Jeff Schaffer was raised in Warren, Ohio. He attended Western Reserve Academy and later Harvard University. After college, he wrote for television and later the big screen. He worked on Seinfeld (1989) first as a writer and later as a producer. Learning greatly from Larry David, Schaffer eventually worked with him later on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000). Schaffer and his wife Jackie produce The League (2009), which he also writes and directs.