Michael John Roberts, host and director of collection reminiscent of Comedy Central’s TripTank and Netflix BoJack Riderdied of glioblastoma on Wednesday November 11 in Los Angeles. He was 48 years previous.
His loss of life was introduced by his household, together with his spouse, A life to reside And Gossip Lady actress Bree Williamson. The announcement stated Roberts died peacefully at dwelling, surrounded by his household.
“With heavy hearts, we share the passing of Michael John Roberts,” the announcement learn. “Michael noticed the world just a little otherwise. A gifted artist with extraordinary expertise, he might discover one thing price exploring in what others would possibly overlook. His creativity was not restricted to what he placed on paper; it formed the best way he thought, questioned, and understood the world round him.”
Born on December 20, 1977, in Toronto, the place he grew up, Roberts bought his begin as a number within the late Nineties and early 2000s on youngsters’s collection such because the animated collection Angela Anaconda and the animation-live-action hybrid Clogs, each produced by Canadian firm Decode Leisure (The hooves was co-created and co-produced by The Jim Henson Firm).
Though he began out in youngsters’s tv, Roberts would turn into finest recognized for his work on adult-oriented animated comedy. He co-created and directed the Comedy Central sketch comedy collection from 2014 to 2016. TripTankwhich featured voice work from Bob Odenkirk, Larry David, Niecy Nash, Zach Galifianakis and others, and he animated the 2015 opening sequence of BoJack Rider (he would direct two episodes of the Netflix collection).
He then directed episodes, amongst others, of the Invoice Burr collection. F is for household, the TBS collection Last House, MrBeast Lab, the Apple TV collection 2023 Unusual planet and, most just lately, a 2026 episode of Masters of the Universe: Tales of Eternia. As a producer, his credit included the 2018 John Cena-Kat Dennings YouTube collection Pink. Dallas and Robo, the 2024 collection Scorching Wheels Let’s Race and a 2026 tv particular of the Scorching Wheels franchise.
Along with his spouse, who performed the favored character Jessica Buchanan in A life to reside from 2002 to 2012, Roberts is survived by his son McGreggor; sister Jane Roberts; niece Gwen; nephew Vaughan; and his cousin Hrothgar Cashmore, whom he thought-about a brother.
“We had been speculated to have extra time,” his household wrote. “No extra conversations over an excellent cup of espresso. No extra full of life debates on subjects each profound and splendidly trivial. Extra laughter, extra tales, extra music and extra atypical moments that may in the future turn into extraordinary reminiscences.
“Though his sickness got here on out of the blue and the time that adopted was heartbreakingly temporary, it can’t outline the person he was. His life is finest remembered by what he created, the conversations he impressed, the friendships he nurtured, and the love he gave so freely to these near him.”