The Directors Guild of America released its annual report analyzing the ethnicity and gender of directors hired to direct primetime episodic television across broadcast, basic cable, premium cable, and high budget original content series made for the Internet.
More than 3,900 episodes produced in the 2014-2015 network television season and the 2014 cable television season from more than 270 scripted series were analyzed. The breakdown of those episodes by the gender and ethnicity of directors is as follows: Women directed 16% of all episodes, an increase from 14% the prior year; and minorities (male and female) directed 18% of all episodes, representing a 1% decrease over the prior year.
Positive trends
The pie is getting bigger: There were 3,910 episodes in the 2014-2015 season–a 10% increase in total episodes over the prior season’s 3,562 episodes.
With that expansion came more directing jobs for women, who directed 618 total episodes representing a 21% year-over-year growth rate (women directed 509 episodes in the prior season), more than twice the 10% growth rate of total episodes. Additionally, the total number of individual women directors employed in episodic television grew 16% to 149 (up from 129 in the 2013-14 season).
The DGA’s “Best Of” list–shows that hired women and minorities to direct at least 40% of episodes–increased 16% to 57 series (from 49 series in the 2013-14 season period).
Areas of Concern
Hiring of first-time episodic directors–which has a significant impact on the diversity of the overall hiring pool over time–perpetuated the status quo. There were 128 directors hired in the 2014-15 season who had never directed episodic television before. Of those, 84% were male–up from 80% in the 2013-14 season.
Minorities directed a total of 694 episodes (up from 660 in 2013-14). While that reflects a 5% bump in episodes over the 2013-2014 season, the increase lags behind the 10% growth of total episodes.
Six series made for subscription video on demand (e.g. Netflix, Amazon, and Playstation) appeared on the “Worst Of” list indicating that new platforms may be carrying through the same hiring practices as traditional television and cable networks.
There are 27 series with 0% women and minority hires on the DGA’s “Worst Of” list – 17% more than in the 2013-14 season.
“The uptick in the number of episodes directed by women–modest but hopeful–is just a drop in the bucket of what needs to be done by studios, networks and showrunners before we can begin to realize equal opportunities in television for our members. With so many more episodes and work opportunities, employers should seize the opportunity for diversity with their choices, especially when it comes to first-time episodic directors,” said DGA President Paris Barclay. “Without employers making a concerted effort to bringing a more diverse mix of new entrants to the hiring pool, we won’t see meaningful and lasting change.”
2014 – 2015 In Comparison With Previous Years
Comparing figures for 2014-15 with 2013-14, this year’s report shows that: The percentage of episodes directed by Caucasian males remained static at 69%; The percentage of episodes directed by minority males decreased from 17% to 15%; the percentage of episodes directed by Caucasian females increased from 12% to 13%; and the percentage of episodes directed by minority females increased from 2% to 3%.
First-Time Episodic Directors in 2014-2015
The number of total individual directors who directed DGA-covered episodic television in 2014-15 increased 18% to 915 (776 directors in the 2013-14 season). Of those directors, 128 (14%) were directing episodic television for the first time. For the sake of perspective, it is important to note that first-time directors direct an average of one episode in their first season–which is considerably lower than established episodic directors.
The hiring of new episodic directors is a significant area of opportunity as it can impact the overall diversity of the hiring pool over time. However, hiring of female first-time episodic directors went down in the 2014-15 season–from 20% to 15%–indicating that even when it comes to new directors, those with responsibility for hiring are perpetuating the status quo.
Breakdown by Series
Out of 277 series examined, 61 series made it to the DGA’s “Worst Of” list. Looking closer, 27 (10% of all series examined) hired no women or minority directors. Additionally, 34 more series (12% of all series examined) hired women or minorities to direct fewer than 15% of episodes. This means that more than 22% of all episodic television series made under a DGA contract had hiring statistics poor enough to land a spot on the DGA’s “Worst Of” list. Several of those series made repeat appearances for the 2014-2015 season, having also been placed on the DGA’s “Worst Of” list the prior season including: The Blacklist, Boardwalk Empire, Dog With A Blog, The Exes, Girl Meets World, Granite Flats, Hot In Cleveland, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Masters of Sex, Justified, Mom, Ray Donovan, Resurrection, Supernatural, Witches of East End, and Workaholics.
