David Crane

David Crane is an American television writer and producer, born in 1957, best known as the co-creator, with Marta Kauffman, of the NBC sitcom Friends, which premiered in 1994 and ran for ten seasons. Friends became one of the most watched and syndicated American television comedies, following six friends living in New York City, and its ensemble format and dialogue heavy style set a lasting pattern for the network sitcom. Crane and Kauffman also created other series together, and Crane later worked with his husband, writer and producer Jeffrey Klarik, on additional television projects including the internationally co-produced comedy Episodes for the BBC, first broadcast in 2011. Crane trained in theater at Brandeis University before moving into television writing, and his career reflects the transition of American sitcom writing from single camera stage plays toward the character driven, multi camera ensemble comedy format that dominated network television through the 1990s and 2000s.