Matt Ember is a long-time writer/producer. He survived over fifteen years in sitcoms, including the hits Step by Step, Grace Under Fire, The Drew Carey Show, The Norm Show, Titus and Becker. Then, teaming up with fellow sitcom veteran Tom J. Astle, the two wrote five number one features: Failure to Launch (2006), Get Smart (2008), Epic (2013), Home (2015), and The War with Grandpa (2020). Matt returned to television in 2018, consulting on The Conners on ABC for three seasons. And now he and Tom have re-teamed to write the long-awaited sequel to Home, coming to Netflix in... a couple years. Matt has also taught television and screenwriting privately and at Wesleyan University (Go Wes), NYU, AFI, SUNY Purchase, and Stage 32 online. He is currently on the faculty at Fairfield University and is the Screenwriter in Residence at LIU.
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Biography from IMDb.
- September 25, 1961 (65)
- Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Writer and producer
- 10 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
Known for
What are Matt Ember's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 5 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 5
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1
Casual 6 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy7
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Matt Ember's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Matt Ember's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
20 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
The War with Grandpa(2020)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Home(2015)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Epic(2013)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Get Smart(2008)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Failure to Launch(2006)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Titus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Odd Man Out (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Brother's Keeper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
The Hughleys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Lush Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Life's Work(1996)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
The Drew Carey Show(1995)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all shows
Bless This House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
The Wayans Bros.(1995)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows
Grace Under Fire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Step by Step(1991)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows
Harry and the Hendersons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Living Dolls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Humbug (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 19 titles, 18 of them dated from 1989 to 2020.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Matt Ember's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 42nd percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 42nd percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 41/100 and the plot and story 34/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Matt Ember's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, alcohol & drugs runs lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Matt Ember work with?
People who share at least 2 of Matt Ember's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tom J. Astle shares the most, 6.
Writers
- Tom J. AstleShared titles: The War with Grandpa (2020), Home (2015), Epic (2013), Get Smart (2008), Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008), Failure to Launch (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Tom J. Astle
Actors
- Larry MillerShared titles: Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008), Life's Work (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Larry Miller
- Patrick WarburtonShared titles: Get Smart (2008), Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Patrick Warburton
Producers
- Alex GartnerShared titles: Get Smart (2008), Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Alex Gartner
- Andrew LazarShared titles: Get Smart (2008), Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Lazar
- Charles RovenShared titles: Get Smart (2008), Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Roven
- Michael EwingShared titles: Get Smart (2008), Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Ewing