# Kyle Newacheck
**Kyle Newacheck** later directed the Netflix films *Game Over, Man!* (2018), *Murder Mystery* (2019), and *Happy Gilmore 2* (2025), and serves as an executive producer and director on the FX series *What We Do in the Shadows*, which earned him Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2022 and 2025[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kyle-newacheck).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984, Walnut Creek, California[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kyle_newacheck) |
| Signature work | Co-creator, co-writer of all 78 episodes, executive producer, and majority director of *Workaholics* (Comedy Central, 2011–2017)[3](https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-new-king-of-comedy-filmmaking/) |
| On-screen role | Plays the recurring drug dealer Karl Hevacheck on *Workaholics*[4](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/portlandia-workaholics-silent-partners/) |
| Feature films | Directed *Game Over, Man!* (2018), *Murder Mystery* (2019), and *Happy Gilmore 2* (2025)[5](https://avalonuk.com/clients/kyle-newacheck/) |
| Emmy nominations | Outstanding Comedy Series, *What We Do in the Shadows* (2022 as co-executive producer; 2025 as executive producer)[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kyle-newacheck) |
| Sandler collaboration | Has directed *Murder Mystery* and *Happy Gilmore 2* and executive-produced *Murder Mystery 2*, making him a recurring director for Adam Sandler projects[6](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/frequent-adam-sandler-collaborator-teased-mystery-project-i-hope-its-another-happy-gilmore-legacy-sequel) |
## Early life and education
Newacheck was born in [Walnut Creek, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/walnut-creek-california), in 1984[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kyle_newacheck). He graduated from The Los Angeles Film School in 2004 with a degree in editing, and afterwards worked there as an editing instructor, teaching Avid editing; [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) notes he became the youngest teacher in the school's history when he started at age 22[7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kyle-newacheck/bio/3030965528/). His editing background stayed central to his career: he described his goal as "the editing, the directing and the producing," with acting a secondary skill he kept up to understand the other side of the lens[4](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/portlandia-workaholics-silent-partners/).
## Mail Order Comedy and Workaholics
**Mail Order Comedy.** The group wrote material, performed at venues, and filmed their own skits for YouTube[8](https://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/content/uploads/2016/02/Spring-2016.pdf).
The videos drew the attention of [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central), which contacted the group about producing a show. After a successful pitch, the pilot for *Workaholics* was funded, and, as the Los Angeles Film School's account tells it, the trio shot the entire first season using the pilot's budget without the network knowing[3](https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-new-king-of-comedy-filmmaking/). The show, about three slackers at a telemarketing firm and their drug dealer, premiered in 2011 and ran for seven seasons, wrapping production in 2017[3](https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-new-king-of-comedy-filmmaking/). Newacheck co-created the series and received writing credit alongside Connor Pritchard and Dominic Russo, and directed the majority of the episodes, while executive producing and recurring on screen as Karl Hevacheck[3](https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-new-king-of-comedy-filmmaking/) • [4](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/portlandia-workaholics-silent-partners/) • [19](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/workaholics/credits/).
The production was unusually collaborative. In a 2015 WIRED interview he recalled living in the house where the show was shot with his co-stars: "I was living with the dudes, so it was like we were living this show. Nobody could have made the show except for me, but I didn't know what I was doing." He also contrasted that small-team process with a later experience directing an NBC pilot, where roughly 20 people attended every high-level creative meeting, which he called the worst experience he had had[4](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/portlandia-workaholics-silent-partners/).
## Television directing career
Outside *Workaholics*, Newacheck built a career as a television comedy director, directing episodes of *Parks & Recreation*, *Community*, *Happy Endings*, *Idiotsitter*, *Ghosted*, and later *Bookie*[5](https://avalonuk.com/clients/kyle-newacheck/) • [7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kyle-newacheck/bio/3030965528/). He described the demands as varying by show: on *Parks & Recreation* the job was working the comedy within an established style, while *Community* was more technically challenging because its episodes go on genre missions almost weekly[4](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/portlandia-workaholics-silent-partners/).
In 2014 he directed the music video for Childish Gambino's "The Worst Guys" alongside his brother, Adam Newacheck, who has worked as a director on *Workaholics* and *Adam Devine's House Party*[9](https://www.adamnewacheck.com/).
**What We Do in the Shadows.** Since 2019 Newacheck has been an executive producer and director on the FX comedy horror series *What We Do in the Shadows*, adapted from the film by [Jemaine Clement](https://www.edgepedia.org/jemaine-clement) and [Taika Waititi](https://www.edgepedia.org/taika-waititi)[10](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/what-we-do-in-the-shadows/crew). The series ran through its sixth and final season in 2024, and its Outstanding Comedy Series nominations in 2022 and 2025 were credited to him as co-executive producer and executive producer respectively[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kyle-newacheck) • [11](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-fx-final-season-premiere-date/).
## Feature films
His first feature, *Game Over, Man!*, reunited the *Workaholics* cast for a Netflix action comedy in 2018[3](https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-new-king-of-comedy-filmmaking/). He has said the biggest difference from television was freedom: more time, more money, and more resources to build sets and tell the story visually, in contrast to the fixed budgets of the series[12](https://lrmonline.com/news/game-over-man-interview-with-director-kyle-newacheck/).
