Scripto Enterprises
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Entertainment technology |
| Founded | January 2014 |
| Founder | Stephen Colbert, Rob Dubbin, Evie McGee-Colbert |
| Headquarters | Studio City, Los Angeles , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Josh C. Kline (CEO, 2024–present), Rob Dubbin (former CEO, 2014–2024) |
| Products | Scripto (collaborative writing platform), Showrunner (scriptwriting product) |
Scripto Enterprises Inc. is a U.S.-based software firm located in Studio City, Los Angeles, specializing in tools for screenwriting, television production, and narrative-driven video game development. Established in 2014 by comedian Stephen Colbert, former The Colbert Report writer and programmer Rob Dubbin, along with Colbert’s spouse Evie McGee-Colbert, the company provides a cloud-enabled collaborative writing platform named Scripto. This application was developed to overcome the shortcomings of existing software and has been adopted by productions such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Daily Show, and SNL's segment Weekend Update.
Origins
Back in 2010, Rob Dubbin was part of the writing team for The Colbert Report, which relied on the Electronic News Production System (ENPS), a newsroom software package created by the Associated Press. The team found ENPS insufficient for scripted comedy due to its limited collaboration capabilities. Dubbin characterized it as "almost more [...] like a networked Word document". The necessity for improved workflow became apparent after an expensive incident involving a goat booked for a joke that was ultimately cut, exposing flaws in their script revision process. By the close of 2010, discussions between Colbert and Dubbin had begun about designing a custom drafting tool tailored specifically to their requirements.
2011–2014: Creation Phase
In 2011, Dubbin initiated development on an alternative inspired by Etherpad, collaborating with Colbert to finance an external programming team. Acting on a friend’s advice, Dubbin placed a banner advertisement on Reddit seeking developers, which attracted notable responses from individuals such as Paul Ford and Aaron Swartz. A preliminary version was gradually rolled out and implemented on the show, undergoing continuous refinement. By 2013, the software had reached sufficient stability to be used daily during the show’s final two years.
The first client outside of their own production was Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, introduced through a recommendation from a former producer of Colbert Report. With increasing interest emerging, Colbert, Dubbin, and Evie McGee-Colbert officially founded Scripto Enterprises Inc. in January 2014 to commercialize the platform. Their initial hire was programmer and media analyst Rusty Foster, who played a key role in client management. That same year, The Daily Show also began using Scripto.
At first, Scripto was not delivered as SaaS; instead, customers were provided with two physical servers installed on-site rather than cloud-hosted options. This strategy facilitated early adoption among prominent media productions.
2015–2020: Growth and Expansion
Upon Stephen Colbert’s succession of David Letterman as host of The Late Show on CBS, he brought along Scripto software. Dubbin joined during pre-production and the initial season but departed in late 2016 to dedicate his efforts fully as CEO of Scripto. By late 2015, additional programs licensed the platform, including Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, and The Jim Jefferies Show. A commercial promoting Scripto aired during the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Colbert himself; notably, the software was utilized to write the ceremony’s script.
By late 2017, Dubbin, Foster, and their development team were conducting beta tests on a new scriptwriting product called Showrunner, aimed at scripted television production as an alternative to Final Draft. Dubbin highlighted its focus on facilitating collaboration among remote teams. In 2019, Alice DuBois joined to lead product and project management efforts for Showrunner. The platform gained momentum amid increased remote work practices driven by the pandemic. Foster exited in late 2020, citing that managing live production servers had become excessively stressful.
2021–present: Growth and Diversification
During the 2023 WGA strikes, the company experienced a complete production halt. In response, advisor Ethan Jacks proposed broadening the company's focus beyond variety television. This approach received unanimous backing from all three founders. Subsequently, Dubbin resigned as CEO but continued leading the video game division. In April 2024, media executive Josh C. Kline took over as CEO.[1][2][3] Under Kline's leadership, Scripto extended its licensing agreements to include video game and podcast studios, prestigious events such as the Clios, and digital platforms like The Bleacher Report. The firm is actively pursuing opportunities in live event adaptations, theatrical productions, and content creation, while also integrating artificial intelligence and system integration solutions. Collaborations with Adobe and AWS have been established to support these strategic efforts.[2]Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Funding
Scripto has attracted capital from venture investors including Bloomberg Beta, Calm Company Fund, as well as angel investor Dan Bomze.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad nameCite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Chief executive officers
- Rob Dubbin (2014–2024)
- Josh C. Kline (2024–present)