Kinston native Kip Kroeger receives Emmy for work on 'Ted Lasso'

Kinston native Kip Kroeger has come a long way since the days of playing baseball at Fairfield Park. His work on shows like ‘Undateable’, ‘Whiskey Cavalier’, and ‘Scrubs’ created the pathway that led to an Emmy for his work as the supervising post-production producer on ‘Ted Lasso’.

“I grew up in Kinston,” said Kroeger. “I went to a boarding school in CT for my sophomore and senior years of high school, then came back for college at NCSU. Upon graduation, I moved out to LA, and have been here ever since.”

Kroeger loved going to games at Grainger Stadium, dance recitals, high school productions at Grainger PAC, and playing sports at Kinston’s parks. During his freshman year, Kroeger joined the drama club and worked the tech crew for ‘Ovation!’ and a couple of other productions that year.

“I always had fun working behind the scenes on those things,” said Kroeger. “I even remember the summer we put on a production for Summer Theatre out by the airport, where Robb Beamon let me work some of the lights and stuff. I had a blast doing that.”

After college and in LA, Kroeger was introduced to his future wife by mutual friends from North Carolina. Kroeger is married to his best friend Tara and together they have two daughters, six-year-old Ava and four-year-old Naomi.

Kroeger knew he wanted to go to the Emmys. "Someday I want to work on a show that allows me to go there... Someday."

‘Ted Lasso’ earned 20 nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards and won seven awards.

“The minute they called the name of our show as the winner, everything became a blur,” said Kroeger. “I barely remember what anyone said or did. It was a little overwhelming. But so so exciting, to share the stage with people like Bill Lawrence, who gave me my first real job in LA, and Jason Sudeikis, who made the show so unique, not to mention all the writers and cast that I feel so privileged to even collaborate with.”

Kroeger was excited to have a chance to go to the Emmys, even with the tighter protocols protecting from the COVID pandemic.

“It was as special as I ever could have envisioned,” said Kroeger.