In 2019 he directed the big-budget Netflix comedy *Murder Mystery*, starring [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler) and [Jennifer Aniston](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-aniston)[3](https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-new-king-of-comedy-filmmaking/). He has since executive-produced *[Murder Mystery 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/murder-mystery-2)* and produced *The Package* and *I'm Totally Fine*[7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kyle-newacheck/bio/3030965528/).
**Happy Gilmore 2.** Newacheck directed *Happy Gilmore 2*, the 2025 sequel to the 1996 Adam Sandler comedy, from a screenplay by Sandler and [Tim Herlihy](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-herlihy)[13](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-07-25/happy-gilmore-2-tim-herlihy-adam-sandler). Netflix reported that over a three-month production it filmed in 45 locations across New Jersey, and that the film delivered 46.7 million global views, Netflix's biggest US opening weekend for a film and the largest opening for any Adam Sandler film[14](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/made-in-new-jersey-finding-the-perfect-shot-for-happy-gilmore-2). Newacheck said he approached the sequel as a lifelong fan of the original, treating it as part of his comedic background, and told Axios that "the chaos in golf, [how] the sport is changing, the different factions and different, wild ways you can play golf did inform the decision to make this movie now"[15](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2025/07/25/happy-gilmore-interview/6601753101360/) • [16](https://www.axios.com/2025/07/24/new-movies-tv-week-netflix-hulu-paramount). Reviews were mixed: some critics called the sequel derivative, while others credited him with injecting energy that improved on his *Murder Mystery* work[17](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/review-adam-sandlers-happy-gilmore-2-may-be-worst-sequel-of-all-time/) • [18](https://inreviewonline.com/2025/07/30/happy-gilmore-2-review/). After the film's release he described an unnamed project in development with Sandler, without confirming details[6](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/frequent-adam-sandler-collaborator-teased-mystery-project-i-hope-its-another-happy-gilmore-legacy-sequel).
## References
1. [Kyle Newacheck, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kyle-newacheck)
2. [Kyle Newacheck, Rotten Tomatoes celebrity profile](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kyle_newacheck)
3. [The new king of comedy filmmaking, The Los Angeles Film School](https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-new-king-of-comedy-filmmaking/)
4. [The Secret Talents Who Make Portlandia and Workaholics So Hilarious, WIRED (January 8, 2015)](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/portlandia-workaholics-silent-partners/)
5. [Kyle Newacheck, Avalon client page](https://avalonuk.com/clients/kyle-newacheck/)
6. [Frequent Adam Sandler Collaborator Has Teased A Mystery Project, CinemaBlend (February 2026)](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/frequent-adam-sandler-collaborator-teased-mystery-project-i-hope-its-another-happy-gilmore-legacy-sequel)
7. [Kyle Newacheck Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kyle-newacheck/bio/3030965528/)
8. [On Wisconsin, Spring 2016, University of Wisconsin alumni magazine](https://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/content/uploads/2016/02/Spring-2016.pdf)
9. [Adam Newacheck, director and editor, personal site](https://www.adamnewacheck.com/)
10. [Meet the Crew of Shadows, FX Networks](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/what-we-do-in-the-shadows/crew)
11. ['What We Do in the Shadows': FX Sets Premiere Date for Final Season, The Walt Disney Company (July 23, 2024)](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-fx-final-season-premiere-date/)
12. [Game Over, Man! Interview With Director Kyle Newacheck, LRM Online (2018)](https://lrmonline.com/news/game-over-man-interview-with-director-kyle-newacheck/)
13. ['Happy Gilmore 2': Tim Herlihy on co-writing with Adam Sandler, Los Angeles Times (July 25, 2025)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-07-25/happy-gilmore-2-tim-herlihy-adam-sandler)
14. [Made in New Jersey: Finding the Perfect Shot for Our Hit Sequel 'Happy Gilmore 2', Netflix (July 29, 2025)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/made-in-new-jersey-finding-the-perfect-shot-for-happy-gilmore-2)
15. [Sequel director says 'Happy Gilmore' is part of his comedic DNA, UPI (July 25, 2025)](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2025/07/25/happy-gilmore-interview/6601753101360/)
16. [New movies and shows this week on Netflix, Hulu and Paramount+, Axios (July 24, 2025)](https://www.axios.com/2025/07/24/new-movies-tv-week-netflix-hulu-paramount)
17. [Adam Sandler's 'Happy Gilmore 2' May Be the Worst Sequel of All Time, The Daily Beast (July 25, 2025)](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/review-adam-sandlers-happy-gilmore-2-may-be-worst-sequel-of-all-time/)
18. [Happy Gilmore 2 — Kyle Newacheck [Review], In Review Online (July 30, 2025)](https://inreviewonline.com/2025/07/30/happy-gilmore-2-review/)
19. [Workaholics credits - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/workaholics/credits/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Producers, studio executives, and showrunners › Television producers and showrunners › Comedy and sitcom creators*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license