Joseph Michael Ansolabehere is an American writer and producer. He is the co-creator of Recess and Lloyd in Space with partner and friend Paul Germain; they form the team Paul & Joe Productions. He eventually became one of the first head story editors on the show. During his tenure, the show won a slew of Emmys and became a massive hit for Nickelodeon.
It was here that he met Craig Bartlett (who had been the first story editor on the show). They became friends, and a few years later when Bartlett sold Hey Arnold! to Nickelodeon, he asked Ansolabehere to work on it with him. He co-wrote the pilot, and co-produced the first two seasons. The show has remained a cult hit for years, with a huge internet following of die-hard Arnold fans.
Ansolabehere then partnered with Paul Germain to create Recess for Disney. The Recess playground was based on Ansolabehere and Germain's own elementary school memories, and the characters were all based on friends they knew back then. The show became ABC's biggest Saturday morning hit of the late 1990s. It spawned a feature film, Recess: School's Out, which Ansolabehere and Germain wrote and produced in 2001. and Miles from Tomorrowland, then story editing the first season of Goldie and Bear.
Other animated television shows Ansolabehere has written and produced for include Beethoven, Duckman, Dinosaur Train, Peter Rabbit, Henry Hugglemonster, Let's Go Luna! and Motown. He was credited as a screenwriter on Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue.