Carl Kurlander

Writer/Producer/Director

Carl Kurlander is a screenwriter (St. Elmo’s Fire), TV writer/producer (Saved by the Bell) and award winning documentary and docu-series film producer (A Shot to Save the World, Burden of Genius, The Chair) who has divided his time between working in film and TV industry in Los Angeles and teaching in his hometown at the University of Pittsburgh and doing work in the non-profit sector using media for advocacy on social justice and equity issues.

His journey home led to an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show for a program on “What Should I Do With My Life?” which inspired the documentary “My Tale of Two Cities,” a Pittsburgh comeback story which played in theaters in over 26 cities including on Capital Hill. See the individual projects for more of the stories Carl has been involved in telling.

He continues to teach at the University of Pittsburgh where he is a Senior Lecturer, the founding director of the Pitt in LA program, and the founding producer of the Pittsburgh Lens at the Center of Creativity

Studio Films and Network TV shows

After his first screenplay St. Elmo’s Fire, Carl has written screenplays under contract for Paramount, Universal, Columbia/Sony Pictures, Disney, Orion, and Twentieth Century Fox where he also had a housekeeping deal.

He has written television shows for NBC, Fox, and CBS, including multiple television pilots and served as a writer/producer on over 125 episodes of NBC’s popular Saved By the Bell franchise. Among his television credits are the shows Saved By the Bell: The New Class, Hang Time, USA High, and Malibu, Ca on which he was co-creator and showrunner, a co-production between NBC and Tribune where Carl oversaw 52 episodes which aired globally and have a cult following on YouTube.

Documentaries

Carl has produced multiple award winning documentaries including The Shot Felt Round The World about the development of the Salk polio vaccine which was broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel as A Shot To Save The World and in prime on the BBC as The Polio Story: The Vaccine That Changed The World. It won the CINE GOLDEN EAGLE award for best Scientific Program. Carl comeback story My Tale of Two Cities about the city of Pittsburgh reinventing itself for a new age played in 26 cities across North America including being the first movie ever to screen at the Capital Hill Visitor’s Center. Burden of Genius about Dr. Tom Starzl’s pioneering work as the father of organ transplantation has won several “Best Documentary” prizes on the festival circuit and continues to screen at leading medical centers and universities around the world. Carl is currently working in collaboration with the August Wilson Archive on a documentary on Wilson’s formative years in Pittsburgh and the impact of his work on The Hill District which inspired his ten play Century Cycle, and a film on lessons the early history of educational television has for transforming education in the age of Artificial Intelligence.

Docuseries and Reality

Carl served as co-executive producer of Starz TV’s 10 part docu-series The Chair which followed two directors making different films from the same script. The series with Zach Quinto and Chris Moore which won the 2015 TV Critic’s Award for Best Reality Program. Kurlander was also a participant and creative consultant to one of the first “reality TV shows” on Fox TV 3000 Miles, 21 Days, 10 Cents hosted by Bruce Jenner in which three teams worked their away across country on a dime. While the other teams involved a beauty queen and a debutante, Carl ended up going working his way across country with his mother.

Media Advocacy Projects and Programs

Since moving back to Pittsburgh, Kurlander has tried to live up to Fred Rogers’ belief that media at its best can “make good attractive.” He has been involved in numerous projects and program through his non-profit work. Some of the work he has been involved with include the short Pittsburgh: Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret and Mid-Atlantic Emmy nominated Pittsburgh Entertainment Summit; a fundraising video for citizen artist Vanessa German, Love Front Porch which led to her establishing the Art House; and the community teaching film The Rehabilitation of the Hill, a feature film in which University of Pittsburgh students and community members from Pittsburgh’s Hill District worked alongside film professionals. Carl also helped create and oversaw the teen-produced television series The Reel Teens: Pittsburgh which aired on Fox Pittsburgh and did special episodes visiting Google, exploring Pittsburgh’s growing entertainment industry, and one addressing the stigma of mental health among teens which won a regional Emmy. He also developed multiple youth and media programs through the non-profit Steeltown Entertainment Project he co-founded to work with high schools students around Southwestern Pennsylvania and a “Take a Shot At Changing the World” viral video contest which began with students making videos about the importance of vaccines and subsequently encouraged students to make videos from subjects important to their lives including social justice, the environment, hunger, and violence.