Jennie Snyder Urman

Jennie Snyder Urman (born June 6, 1975)[1] is an American television producer. She grew up in Rye, New York.[2] Urman is Jewish.[3]

Jennie Snyder Urman
Urman in 2015
Born (1975-06-06) June 6, 1975
OccupationProducer, writer
Years active2003–present

Urman has been involved in the production of several television programs including: Hope & Faith, Gilmore Girls, Men in Trees, Lipstick Jungle, 90210, Emily Owens, M.D., Reign, Jane the Virgin, and Charmed.

Career

Urman worked initially as a waitress in New York City while she looked for acting opportunities.[1] Eventually she gave up her acting ambition, saying she was not "thick-skinned enough or perhaps talented enough or wanted it enough as a career"[1] to be on screen. Profiling Urman for Variety, Bob Verini stated, that Urman "like many tyros, initially found it hard to stop defining herself by her day job"; she was told "to stop waitressing. This is a job."[4] On September 10, 2001, Urman and her friend, Victoria Webster, left New York City for Los Angeles to pursue a career writing for television.[1]

Urman got her start in television writing in 2003, working as a staff writer on the ABC comedy Hope & Faith. She worked with the show for three years, first as a writer, then as a story editor, and finally, the executive story editor.[1] In an interview with the Alumni of Princeton, Urman explained, "[the] ladder you climb when you're a TV writer [...] You start as a staff writer and go through each level until you become an executive producer."[2][5]

In 2012, Urman was named one of Variety's "10 TV Writers to Watch".[2] In 2014, she signed a deal with CBS.[6]

Television
Year (s) Television Program Title
2003–2004
2004–2005
2005–2006		 Hope & Faith Staff writer
Story editor
Executive story editor
2006–2007 Gilmore Girls Co-producer
2007–2008 Men in Trees Producer
2008–2009 Lipstick Jungle Supervising producer
2009
2009–2011		 90210 Supervising producer
Co-executive producer
2012–2013 Emily Owens, M.D. Creator, executive producer, writer
2013–2014 Reign Consulting producer
2014–2019 Jane the Virgin Executive producer
2018–present Charmed Executive producer, writer
2020 Broke Executive producer, writer
TBD Good Sam Executive producer

Jane the Virgin

Urman's show Jane the Virgin first aired in 2014. The show was inspired and adapted from Perla Farías' Venezuelan telenovela Juana la virgen, with a log line that reads "a girl gets artificially inseminated."[1] When initially introduced to the inspiration behind Jane the Virgin, Urman thought, "I don't know about that. That sounds too crazy for me."[7] Urman served as executive producer, showrunner, and writer for the series.[1]

Filmography

Something Borrowed (2011)

Something Borrowed (2011) was Urman's first project writing for film, based on Emily Giffin's novel of the same name. Critic A. O. Scott, reviewing Urman's script in Luke Greenfield's Something Borrowed for The New York Times, described the film as "a well-meaning comedy of marriage that seems ardently committed to the blandness of its characters."[8] Urman received criticism for the dialogue in particular. Scott criticized not only the characterization, but also the diction, quoting from the film.[8]

Personal

Urman graduated from Princeton University in 1999 with a BA in English and a Certificate from the Program in Theater.[2] She is married to Jamie Urman, a cinematographer, with whom she has two children.[1]

Urman has said she is often questioned about her "work-life balance…[which] strikes me as sort of funny, because it's not something that often gets asked of men in this business. It's been a balancing act, and I feel lucky that I found a true partner in my husband. We support each other in all aspects of life, so when my work-life balance gets out of whack, he steps up and takes off of work to be home with the kids, something I'm really grateful for."[2]

References
  1. Walsten, Jessika (March 23, 2015). "'Virgin' an Immaculate Conception for EP". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  2. "Jennie Snyder Urman '99 - Lewis Center for the Arts". Arts.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  3. "Are TV's leading women all sexually adventurous? How 'Jane the Virgin' defies stereotypes". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  4. Verini, Bob (June 7, 2012). "Urman: 'Owens' a prescription for CW success". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  5. Lauren Le Vine (2015-01-08). "Female Showrunners Give Advice". Refinery29.com. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  6. Friedlander, Whitney (2014-03-27). "Jennie Snyder Urman Gets New CBS TV Overall Deal". Variety. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  7. Andreeva, Nellie (May 23, 2015). "Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman On Almost Passing On 'Jane The Virgin', Pace, Title Change & How Will It End". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  8. Scott, A. O. (2011-05-05). "'Something Borrowed,' With Ginnifer Goodwin - Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-17.

Sources
  • Stilson, Janet. "Woman on the Verge: Fresh off her Golden Globe win, Gina Rodriguez, Star of the CW's Jane the Virgin, talks about a Comedy that's hit a Cultural Nerve not only here but also in 170 Markets Worldwide." ADWEEK. March 23, 2015. Accessed September 18, 2015.
  • Verini, Bob. "Jennie Snyder Urman: 'Emily Owens, M.D' a prescription for CW success." Daily Variety 7 June 2012: 14. Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
  • Walsten, Jessika. "Virgin an immaculate conception for EP: Urman's embrace of out-there story, complex characters helps fast-track series." Broadcasting & Cable 23 Mar. 2015: 26. Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
  • CWTV PR bio

Further reading
  • Rosenberg, Alyssa. "TV's Slow Embrace to Diversity; At the Television Critics Association Press Tour, It's Clear That Executives and Showrunners Have Learned at Least Some of the Diversity Movement's Talking Points." The Washington Post Co. August 19, 2015. Accessed September 16, 2015.
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