Michael Engler
Michael Engler is an American theater director, and a Director's Guild of America and Emmy nominated television director and producer.
Theater
His Broadway credits include Eastern Standard, starring Dylan Baker, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Conroy, and Anne Meara, as well as Mastergate, written by Larry Gelbart, and I Hate Hamlet, written by Paul Rudnick and starring Evan Handler and Alan Arkin.His direction of the 2003 off-Broadway production of the Alan Bennett play Talking Heads garnered him a nomination for the Outer Critics Circle Award.
Film and television
1990s
Engler began his career in television with the TV movie Mastergate based on the play he directed by Larry Gelbart. The following year he worked on the television series Bakersfield P.D., starring Ron Eldard, Giancarlo Esposito, and Brian Doyle Murray, as well as the series Sisters, starring Swoosie Kurtz and Sela Ward.In 1993 and 1994 Engler directed two episodes of the HBO series Dream On, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and starring Brian Benben and Wendie Malick, as well as an episode of the Claire Danes starrer My So-Called Life, and began directing what would become fifteen episodes of the series Party of Five, on which he was also a producer. The series starred Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
In 1995 Engler worked on the Mary Tyler Moore series New York News and Under One Roof, starring James Earl Jones, followed by the David E. Kelley series Chicago Hope in 1996, as well as the TV series Profit, starring Adrian Pasdar in 1997.
In 1998 Engler wrote and directed the short film The Victim. In the same year he worked on the short-lived series Significant Others, starring Jennifer Garner, and Cupid, starring Jeremy Piven. Engler wrapped up the 1990s with Time of Your Life, a spin-off of Party of Five. Engler served as a consulting producer on Cupid and a co-executive producer on Time of Your Life.
2000s
Engler began the decade with the series Once and Again, starring Sela Ward, Billy Campbell, Evan Rachel Wood, and Shane West, followed by the Aaron Sorkin drama The West Wing, the HBO series Six Feet Under, starring Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall, Hidden Hills, and the series My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star starring Oliver Hudson, two episodes of Watching Ellie and an episode of Do Over.In 2001 Engler began directing for the HBO series Sex and the City for which he would go on to earn one Emmy nomination and two Directors Guild of American nominations.
In 2004 Engler directed an episode of the series Keen Eddie, starring Mark Valley and Sienna Miller, followed by an episode of the HBO series Deadwood, starring Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane. This was followed by Life As We Know It, which he co-executive produced, and the TV movie Twenty Questions which he also executive produced, and the series The PTA. In 2006, Engler directed the pilot episode for the USA series Psych.
In 2007 Engler directed for the series 12 Miles of Bad Road, starring Lily Tomlin, followed by the TV movies Two Families and Single with Parents, starring Beau Bridges, and the series Privileged, for which Engler served as executive producer on the pilot episode. Engler ended the decade with the TV movie Lost and Found, featuring Brian Cox.
Beginning in 2007, Engler directed eleven episodes of the NBC series 30 Rock, for which he was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award and an Emmy for directing the episode Rosemary's Baby.
