Nick Weidenfeld

One of the most important people behind the scenes in the world of animated comedy, Nick Weidenfeld made his first stamp on the industry as a programming manager at Adult Swim. Born in 1979, Weidenfeld's grandfather was a confidant of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy. His father was a prominent estate lawyer and his mother was the former press secretary to first lady Betty Ford-it seemed certain that the young Weidenfeld would go into politics as well. But despite an internship at the Pentagon, Weidenfeld's interest proved to be more creative. He began writing for hip hop magazines like 88 Hip Hop as a teenager, and after graduating magna cum laude from Columbia University, he gravitated toward television. He began with Adult Swim in 2004. Within a few years he was promoted to head of program development, helping make the then fledgling network into the beloved outlet for hilarious and strange short-form shows it would become. In 2011, Weidenfeld accepted an offer to partner with the Fox network, providing a block of animated comedy series through his own production company, Friends Night. On the heels of that success, Weidenfeld changed tack, signing on as the president of programming at the news and lifestyle network Viceland in 2016.