows for Netflix: Stranger Things, as Dr. Sam Owens, in a role created specifically for him and Chuck Lorre’s The Kominsky Method, for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Reiser received rave reviews for his work on the show and Media Post said that the soliloquy he delivered on life and loss “will stand… as one of the finest moments seen anywhere on television.”

Reiser was also seen on Amazon’s Red Oaks and in the limited Amazon series, The Romanoffs, alongside Christina Hendricks and Isabelle Huppert. He also appeared in Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tommy Kale’s FX Emmy-nominated production Fosse/Verdon.

Reiser has worked on the big screen, as well. He appeared in the Academy-Award-winning film, Whiplash, John McDonagh’s War on Everything, and is a frequent collaborator with Jeff Baena. He has worked in films that include Diner, Beverly Hills Cop I/II, and The Thing About My Folks, which he wrote for his co-star and long-time friend, Peter Falk. He recently starred alongside Kevin Hart in the comedy Fatherhood, seen on Netflix.

Reiser’s first book, Couplehood, sold more than two million copies and reached Number One on The New York Times best seller list. His subsequent books, Babyhood and Familyhood, were best sellers as well. He regularly sells out venues with his stand-up comedy. He has no desire to slow down, and why should he? He is very much in demand. Now though, he examines each offer and weighs whether it is something he wants to do. In a 2021 interview with the L.A. Times, he explained how he felt: “As we all get older, I think you look at it with a bit more scrutiny, like, ‘All right, how much longer am I going to be alive? Do I want to commit to that much time?’ If I’m going to do something, I want to make sure there’s at least the promise of it being good. But I’ve been ridiculously fortunate that so many things have fallen in my lap.”

We’ve been fortunate, too.