Taking a deeper dive into a few examples underscores the severity of the issue, particularly when extended to series hiring over multiple years. The Showtime-produced Ray Donovan hired no women or minority directors in the 2014-15 season and has hired just one woman and no minorities in the 23 episodes since the series started. Another example of a series with an even longer history of poor hiring is the Warner Bros. produced Supernatural, demonstrating that in the last 10 seasons, the series has hired only three minority male directors, and two female directors, to direct just five out of 197 total episodes (3%). Another example of a long-running television series with years of non-diverse hiring is It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which hasn’t hired a single female or minority director since the show began production in 2005 and has since completed ten seasons and a total of 115 episodes.
Looking at the other end of the spectrum, 57 series (21% of all series examined) demonstrated a commitment to diverse hiring practices, hiring women or minorities to direct at least 40% of episodes. Fox-produced Empire hired nine women and minority directors to direct nine of its 11 episodes (82%). Well-established series such as Showtime-produced Homeland, over a four season stretch, hired women and minority directors to direct 19 of 47 total episodes (40%). One example of a series that made a dramatic turnaround from the DGA’s “Worst Of” list to the “Best Of” list is Fox-produced Last Man Standing, which in the 2013-2014 season hired no female or minority directors. The series demonstrated a notable change in the 2014-2015 season hiring two minority directors to direct nine episodes and thereby improving their season-to-season statistics from 0% to 41%.
The following 19 television series made the DGA’s “Best Of” list again this year for hiring women and minorities to direct at least 40% of episodes in the 2014-2015 production cycle: Awkward, Devious Maids, The Following, The Fosters, The Game, Getting On, Girls, Grimm, Hart of Dixie, Hit The Floor, Homeland, Instant Mom, Lab Rats, The Middle, Modern Family, Nashville, Pretty Little Liars, See Dad Run, and Suits.
“In our diversity work at the DGA, we hear a lot of reasons from studios, networks and series showrunners about why they are powerless to make a change when it comes to diverse hiring. It’s time for everyone to look closely at exactly how hiring decisions are made, and for employers to take ownership and develop plans outlining the steps they will take to bring their hiring practices into the twenty-first century,” said Bethany Rooney and Todd Holland, co-chairs of the DGA’s Diversity Task Force, in a statement.
Best Of and Worst Of
The shows highlighted below are from major production companies ABC, CBS, Fox, HBO, NBC, Sony, Warner Bros. and other production companies whose shows appear on broadcast, basic cable, and premium cable networks as well as high-budget original content shows made under a DGA agreement for the Internet.
Pilots are not included in the statistics.
Additional data on the more than 277 series included in this year’s report can be found on the DGA website.
DGA’s “WORST OF” List
Below are the shows with the worst records of hiring women and minority directors for the 2014-2015 television season. Shows that are BOLDED also appeared on the DGA’s “Worst Of” lists last year:
SHOWS THAT HIRED WOMEN OR MINORITY DIRECTORS FOR FEWER THAN 15% OF EPISODES (SOME OF THESE SHOWS DIDN’T HIRE A SINGLE WOMAN OR MINORITY ALL SEASON).
