April Kelly

April Kelly is an American television writer, producer, and novelist best known for co-creating the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World (1993–2000) and its sequel Girl Meets World (2014–2017) alongside Michael Jacobs.^[1] Born April Kalinowski, Kelly began her career in 1975 as a comedy writer for Jim Stafford's ABC variety show, later contributing scripts to programs such as John Denver, The Jackson 5, Donnie and Marie, The Captain and Tennille, and The Paul Lynde Comedy Hour.^[2] She broke ground as the only female writer on the staff of Mork & Mindy in 1978, a role that highlighted her early contributions to sitcom development during a male-dominated era.^[2] Kelly advanced to producing and writing for Love, Sidney (1981), where she helped craft the show's premiere season as the first prime-time comedy series to feature an openly gay lead character.^[2] Her work earned her one Emmy Award nomination over the course of her television career, which also included stints on 9 to 5, Teachers Only, Where I Live, Webster, and Becker.^[3] Kelly's most prominent achievement came with Boy Meets World, which she co-developed and pitched to Disney, initially serving as a supervising producer and contributing to the writers' room during its first season.^[1] However, her tenure ended abruptly after that season amid reported internal conflicts, including a divided writers' room split between her allies and those aligned with Jacobs, leading to her dismissal in what former writer Janette Kotichas described as a "traumatic" event driven by studio politics.^[1] Kelly herself attributed her exit to an "ugly studio politics" environment and a dismissive attitude toward her contributions.^[1] In 2000, Kelly relocated from Los Angeles to a 100-acre farm in Lynchburg, Tennessee, to pursue novel writing full-time, leaving behind what she called "soul-sucking" Hollywood work.^[2] She founded Flight Risk Books, an independent publisher focused on literary fiction, and has authored several novels, including co-writing the murder mystery Murder Take Three with Marsha Lyons, which received a Shamus Award nomination for Best Indie P.I. Novel.^[2] Kelly continues to reside in Lynchburg with her two dogs, occasionally speaking on her experiences in television and writing.^[2]

Early life and education

Childhood and family background

April Kelly (née Kalinowski) was born on Long Island, New York, to military parents.^[4]^[5] Her family's military service resulted in a peripatetic childhood characterized by frequent relocations, fostering a structured yet transient early environment.^[5] This upbringing shaped her formative years before she pursued creative endeavors in adulthood.^[5]

Education and move to Los Angeles

April Kelly attended the University of South Florida in the 1970s, where she engaged in extracurricular activities centered on comedy and broadcasting. Alongside fellow student George Geiger, she co-created and co-hosted a satirical radio comedy show titled That Was the Week That Was at The University of South Florida, which aired on the campus station WUSF and honed her skills in writing and performance.^[6] Kelly left the University of South Florida without completing her degree to pursue opportunities in entertainment, reflecting her growing interest in comedy and writing developed during her time there. In 1975, she quit her job as executive director of a Tampa advertising agency upon securing a comedy writing position for Jim Stafford's ABC variety show, and relocated to Los Angeles.^[2] Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Kelly initially aimed to establish herself as a stand-up comedian or television writer, but she quickly recognized the financial challenges of stand-up, which offered little compensation compared to writing gigs. This decision marked her transition from academic pursuits to the competitive entertainment industry, where she navigated early entry barriers before securing professional roles.^[5]