2010s
Engler began the decade by directing two episodes of the NBC series Parenthood in 2010, and The Big C, starring Laura Linney, for which Engler was an executive producer. He followed with an episode of Go On, starring Matthew Perry, and Nashville, starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, both in 2012. In 2013 Engler directed the pilot episode for the series Welcome to the Family, starring Ricardo Chavira and Mike O'Malley.Director filmography
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1992 | Mastergate | TV movie |
| 1992–1993 | Sisters | "The Best Seats In The House" "Out of the Ashes" "Sleepless in Winnetka" |
| 1993 | Bakersfield P.D. | "A Bullet For Stiles" |
| 1993–1994 | Dream On | "One Ball, Two Strikes" "Blame it on Reo" |
| 1994 | My So-Called Life | "Self-Esteem" |
| 1994–1998 | Party of Five | Also executive producer "Thanksgiving" "Games People Play" "It's Not Easy Being Green" "Dearly Beloved" "Unfair Advantage" "Altered States" "Going, Going, Gone" "Personal Demons" "Desperate Measures" "I Declare" "Point of No Return" "You Win Some, You Lose Some" "What a Drag" "Positive Attitude" "Fools Rush Out" |
| 1995 | New York News | "Past Imperfect" |
| 1995 | Under One Roof | "Ronnie's Got A Gun" |
| 1996 | Chicago Hope | "Sweet Surrender" |
| 1997 | Profit | "Security" |
| 1998 | The Victim | Also writer Short film |
| 1998 | Significant Others | "The Next Big Thing" "Matters of Gravity" |
| 1998 | Cupid | Also consulting producer "Heaven... He's In Heaven" "Heart of the Matter" |
| 1999 | Time of Your Life | Also co-executive producer "The Time She Came To New York" "The Time She Got Mobbed" "The Time The Truth Was Told" "The Time They Got E-Rotic" "The Time They Cheated" "The Time They Broke The Law" |
| 2000–2001 | Once And Again | "Ozymandias 2.0" "Love's Laborer's Lost" "The Awful Truth" "Acting Out" |
| 2001 | The West Wing | "Ellie" |
| 2001–2003 | Six Feet Under | "The Trip" "In Place of Anger" "I'll Take You" "The Eye Inside" |
| 2001–2004 | Sex and the City | "Time and Punishment" "My Motherboard, Myself" "The Big Journey" "I Love a Charade" "Lights, Camera, Relationship" "Hop, Skip, and a Week" "Catch-38" "Out of the Frying Pan" |
| 2002 | My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star | "Fame" "The Road Gig" "Pay to Play" |
| 2002 | Watching Ellie | "Cheetos" "Tango" |
| 2002 | Hidden Hills | "The Mark of Manolo" "Halloween" |
| 2002 | Do Over | "Hot For Teacher" |
| 2004 | Keen Eddie | "Inciting Incident" |
| 2004 | Deadwood | "Bullock Returns to the Camp" |
| 2004–2005 | Life As We Know It | Also co-executive producer "Pilot" "Pilot Junior" "The Best Laid Plans" "A Little Problem" |
| 2006 | Twenty Questions | Also executive producer TV movie |
| 2006 | The PTA | |
| 2006 | Psych | "Pilot" |
| 2007 | 12 Miles of Bad Road | "Pilot" |
| 2007 | Two Families | TV movie |
| 2007–2012 | 30 Rock | "The Baby Show" "Up All Night" "Jack Gets In The Game" "Rosemary's Baby" "Cougars" "Secrets and Lies" "Brooklyn Without Limits" "Hey, Baby, What's Wrong? Part 1" "Hey, Baby, What's Wrong? Part 2" "What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year?" "Stride of Pride" |
| 2008 | Single with Parents | TV movie |
| 2008 | Privileged | Also executive producer "Pilot" "All About Honesty" "All About Insecurities" "All About Love, Actually" |
| 2009 | Lost and Found | TV movie |
| 2010 | Parenthood | "Wassup" "The Situation" |
| 2010–2013 | The Big C | Also executive producer "Summertime" "There's No C in Team" "Everything That Rises Must Converge" "Taking the Plunge" "Losing Patients" "Musical Chairs" "Goldilocks and the Bears" "The Last Thanksgiving" "Crossing the Line" "Thin Ice" "What's Your Story?" "Vaya Con Dios" "Fly Away" "Quality of Life" "The Finale" |
| 2012 | Go On | "Do You Believe in Ghosts... Yes!" |
| 2012 | Nashville | "Someday You'll Call My Name" |
| 2013 | Welcome to the Family | "Pilot" "Dad Finds Out" "The Big RV Adventure" "Lisette's Abuela Visits" |
| 2014 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | "The Party" |
| 2014 | Masters of Sex | "Dirty Jobs" |
| 2014–2016 | Downton Abbey | "Episode Eight" "Episode Five" "Episode Six" "The Finale" |
| 2015–2016 | Empire | "Out, Damned Spot" "A Rose By Any Other Name" |
| 2015–2017 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | "Kimmy Goes to School" "Kimmy's Bad at Math!" "Kimmy Finds Her Mom!" "Kimmy Googles the Internet!" |
| 2016 | Notorious | "Pilot" "The Prep Talk" "Tell Me a Secret" |
| 2016 | Pure Genius | "A Bunker Hill Christmas" |
| 2017 | The Guest Book | "Story Six" "Story Eight" |
| 2018 | The Affair | "408" |
| 2018 | Splitting Up Together | "Asking For a Friend" |
| 2018 | The Chaperone | Film |
| 2019 | Downton Abbey | Film |