Title (Signatory Company/Network/Studio) – % of Episodes by Women or Minority Directors:
WORST LIST
1.Banshee (Home Box Office, Inc./Cinemax/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 0%
2.Black Sails (Starz Pirates Productions, LLC/Starz!/Starz, LLC) – 0%
3.Boardwalk Empire (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 0%
4.The Brink (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 0%
5.The Comeback (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 0%
6.The Comedians (TVM Productions, Inc./FX/Fox Television Studios, Inc.) – 0%
7.Dominion (Universal Network Television LLC/Syfy/Universal Network Television LLC) – 0%
8.The Exes (King Street Productions Inc./TV Land/Hudson Street Productions, Inc., a subsidiary of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 0%
9.The Expanse (Expanding Universe Productions, LLC/Syfy/Alcon Television Group, LLC) – 0%
10.Flesh and Bone (Starz Ballet Productions, LLC/Starz!/Starz Ballet Productions, LLC) – 0%
11.Galavant (Film 49 Productions, Inc./ABC/ABC, Inc.) – 0%
12.Gracepoint (Concord Productions, Inc./FOX/Concord Productions, Inc) – 0%
13.Granite Flats (Remnant Pictures LLC/PBS/Remnant Pictures LLC) – 0%
14.Henry Danger (Uptown Productions Inc./Nickelodeon/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 0%
15.It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Sunny Television Productions, Inc./FXX/Sunny Television Productions, Inc.) – 0%
16.Man Seeking Woman (Minim Productions, Inc./FXX/Minim Productions, Inc.) – 0%
17.Marco Polo (Siggco Inc./Netflix/Siggco Inc.) -0%
18.Masters of Sex (Remote Broadcasting, Inc./Showtime/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) – 0%
19.Mom (Warner Bros. Television/CBS/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 0%
20.Mystery Girls (Prodco, Inc./ABC Family/Prodco, Inc., a subsidiary of Disney) – 0%
21.Powers (Playstation Series)/Mesquite Productions, Inc./PlayStation/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) – 0%
22.Ray Donovan (Showtime Pictures Development Company/Showtime/Showtime Pictures Development Company) – 0%
23.Sirens (TVM Productions, Inc./USA Network/Fox Television Studios, Inc.) – 0%
24.The Strain (Strain USA Productions, Inc./FX/Strain USA Productions, Inc.) – 0%
25.Two Broke Girls (Bonanza Productions Inc./CBS/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 0%
26.Workaholics (50/50 Productions, LLC/Comedy Central/Avalon Television, Inc.) – 0%
27.You’re The Worst (Worst Productions, Inc./FX/Worst Productions, Inc.) – 0%
28.Hot In Cleveland (King Street Productions Inc./TV Land/Hudson Street Productions, Inc. a subsidiary of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 4%
29.Supernatural (NS Pictures, Inc./CW/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 5%
30.Girl Meets World (It’s A Laugh Productions Inc./Disney Channel/It’s A Laugh Productions Inc., a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc.) – 7%
31.Aquarius (Next Step Productions LLC/NBC/Tomorrow ITV Studios LLC) – 8%
32.Bloodline (Mesquite Productions, Inc./Netflix/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) – 8%
33.The Bridge (Concord Productions, Inc./FX/Concord Productions, Inc.) – 8%
34.Justified (Woodridge Productions, Inc./FX/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) – 8%
35.Marvel’s Daredevil (Marvel Eastern Productions LLC/Netflix/Marvel Digital Media Group LLC, a subsidiary of Marvel Worldwide, Inc.) – 8%
36.Resurrection (FTP Productions, LLC/ABC/ABC, Inc.) – 8%
37.Witches of East End (Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc./Lifetime/Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc., a subsidiary of FOX) – 8%
38.Z Nation (Go2 Z, LLC/Syfy/Go 2 Digital Media, Inc.) – 8%
39.A to Z (Warner Bros. Television/NBC/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 8%
40.Nurse Jackie (Nurse Productions, Inc./Showtime/Lions Gate Television Inc.) – 8%
41.iZombie (Bonanza Productions Inc./CW/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 9%
42.Alpha House (Picrow, Inc./Amazon Prime/Picrow, Inc.) – 10%
43.Full Circle (Full Circle Show LLC/DirecTV/Momentum TV, Inc.) – 10%
44.The Librarians (Leverage Productions, Inc./TNT/Electric Global Holdings, Inc.) – 10%
45.Longmire (Horizon Scripted Television Inc./A&E/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 10%
46.Kirby Buckets (Horizon Productions, Inc./Disney XD/Horizon Productions, Inc.) – 10%
47.Ballers (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 11%