Television career

Early writing and producing roles

April Kelly began her television career in 1975 as a comedy writer for Jim Stafford's ABC variety show, later contributing scripts to programs such as John Denver, The Jackson 5, Donnie and Marie, The Captain and Tennille, and The Paul Lynde Comedy Hour.^[2] She broke into sitcom writing in the late 1970s, becoming one of the few women in writers' rooms during a male-dominated era. After moving to Los Angeles to pursue writing, she secured her first major sitcom credit as a writer and story editor on the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy from 1978 to 1981, spanning seasons 1 through 3. As the lone female on the original writing staff, Kelly contributed to several of the first season's episodes, helping shape the show's blend of sci-fi humor and heartfelt family dynamics centered on the alien Mork and his human companion Mindy.^[7] During her time on Mork & Mindy, Kelly also wrote for the long-running sitcom Happy Days, including the season 7 episode "Joanie's Dilemma" (aired January 15, 1980), which explored teenage pregnancy through the character Joanie Cunningham's moral conflict after a schoolmate's situation. Her work on the series, produced by Paramount Television, underscored her early skill in crafting relatable, character-driven stories within the 1950s nostalgia framework.^[8] Kelly's producing career emerged in the early 1980s, where she took on roles that involved overseeing script development and storyline arcs. She served as a producer on the NBC sitcom Love, Sidney (1981–1983), the first primetime network series with a gay lead character, contributing to episodes that balanced comedy with social commentary on urban life and relationships. Similarly, as producer for 9 to 5 (1982–1983), the ABC adaptation of the 1980 film, Kelly helped develop workplace humor storylines featuring three working women navigating office politics and personal challenges. On Teachers Only (1982–1983), another ABC series starring Lynn Redgrave, she focused on educational-themed plots, refining narratives about school faculty dynamics and student interactions. These positions marked her transition from writing to production oversight, emphasizing collaborative storyline refinement in ensemble comedies. In 1984, Kelly wrote for the short-lived NBC action-drama Legmen, penning the episode "A Woman's Work," which highlighted the duo of young deputy sheriffs handling gritty investigations under a veteran captain. The series followed rookies Chris Ellis and Jack Ramsey as they performed legwork for cases in Los Angeles County, blending procedural elements with buddy-cop banter; Kelly's script contributed to its exploration of mentorship and street-level policing. That same year, she wrote the CBS Schoolbreak Special "I Think I'm Having a Baby," a teen drama addressing unplanned pregnancy, featuring young actors like Jennifer Jason Leigh in roles that depicted emotional turmoil and family support.^[9] By the mid-1980s, Kelly had ascended to supervising producer roles, demonstrating her growing influence in television production hierarchies. She held this position on the ABC sitcom Webster from 1985 to 1988, where she supervised the writing team for storylines involving the adopted African American child Webster Long integrating into a white family, often tackling themes of race and adoption with lighthearted resolution. Later, in 1993, she returned to supervising producer duties on the WB series Where I Live, overseeing narratives about a single father's life with his two daughters in an urban setting, further solidifying her expertise in family-oriented sitcom development. These advancements reflected her progression from entry-level writer to key production leader over the decade.

Co-creation of Boy Meets World and controversy

In the early 1990s, April Kelly pitched the concept for Boy Meets World to Disney, co-creating the series with Michael Jacobs.^[1] The show's initial vision centered on exploring themes of adolescence, friendship, and family dynamics through the experiences of a young boy navigating school and home life.^[1] Kelly's prior experience as a television producer positioned her to develop and present this idea effectively to the network.^[1] Kelly served as co-creator and writer for the first season (1993–1994), contributing directly to its foundational episodes. She co-wrote the pilot episode with Jacobs, establishing the core characters and setting, and penned the third episode, "Father Knows Less," which delved into father-son bonding amid everyday challenges. Her involvement helped shape the season's tone, blending humor with relatable coming-of-age moments. Behind the scenes, tensions arose in the writers' room, splitting the staff into the "Michael camp" and "April camp," creating a divisive atmosphere marked by snarkiness and interpersonal conflicts.^[1] Writer Janette Kotichas, whom Kelly had recruited to the team, later described the environment as "traumatic for me," highlighting the emotional toll of the power struggle between the co-creators.^[1] Kelly was ultimately fired after the first season, receiving the news via telegram from Kotichas while on vacation in France in 1994; in a letter shared on the Pod Meets World podcast, Kelly attributed her departure to "ugly studio politics" that "precluded my returning."^[1] The controversy significantly impacted Kelly's career trajectory, prompting her to step away from television production amid the fallout from the studio politics.^[1] Under Jacobs alone, the show shifted direction, evolving into a longer-running series that emphasized character growth over multiple seasons. Actor Rider Strong expressed surprise at Kelly's abrupt exit on the Pod Meets World podcast, noting he had assumed it stemmed from general politics rather than a deliberate decision by the network or Jacobs.^[1] Kelly retained a nominal co-creator credit for the 2014–2017 sequel Girl Meets World but had no active involvement in its production.

Later television contributions

Following her departure from Boy Meets World after the first season amid a reported traumatic firing, April Kelly took a significant hiatus from television, stepping away from the industry to pursue personal interests including novel writing.^[1] This experience, marked by a power struggle with co-creator Michael Jacobs, influenced her cautious re-entry, leading her to prioritize shorter, less intensive commitments over extended staff roles.^[1] Kelly returned to television writing in the late 1990s, contributing to the CBS sitcom Becker (1998–2004) during its second season. She penned the episode "He Said, She Said" (Season 2, Episode 7, aired November 1, 1999), which explored interpersonal conflicts in the show's ensemble cast centered on Ted Danson's curmudgeonly doctor character.^[10] Her involvement with Becker was limited to select episodes rather than a full-season commitment, aligning with her post-Boy Meets World preference for freelance-style contributions that allowed flexibility amid her growing focus on independent writing projects. In a 2018 interview, Kelly reflected on this phase, stating, "I’m very selective about what I do," underscoring how the earlier controversy shaped her avoidance of high-pressure, long-term television engagements.^[2]

