After graduating from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Stupin went to Los Angeles to work for NBC in series development. In 1986 he became a vice president for production at Tri-Star Pictures, overseeing such films as Steel Magnolias, and Short Circuit. From there, he was recruited to the fledgling Fox Network as executive vice president of series programming serving there from 1989 to 1992. Stupin's greatest legacy was bringing a twenty-nine-year-old screenwriter, Darren Star, to producer Aaron Spelling. Star had ideas of a high school drama and Spelling, for the first time since the 1960s, had not one show on the air. The result of their partnership was Beverly Hills, 90210, an immediate hit with the first episode scoring a phenomenal forty share among the 12-17 demographic.