Jonathan Tropper (born February 19, 1970) is an American author, writer, director, and producer. He is best known as the co-creator of the Cinemax television series Banshee (2013–2016) and as the creator of the Cinemax series Warrior (2019–2023) and the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors (2025–present).
Contents
Early life and education
Tropper was born in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York City in a liberal observant Jewish home. During his childhood he attended Camp Morasha, a co-ed Modern Orthodox sleepaway camp in the Poconos. At age 18, he briefly studied in Israel.
He studied English as an undergraduate at Yeshiva University and received a master's degree in creative writing at New York University (NYU).
Career
After receiving his master's degree from NYU, Tropper spent eight years running a Manhattan-based company that manufactured displays for jewelry companies. He wrote at night and on weekends, ultimately publishing his first novel, Plan B, which attracted the attention of an agent, allowing him to leave his job and become a full-time writer. Five of Tropper's six books have been optioned at auction within a week of publication (The Book of Joe, How to Talk to a Widower, Everything Changes, One Last Thing Before I Go, and This Is Where I Leave You).
The themes of his books appear to stem from his personal experiences: they deal with topics such as being single, growing up, getting married, being married, getting divorced, and living in suburbia. Tropper's hometown of New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York, is a main source of inspiration when creating the characters and settings in his books.
How to Talk to a Widower was a 2007 selection for The Richard and Judy Show in the United Kingdom. Everything Changes was a Booksense selection. Three of Tropper's books were optioned to be adapted into films: Tropper co-wrote the adaptation of The Book of Joe with Ed Burns, who was set to direct; This Is Where I Leave You, published in August 2009, was made into the 2014 film of the same name; and One Last Thing Before I Go, published in August 2012, was optioned by Paramount Pictures for J. J. Abrams to produce.
Tropper co-created the television series Banshee with David Schickler. The show aired on Cinemax, with Tropper serving as an executive producer.
In October 2017, it was announced that his series Warrior, based on Bruce Lee's original idea and set against the Tong Wars of 19th century San Francisco, received a straight-to-series order at Cinemax. The series debuted on Cinemax in April 2019 to critical acclaim. Tropper served as showrunner and executive producer. Justin Lin, director of multiple Fast and Furious films and Bruce Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, served as executive producers.
In 2020, Tropper took over as showrunner and executive producer of the Apple TV+ science fiction series See, starring Jason Momoa, Alfre Woodard, and Dave Bautista.
Personal life
Tropper has three children with his first wife Elizabeth Parker. In 2016, he married Stephanie Abram, with whom he has one child.
Films
Tropper wrote the screenplay for the 2014 film adaptation of his novel This is Where I Leave You, directed by Shawn Levy; the film co-starred Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver and Jane Fonda. Tropper later produced and wrote the screenplay for Kodachrome (2017), starring Jason Sudeikis, Ed Harris, and Elizabeth Olsen. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews, and was acquired by Netflix.
Tropper wrote the screenplay for The Adam Project, a science-fiction thriller starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Shawn Levy.