MICHAEL AUSIELLO, born on this date, is an American television industry journalist, author, and actor. He was a senior writer at TV Guide and its companion website, TVGuide.com, between 2000 and 2008. From 2008 to 2010, he wrote and reported for Entertainment Weekly before launching his own television news site, TVLine.

Ausiello was married to photographer Kit Cowan, who died of a rare form of cancer in February 2015. Ausiello chronicled the last year of Cowan’s life and their 13-year relationship in a memoir in 2017, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies. A film based on that memoir, Spoiler Alert, was released in December  2022, starring Jim Parsons as Ausiello. 

Ausiello grew up in Roselle Park, New Jersey, and attended Roselle Park High School. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Ausiello contributed commentary to media outlets outside of TV Guide, such as Today, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, American Morning, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, and Entertainment Tonight. He is a regular guest every Friday morning on Sirius Satellite Radio’s popular morning show, “OutQ in the Morning” (Channel 109) with host Larry Flick, where they converse with callers about all things television—shows, stars, and plot lines, including scoops and spoilers.

Having become friends with actors and producers such as Amy Sherman-Palladino, Ausiello has appeared in a few cameo roles on episodes of television series including Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and Scrubs.