Writing and other pursuits

Transition to novel writing

After concluding her television career in the late 1990s, April Kelly relocated from Los Angeles to a farm in Lynchburg, Tennessee, in 2000, intentionally choosing a rural setting to escape the demands of Hollywood and dedicate herself to novel writing.^[2] She selected Tennessee for its lack of state income tax and access to an international airport within a two-hour drive, while the small population of Moore County—around 6,000 residents—offered the quiet she sought after years in densely populated areas.^[2] Kelly has described this shift as a deliberate pivot to "less soul-sucking work" following burnout from the high-pressure environment of TV production, where she feared staying in Los Angeles would draw her back into scripting despite her exhaustion.^[11] Kelly's debut novel was the standalone Winged, published in 2011, which incorporated personal anecdotes from her peripatetic upbringing and TV experiences into narratives that emphasize wit and introspection over the formulaic constraints of episodic television.^[12] Her television tenure provided rich material for these humorous undertones, allowing her to infuse her fiction with satirical takes on show business without the collaborative pressures of network deadlines.^[11] She followed this with a collaboration with longtime friend and co-author Marsha Lyons, whom she met during her early TV days; together, they founded the independent publishing imprint Flight Risk Books to release their work.^[13] Their joint project, the mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Blake Ervansky, began with Murder in One Take in 2012, followed by Murder: Take Two later that year and Murder: Take Three in 2013, the latter earning a nomination as a finalist for the 2014 Shamus Award for Best Indie P.I. Novel.^[14] These novels blend elements of cozy mystery with humor drawn from Kelly's television background, centering on a film student-turned-detective navigating crimes in a Hollywood-adjacent world.^[15] In 2015, Kelly published Valentine's Day, the inaugural entry in her Rick Valentine Mystery series, which she wrote solo under Flight Risk Books and explores themes of romance intertwined with suspense in a Southern setting reflective of her new Tennessee life.^[16]

Study of homeopathy and personal projects

In 1987, April Kelly interrupted her burgeoning television career to embark on a four-year program in homeopathic medicine at The College of Homeopathy in London, completing her studies in 1991. This sabbatical allowed her to delve deeply into alternative healing practices, a pursuit that contrasted with her professional writing background and represented a deliberate shift toward personal intellectual and wellness exploration. During her time in England, she balanced her coursework with freelance writing assignments for American television movies and mini-series, ensuring financial stability without fully resuming full-time industry commitments.^[17] Following her graduation and return to television—where she co-created Boy Meets World—Kelly's engagement with homeopathy appears to have remained a private interest, influencing her holistic worldview amid the demands of Hollywood production. Her novel writing later served as another creative outlet during this transitional phase, allowing her to channel personal reflections outside structured television formats. Limited public details exist on further applications of her homeopathic training, such as consulting or teaching, suggesting it primarily informed her individual lifestyle choices.

Personal life

Family and relationships

April Kelly is the mother of two sons, Collin and Casey, whom she raised in the Midwest.^[18] Her experiences in midwestern parenting directly inspired her children's book series, The Adventures of Goggle Man, which draws from family adventures and everyday life with her children.^[19] Kelly has also embraced the role of grandmother, often spending time with her grandchildren, such as pushing them on swings during family outings.^[18] In addition to her human family, she serves as the primary caregiver for her dogs, Rudy and Lucy, whom she describes as integral to her daily routine of long walks and outdoor activities.^[18] Kelly's family provided a supportive foundation, allowing her to balance professional pursuits with parenting responsibilities in a nurturing home environment.^[20]

Residence and later years

In 2000, April Kelly relocated from Los Angeles to a 100-acre farm in Lynchburg, Tennessee, seeking a quieter environment conducive to her writing after concluding her television work on the CBS series Becker.^[2] The move represented a deliberate shift from the bustling urban life of a county with 10 million residents to the rural serenity of Moore County, population around 6,000, allowing her proximity to an international airport within a two-hour drive while benefiting from Tennessee's lack of state income tax.^[2] The farm's location, near the historic Jack Daniel's distillery, further appealed to her desire for an inspiring, low-key setting.^[2] The rural lifestyle on the farm has provided Kelly with significant benefits, including ample isolation for focused novel writing and opportunities for outdoor activities like hiking amid the Tennessee countryside.^[2] This peaceful contrast to her Hollywood past has fostered a more fulfilling creative routine, where she shares the property with two dogs. In recent years, Kelly has balanced this solitude with occasional public engagements, such as a speaking appearance at the GFWC Tullahoma Woman's Club around 2013, where she reflected on her transition from television to literary fiction and her appreciation for Tennessee life.^[2] Kelly's later years emphasize personal growth and well-being, viewing her television career as a completed chapter that paved the way for deeper self-exploration through writing and rural living.^[2] She has expressed satisfaction in this phase, noting, "I didn’t want to do television anymore, and I knew if I stayed in LA I’d pick up the phone," highlighting her commitment to a life centered on creative independence and the restorative aspects of farm life.^[2] As of 2023, she continues to reside on the farm, maintaining a routine that integrates writing, nature, and personal health practices for overall fulfillment.