48.Hemlock Grove (Lockhem 3 Productions Inc./Netflix/Lockhem 3 Productions Inc.) – 11%
49.Jennifer Falls (King Street Productions Inc./TV Land/Hudson Street Productions, Inc. a subsidiary of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 11%
50.Legends (Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc./TNT/Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc., a subsidiary of FOX) – 11%
51.The Lottery (Warner Horizon Television Inc./Lifetime/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 11%
52.Playing House (Open 4 Business Productions LLC/USA Network/Universal Network Television LLC) – 11%
53.Sleepy Hollow (Twentieth Century Fox Television Worldwide Productions, Inc./FOX/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) – 11%
54.Dog with a Blog (It’s A Laugh Productions Inc./Disney Channel/It’s A Laugh Productions Inc., a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc.) – 12%
55.Marvel’s Agent Carter (ABC Studios/ABC/ABC, Inc.) – 12%
56.The Blacklist (Woodridge Productions, Inc./NBC/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) – 14%
57.Bones (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/FOX/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) – 14%
58.Forever (Warner Bros. Television/ABC/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 14%
59.Gotham (Warner Bros. Television/FOX/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 14%
60.K.C. Undercover (It’s A Laugh Productions Inc./Disney Channel/It’s A Laugh Productions Inc., a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc.) – 14%
61.Togetherness (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 14%
DGA’s “BEST OF” List
The following shows are highlighted for hiring women and minorities to direct at least 40% of episodes in the 2014-2015 production cycle.
SHOWS THAT HIRED WOMEN OR MINORITY DIRECTORS FOR AT LEAST 40% OF EPISODES.
Title (Signatory Company/Network/Studio) – % of Episodes by Women or Minority Directors:
BEST LIST
1.Being Mary Jane (Breakdown Productions Inc./BET/BET Productions, LLC) – 100%
2.The Game (Breakdown Productions Inc./BET/BET Productions, LLC) – 100%
3.Single Ladies (Grueville Productions LLC/BET/CT Media Holdings LLC) – 100%
4.The McCarthys (Remote Broadcasting, Inc./CBS/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) – 93%
5.Ground Floor (Horizon Scripted Television Inc./TBS/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 90%
6.Empire (Twentieth Century Fox Television/FOX/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) – 82%
7.American Crime (ABC Studios/ABC/ABC, Inc.) – 80%
8.Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn (Uptown Productions Inc./Nickelodeon/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 74%
9.Jane the Virgin (Eye Productions Inc./CW/CBS Studios Inc.) – 71%
10.The Following (Bonanza Productions Inc./FOX/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 67%
11.Getting On (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 67%
12.Homeland (Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc./Showtime/Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc., a subsidiary of FOX) – 67%
13.The Night Shift (Woodridge Productions, Inc./NBC/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) – 64%
14.Younger (Jax Media, LLC/TV Land/Jax Media, LLC) – 64%
15.Stalker (Warner Bros. Television/CBS/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 63%
16.The Fosters (Prodco, Inc./ABC Family/Prodco, Inc., a subsidiary of Disney) – 62%
17.Lab Rats (It’s A Laugh Productions Inc./Disney XD/It’s A Laugh Productions Inc., a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc.) – 62%
18.Instant Mom (Uptown Productions Inc./Nick Jr./MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 60%
19.Blue Bloods (Eye Productions Inc./CBS/CBS Studios Inc.) – 55%
20.Nashville (Music City Productions, Inc./ABC/Lions Gate Television Inc.) – 55%
21.The Middle (Warner Bros. Television/ABC/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 54%
22.Devious Maids (ABC Studios/Lifetime/ABC, Inc.) – 54%
23.See Dad Run (Uptown Productions Inc./Nickelodeon/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 53%
24.Criminal Minds (ABC Studios/CBS/ABC, Inc.) – 52%
25.Girls (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) -50%
26.Happyland (On-Site Productions Inc./MTV/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 50%
27.Hart of Dixie (Bonanza Productions Inc./CW/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 50%
