He began his directing career in 1972 on
The Bob Newhart Show. Since then, he has directed episodes of
Taxi;
Lou Grant;
WKRP in Cincinnati;
Family Ties;
Who's the Boss;
L.A. Law;
Coach;
Quantum Leap;
The Pretender;
Boston Public;
JAG;
The Guardian;
Everybody Loves Raymond;
The Practice;
Lost;
Gilmore Girls;
Monk;
The Unit;
The Practice; and
The Good Wife, among many others. He has also directed the movies for television
Not Until Today;
Homeroom;
Wildest Dreams;
For the Very First Time;
Accidental Meeting; and most recently,
A Christmas Wedding. His writing credits include episodes of
The Mary Tyler Moore Show;
The Bob Newhart Show;
The Tony Randall Show;
Newhart;
The Yellow Rose;
Duet;
Fathers and Sons;
Coming of Age and the telefilm
For the Very First Time.
In 1991, Zinberg won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for his work on Quantum Leap. As a producer, he also received Emmy nominations for Quantum Leap three years in a row from 1990 to 1992 and previously received an Emmy nomination for his work on The Bob Newhart Show.
Michael Zinberg co-chairs the DGA's Television Creative Rights Committee, and has served as a Member and as an Alternate on the DGA's Western Directors Council.