Development The show was created by
Burbank, California, production company Popular Arts Entertainment (executive producers: Tim Braine and David Pritchard), with Jonathan Katz and
Tom Snyder, developed and first made by Popular Arts for
HBO Downtown Productions. Boston-based
Tom Snyder Productions became the hands-on production company, and the episodes were usually produced by Katz and
Loren Bouchard. The show was animated in a crude, easily recognizable style produced with
Squigglevision in
Autodesk Animator (a technique Snyder had employed in his educational animation business) in which all people and animate objects are in color and have constantly squiggling outlines, while most other inanimate objects are static and usually shades of gray. The original challenge Popular Arts faced was how to repurpose recorded
stand-up comedy material. To do so, they based Dr. Katz's patients on stand-up comics for the first several episodes, simply having them recite their stand-up acts. The secondary challenge was how to affordably animate on cable TV at the time. Snyder (a boyhood friend of Braine's) had Squigglevision, an inexpensive means of getting animation on cable, which could not afford traditional animation processes. A partnership between Popular Arts, Tom Snyder Productions and Jonathan Katz was formed, and thus,
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist was born.
Show run (1995–2002) The first episode of
Dr. Katz aired on May 28, 1995. A total of 81 episodes were produced, with the sixth and final season (of 18 episodes) beginning on June 15, 1999. Only the first six of the final season's episodes were aired on Comedy Central immediately, though they did air in international markets. After a five-month delay, another nine episodes ran during a Christmas Eve marathon. The final three episodes were broadcast for the first time in the United States on February 13, 2002, during an event dubbed "Dr. Katz Goes to the Final Three." A
comic strip of the same name was produced by the
Los Angeles Times Syndicate from January 1997 to December 1999. One book collection was published, ''Hey, I've Got My Own Problems''. Writers included
Bill Braudis and
Dave Blazek, with artwork by
Dick Truxaw.
Post-show In 2007, Comedy Central presented
An Evening with Dr. Katz: Live from the Comedy Central Stage, a live-action special taped in front of a live audience at the Hudson Theater on
Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, featuring Jonathan Katz reprising his role as Dr. Katz. Comedians
Maria Bamford,
Kathy Griffin,
Andy Kindler and
Paul F. Tompkins appeared in person as celebrity "clients"; Jon Benjamin and Laura Silverman reprised their respective roles from the animated series. This special was included in the "Complete Series" DVD compilation. In January 2008, live performances were presented over two nights as part of
SF Sketchfest in San Francisco, California. On the first night, Jonathan Katz's guest list included
Maria Bamford,
Brian Posehn and
Bob Odenkirk. The surprise guest that evening was
Robin Williams. At the end of the "session" Katz revealed that he had multiple sclerosis in real life. The show returned to
SF Sketchfest in January 2015. This performance, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the program, featured Katz with
Jon Benjamin and
Tom Snyder again portraying his son and therapist, respectively. The patients for this production were
Ron Funches,
Pete Holmes,
Morgan Murphy and
Emo Philips. Also in 2015, live performances took place at the Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival in Austin, Texas, on April 23 and 24. Staged therapy sessions included
Andy Kindler,
Emo Philips,
Maria Bamford,
Dom Irrera,
Dana Gould, and
Eddie Pepitone. The show was again staged at
SF Sketchfest in January 2016. The patients who booked "appointments" that night included
Janeane Garofalo,
Andy Kindler,
Maria Bamford,
The Sklar Brothers, and
Chelsea Peretti. As part of the 16th Annual
SF Sketchfest in San Francisco there was a live performance on January 20, 2017. Katz did a short stand-up comedy set Guest "patients" included
Kevin Pollak,
Natasha Leggero,
Tom Papa,
Moshe Kasher and
Scott Aukerman. Leggero joined Kasher's session midway through for couples therapy. The two are married in real life.
The Audio Files An audio-only version of the show was produced for
Audible. The first three episodes were released in June 2017 and were released Thursdays. It ran for 15 episodes. Guests have included
Ray Romano,
Sarah Silverman, and
Ted Danson. A full-length audiobook titled
Dr. Katz: The Audiobook was released as an Audible exclusive in 2018 featuring all-new content. ==Format==