28.Hit the Floor (Bling Productions Inc./VH1/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 50%
29.South of Hell (SOH Productions, LLC/WE/Blumhouse Productions, LLC) – 50%
30.Suits (Open 4 Business Productions LLC/USA Network/Universal Network Television LLC) – 50%
31.Black-ish (FTP Productions, LLC/ABC/ABC, Inc.) – 48%
32.Awkward (On-Site Productions Inc./MTV/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 48%
33.Young & Hungry (Prodco, Inc./ABC Family/Prodco, Inc., a subsidiary of Disney) – 47%
34.Sons of Anarchy (Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc./FX/Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group, Inc.) – 46%
35.Modern Family (Twentieth Century Fox Television/ABC/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)- 46%
36.12 Monkeys (Universal Network Television LLC/Syfy/Universal Network Television LLC) – 45%
37.Finding Carter (On-Site Productions Inc./MTV/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 45%
38.Grimm (Open 4 Business Productions LLC/NBC/Universal Network Television LLC) – 45%
39.Bosch (Hold Fast Productions LLC/Amazon Prime/Hold Fast Productions LLC) – 44%
40.Chicago PD (Universal Television LLC/NBC/Universal Television LLC) – 43%
41.Cristela (Twentieth Century Fox Television/ABC/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) -43%
42.The Jack and Triumph Show (Universal Television LLC/Cartoon Network/Universal Television LLC) – 43%
43.Madam Secretary (Eye Productions Inc./CBS/CBS Studios Inc.) – 43%
44.The Mysteries of Laura (Warner Bros. Television/NBC/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 43%
45.Fresh Off the Boat (Twentieth Century Fox Television/ABC/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) – 42%
46.The Odd Couple (Eye Productions Inc./CBS/CBS Studios Inc.) – 42%
47.Marry Me (Remote Broadcasting, Inc./NBC/CPT Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television) -41%
48.Last Man Standing (Twentieth Century Fox Television/ABC/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) – 41%
49.Fakin It (On-Site Productions Inc./MTV/MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc.) – 41%
50.The Astronaut Wives Club (Produced Bayou, Inc./ABC/Produced Bayou, Inc., a subsidiary of Walt Disney Pictures) – 40%
51.Falling Skies (Turner North Center Productions, Inc./TNT/Turner Films, Inc.) – 40%
52.Hawaii Five-O (Eye Productions Inc./CBS/CBS Studios Inc.) – 40%
53.One Big Happy/Warner Bros. Television/NBC/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 40%
54.Pretty Little Liars (Horizon Scripted Television Inc./ABC Family/Warner Bros. Television, a division of Warner Bros. Studio Enterprises) – 40%
55.Returned, The (East River Productions Ltd/A&E/Omnifilm Entertainment Ltd) – 40%
56.Veep (Home Box Office, Inc./HBO/Home Box Office, Inc.) – 40%
57.Weird Loners (Twentieth Century Fox Television/FOX/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) – 40%
Shows that are primarily directed by only one director for the entire season were included in the overall data, but are not singled out in the lists above. Similarly, foreign series shot abroad with a significant number of episodes that were not covered by a DGA agreement were also not included in the lists above, but the episodes that were made under a DGA agreement were included in the overall statistics. The shows that meet either criteria include: The Big Bang Theory, Big Time in Hollywood Florida, Intruders, The League, Narcos, One Bad Choice, The Real Husbands of Hollywood, The Red Road, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Reign, Silicon Valley, Transparent, Two And A Half Men, and Undateable.
DGA Diversity Efforts
The DGA believes storytelling should be as diverse as the world around us, and that a critical mass of different perspectives on screen is vital for the wellbeing and development of society. The Guild is committed to realizing the vision of a diverse and inclusive industry, and have worked toward this goal for decades.
The DGA seeks to wield its influence and utilize its collective bargaining power, relationships and resources to try to change industry practices. Currently, the DGA employs a four-pronged approach to advance the issue: (1) engage with industry decision-makers; (2) negotiate with employers; (3) develop networking, career enhancement and training opportunities; and (4) report back to the industry.
For more information about the DGA’s diversity efforts, visit here.
