Michael Ian Black is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including The State, Viva Variety, Stella, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, Michael & Michael Have Issues, and Another Period. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, he was the puppeteer and voice actor for the Pets.com sock puppet dog, and played a supporting character on the TV series Ed. Since 2008 he has written a number of books, including several for children.

Stella is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran from June 28 to August 30, 2005 on Comedy Central. It was created by and stars Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain, former cast members of MTV's The State (1993). As a comedy troupe, Stella started in 1997 and played to sold out shows across the United States with a cult following. In September, after 10 episodes, Stella's timeslot was succeeded by Mind of Mencia. The DVD was released on September 12, 2006.