On June 29, DGA members were able to learn more about the role of the Producer/Director in episodic television during the Special Projects Committee’s virtual event, Transitioning to Producer/Director: Going from Guest to Family.
Following a welcome from Committee Chair Jeremy Kagan, Committee Member Jay Torres (Mr. Mom), moderated a panel discussion with recent grads to the Producer/Director ranks — Kabir Akhtar (The Sex Lives of College Girls), DeMane Davis (Clarice) and Nina Lopez-Corrado (A Million Little Things) — that provided an honest talk on what the biggest differences are from being a guest Director, what surprised them the most about their new role and, more importantly, how they learned how to support and ensure the success of the guest Director.
After thanking the panelists for joining the event from all over the country, Torres jumped right into the heart of the discussion, saying, “You all have been moving from Guest Director to Producer/Director. That’s the title — how we go from guest to family. So, let's talk about your first foray into episodic television.”
Following that theme, Lopez-Corrado spoke about getting her first Producer/Director job on A Million Little Things. “I was doing a lot of superhero stuff and a lot of procedurals,” she recalled. “Then I did an episode and really hit it off with [Creator/Executive Producer] DJ Nash and the Producing Director, James Griffiths. While I was prepping, he said, ‘I think you would be perfect as the Producing Director on the show.’ I was like, ‘I think you should watch my episode first before you offer me this job.’ A couple months later, when they got their season two pick-up, James called me and so did DJ and they were like, ‘Do you want the job?’ I was so excited because I really enjoyed doing serialized drama. So, I went into it how my mentor Chris Long did it, which was kind of full-on and there all the time. I don’t know how to do it any other way.”
Akhtar shared his advice on working on a comedy series. “I think one thing that happens in comedy is a lot of times when Directors are hired, part of that is like a comedy sensibility that meshes with the show,” he said. “As far as seeing jokes over and over, having been an editor for so long, I can watch something 100 times and it’s brand new to me every time. I’m simultaneously in it and watching it, which I think is very helpful to have on set. It’s really just being an ally to what the show is. Make one of these shows but make it as much yours as you can and bring cool ideas. Be contributing and collaborating.”
Davis pointed out the importance of making the set a comfortable place for the crew to be able to assist the Director. “I think that everyone should be seen and heard and that’s something that I practice as a Director, as a Producer and as a human,” she said. “I like to just go around and talk to people and ask how they’re doing. That’s when you find out everything. I listen to what they say, try to find out what they need and try to facilitate it the best that I can. A lot of times when I’m on set, the crew and cast are my family. It’s really about looking someone in the eyes and finding out how they’re holding up. It just helps to grease up the whole machine so everyone feels like they can relax and then I just step back and watch.”
See video from this event in the gallery below.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
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 Kabir Akhtar
Akhtar is an Emmy-winning director-editor who won the award in 2016 for editing the pilot of the musical series, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend — and later became a director/producer on that show. He is currently the supervising Director/Producer on Mindy Kaling's upcoming HBO Max series, The Sex Lives of College Girls. His other directorial credits include episodes of episodes of Never Have I Ever, BH 90210, The Unicorn, Mumbai Calling, Saved by the Bell, Grown-ish, Arrested Development, New Girl, the pilot episode of 8th & Ocean and the relaunched edition of Unsolved Mysteries. He was also nominated for the 2020 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs for his “Opening Night” episode of the series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Akhtar has been a DGA member since 2005 and serves as a co-chair of the Asian American Committee.
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 DeMane Davis
Davis recently wrapped her duties as Co-Executive Producer on Clarice, the television sequel to Jonathan Demme’s DGA and Academy Award-winning film, The Silence of the Lambs. Some of her other directorial credits include the indie feature, Lift; episodes of Queen Sugar — where she also worked as Producing Director; the three-time NAACP Image Award-winning series, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker; the limited series, The Red Line; and episodes of For the People, How to Get Away with Murder and Station 19. She has also directed over seventy commercials. Davis has been a DGA member since 2017.
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 Nina Lopez-Corrado
Lopez-Corrado is the Producing Director on ABC’s hit series, A Million Little Things, which is currently in its third season. She was also a Producer on over 150 episodes of the CBS series, The Mentalist, where she also directed episodes and served as the series’ primary Second Unit Director. An alumni member of the WBTV Directors Workshop, Lopez-Corrado has directed episodes of Supernatural, The Flash, Frequency, Stitchers, NCIS: New Orleans, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Runaways, The Gifted, Manifest, The Purge, Salvation, S.W.A.T., Bull, and Once Upon A Time. She has been a DGA member since 2014.
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 Jay Torres (moderator)
Torres was instrumental in helping the platform Vudu build their original content programming, which led to an adaption of Stan Dragoti’s feature film Mr. Mom as a streaming series where he served as Executive Producer/Showrunner. His other directorial credits include episodes of CeReality, Life, Desperate Housewives and Alias; as well as the shorts Dead End, The Lost Archives of Quincy Taylor and Learning to Fly. In addition to his episodic directing credits, Torres has served as a Second Unit Director for series such as Night Stalker and Kingpin; and has directed commercials for Walmart, Footlocker/Reebok, Skechers, Buick, Texaco, DirecTV, Universal Studios, and the LA Times. A DGA member since 1999, Torres was elected to two terms as a Co-Chair of the Latino Committee, and currently serves on the Special Projects Committee. |
About The Special Projects Committee
Special Projects is the educational and cultural arm of the Directors Guild of America, providing its members opportunities for creative exchange to advance their craft and celebrate the achievements of directors and their teams.