What Is Max Mutchnick's Net Worth?
Max Mutchnick is an American television writer, producer, and real estate investor. Max Mutchnick has a net worth of $150 million. Mutchnick earned his fortune and is best known for creating/writing/executive producing the shows "Boston Common" and "Will & Grace." In 1996, Max and writing partner David Kohan co-created Boston Common. In 1998, they co-created "Will & Grace." They also wrote and executive produced on the shows.
Between 1998 and 2006, "Will & Grace" aired eight seasons and then became highly successful in syndication. This original chunk of "Will & Grace" earned Max and David hundreds of millions a piece from syndication sales over the last two decades. In 2000, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for "Will & Grace." He was also nominated for the same award in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.
"Will & Grace" was relaunched on NBC in 2017 and ran three additional seasons through April 2020. Between both runs, it produced 246 episodes over 11 seasons.
Outside of "Will & Grace," Max created, executed, produced, and wrote for the TV series "Good Morning, Miami." He created and wrote for the series "Twins" and created, executive produced, and wrote for the television series "Four Kings." Mutchnick also created, executive produced, and wrote for the TV series "$#*! My Dad Says," "Partners" and "Clipped."
Real Estate
Max and his husband Erik are extremely prolific real estate developers. In 2008, Max and Erik paid Pete Sampras and Bridgette Wilson $14.5 million for an incredible mansion in Beverly Hills. They sold the home to Adam Levine in 2018 for $34 million.
In 2007, Max sold a stunning Beverly Hills mansion to Ellen DeGeneres for $29 million. In 2011, Ryan Seacrest bought the house for $37 million.
By coincidence, in 2003, he sold a Hollywood Hills mansion to Ellen, who sold it to Will Ferrell in 2006 for $9 million.
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Early Life
Max Mutchnick was born Jason Nidorf Mutchnick on November 11, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised by his single mother, who is Jewish, in Los Angeles. His late father was a graphic designer who was responsible for helping launch the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Max's mother authored children's books and worked as an entertainment executive. As a child, he would visit Paramount Studios, where his mother worked, after school and wander around the sound stages. He also participated in local theater. While rehearsing a play at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, he met Janet Eisenberg, who would become his lifelong friend and inspire the storyline of "Will & Grace." Janet later introduced Mutchnick to her friend David Kohan.
After high school in Los Angeles, Max attended Emerson College in Boston. While he intended to major in theater arts, he decided to switch his focus to mass communications. At Emerson, he became very involved with the school's television program and, over time, began running the campus station. In 1986, he graduated and then moved to New York, where he briefly worked as an advertising copywriter.
Career
Mutchnick began his career in entertainment writing when he moved from New York to Los Angeles to begin writing for game shows. He worked as a writer on some early sitcoms like "Good Advice" from 1993 to 1994 and "The Single Guy" from 1995 to 1996. He also served as a co-producer on the latter show. In 1996, he worked as an executive producer on "Boston Common," remaining in that position until 1997. He had created the show with his writing partner and childhood friend, David Kohan. The two had spent time together working on some spec scripts in 1996 when Mutchnick traveled back to New York after he was tired of writing for game shows. They also created a production company, KoMut Entertainment, which is a combination of their two last names.
One of the other scripts that Kohan and Mutchnick had created was for a show called "Will & Grace." The title characters of the show are based on Mutchnick and his best friend in real life, Janet. Like Mutchnick, Will is openly gay. "Will & Grace" premiered in 1998 and starred Eric McCormack and Debra Messing. The show ran for eight seasons until 2006 on NBC. It became a staple of the network's line-up and was met with critical acclaim. From 2001 to 2005, the show was the highest-rated sitcom among adults. It earned 18 Primetime Emmy Awards and received 83 nominations. The show is also credited with improving public opinion of the LGBT community and helping familiarize mainstream audiences with gay culture. The show's success was especially exciting as NBC had originally been hesitant to green-light a project that centered on a homosexual storyline.
In September 2016, the cast of "Will & Grace" reunited for a 10-minute special in which they urged Americans to vote in the upcoming presidential election. The special was so successful that NBC announced it was exploring the idea of putting the show back in production. Mutchnick and Kohan agreed to be part of the revival, and the show was back on air from 2017 to 2020. The show's ninth season marked its return to the air and was met with overall positive reviews.
Outside of "Will & Grace," Max has worked on a number of other successful projects as both a writer and producer. From 2002 to 2003, he worked on "Good Morning, Miami." In 2004, he helped write and create "The Stones." From 2005 to 2006, he worked as a writer and executive producer on "Twins." In 2006, he helped produce "Four Kings" for NBC. From 2010 to 2011, he worked on "$#*! My Dad Says." The following year, in 2012, he worked on the show "Partners" for CBS. In 2015, he executive produced and wrote eight episodes of the show "Clipped" for TBS.
Personal Life
Mutchnick is openly gay. He married lawyer Erik Hyman on October 25, 2008. The two met in 2006 and moved in together a week after their first date. The same year, the couple became fathers to twin girls born via surrogate. Their daughters were present at the wedding, held on the grounds of their Beverly Hills home.
