Michael Patrick King, Writer and Director of Sex and the City and Co-Creator of The Comeback, to be Honored at the 2026 Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles Dinner

“Michael Patrick King is an undeniable talent whose work has brought so much joy, laughter and heart to our community. Throughout his career, King has helped to expand our visibility, advance our representation and amplify our voices — exemplifying the power of LGBTQ+ storytelling and the depth of our contributions to the entertainment world,” said Kelley Robinson, Human Rights Campaign President. “It’s an honor to recognize his accomplishments and to celebrate our community alongside Los Angeles’ advocates who are committed to fighting for the equality we all deserve.” 

“The inclusion of LGBTQ+ narratives is integral for meaningful storytelling. Our stories are an undeniable part of the human experience and they deserve to be told in every medium,” said LGBTQ+ Writer, Director and Producer Michael Patrick King. “As our community faces attempts to exclude us on and off screen, it is important that we continue to unapologetically make our voices heard. I’m thrilled to have my accomplishments recognized and to be joined in this work by advocates from Los Angeles and beyond.”  

Emmy and Golden Globe winner Michael Patrick King was born into a working class Irish catholic family in Scranton Pennsylvania. He moved to New York City at the age of 20 and spent many, many years waiting on tables and developing his voice as a playwright and stand-up comic. He began his television writing career when Diane English hired him to join the classic CBS sitcom Murphy Brown during its infamous Dan Quale year. He followed Murphy Brown with a brief stint as a writer/executive producer on the sit-com Cybil and then went on to create a few original TV pilots which starred the likes of Don Johnson, Ellen Barkin, Debi Mazar, Joanna Gleason, Seth Green, Bridget Everett and Loni Anderson. 

The Don Johnson pilot A Mann’s Word, a satiric look at aging in the beauty industry, filmed in 2011, had five out loud and proud LGBTQ+ series regular characters. In between television projects Mr. King opened Arcade - a not-for-profit performance space in Los Angeles and encouraged all kinds of artists to come and explore their art – uncensored. He then moved back to NYC to write and executive produce, with Darren Starr, the 1st season of the HBO’s culture defining comedy Sex And The City. While waiting for the 2nd season to begin,Michael was asked by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan to join the first season of their revolutionary comedy Will & Grace. He then returned to NYC to executive produce, write and direct SATC for the next five seasons and then went on to executive produce, write and direct both movies. 

He followed the run of SATC with another HBO show, The Comeback, which he created with Lisa Kudrow. Cancelled after its 1st season – it grew to become a cult classic and he and Ms. Kudrow were asked to return to HBO to do a 2nd season, a remarkable 10 years later. Missing the energy of doing comedy in front of a live audience, he created the edgy, commercial multi-camera comedy 2 Broke Girls with Whitney Cummings – a break-out hit that ran for six seasons on CBS and became syndicated worldwide. 

Always a massive fan of RuPaul Charles, King collaborated with Ru to create the heartfelt dramedy AJ and the Queen which featured on Netflix. Fresh from finishing the three-season run of the glorious, risk taking, controversial, press buzzy And Just Like That for HBO MAX, he jumped into filming the 3rd and final season of The Comeback for HBO, an even more remarkable - 11 years after its second season. It will launch on HBO in March 2026. 

This year’s HRC Los Angeles Dinner will bring together HRC’s most active advocates, members and supporters across the state to raise crucial funds in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. Tickets and further information are available at hrc.im/ladinner. Additional honorees and guests will be announced in the upcoming weeks. 

Due to limited space, only members of the media who have been credentialed in advance will be allowed entrance. 

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.