UTA Signs ‘Steven Universe’ Creatives Rebecca Sugar & Ian Jones-Quartey

EXCLUSIVE: UTA on Tuesday announced its signing of Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey, a pair of award-winning multi-hyphenates active within the field of animation, for representation in all areas.

An animator, director, screenwriter, executive producer, and songwriter, Sugar is best known for creating Steven Universe, the acclaimed animated series that ran for five seasons from 2013-2019, securing GLAAD and Peabody Awards, as well as numerous Emmy and Annie Award nominations. Prior to their time on the Cartoon Network show, which also spawned a TV movie and offshoot limited series, they served as a writer, storyboard artist and songwriter on the hit fantasy animated series Adventure Time for the same channel.

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Since 2010, Sugar has been devoted to the fight for LGBTQIA+ content in children’s media, and for a more inclusive environment, both on screen and behind the scenes, in the animation industry. After writing over 60 songs for animation, she released her first personal album, Spiral Bound, based on three years of journaling in spiral bound notebooks, in November.

An Emmy and Annie Award-nominated showrunner, director, animator and voice actor, Jones-Quartey created the Cartoon Network animated series OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, which ran for three seasons. Known for his passion for animation history and his ability to merge compelling storytelling with resourceful production strategies, he previously exec produced both Steven Universe and Steven Universe: The Movie. Additionally, he served as a supervisor on Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and animation director on Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros.

Sugar and Jones-Quartey will continue to be represented by Jon Huddle at Fourth Wall Management and Hannah Knapp Mulderink and Mitch Smelkinson at Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.

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