Other long form directing credits include
Sudie and Simpson,
Wild Texas Wind, and
On Promised Land. Tewkesbury has also directed for television series like
Alfred Hitchcock Presents;
CBS Summer Playhouse;
Shannon’s Deal;
Northern Exposure;
Doogie Howser M.D.,
Felicity,
Picket Fences, and
The Guardian, which she also executive produced.
Tewkesbury began her career in show business as an actress, appearing in television series such as Producers’ Showcase, My Three Sons, and The Long Hot Summer. She also appeared in Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, and Nashville. Tewkesbury co-wrote the screenplay for Thieves Like Us and wrote Nashville, for which she was nominated for a WGA Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Film Award in 1976, winning the LA Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay in 1975. Joan Tewkesbury has served on the DGA's Movies for Television Committee and the Western Directors Council.