Alan Poul’s television work puts actors and the tone of an ensemble first. We value that care, especially in Six Feet Under, without mistaking a shared achievement for the work of a single director.
Fi1m perspective
In Six Feet Under (2001), the Fishers remain exhausting even when they are funny. We laughed without feeling that their grief had been belittled, because the ensemble gives the comedy as much care as the pain. Poul’s contribution deserves recognition, with some care over the credit: he made his directing debut on the series, directed four episodes and served as executive producer across all five seasons. We recommend it for the performances and the humour, while admitting that its stretches of brooding sometimes ask for more patience than they earn.
His route to that work ran through producing, including Tales of the City (1993), the adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s writing. On Six Feet Under, he helped bring in directors from independent cinema, a useful reminder that his influence extended beyond the episodes he directed. His preference for character-led ensembles makes the continuity of tone between episodes a particular responsibility. Returning to direct three episodes of Tales of the City (2019) also continued a sustained involvement with stories featuring LGBTQ+ characters.
The Newsroom (2012), written and run by Aaron Sorkin, gave Poul long, dialogue-heavy scenes to handle across seven episodes. He used multiple cameras and roving shots while keeping the performances central. The useful skill here is letting us follow a complicated exchange without making the actors seem secondary to the machinery. That suits a director whose chief interest is the people speaking, though it leaves him dependent on what the writers give them to say.
His feature debut, The Back-Up Plan (2010), a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez, received largely negative reviews. His later television credits include The Eddy (2020) and Tokyo Vice (2022). On the latter, a Japan-set crime drama, his fluency in Japanese also informs his work. Start with Six Feet Under, accepting that its patience with troubled people sometimes outlasts ours.
Biography
Alan Mark Poul (born 1 May 1954) is an American film and television producer and director. He graduated from Yale University with a degree in Japanese language and literature.
Poul began his career as a producer on films including Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) and Black Rain (1989). He later moved into television, serving as executive producer on Tales of the City (1993) and its sequels, and on Six Feet Under (2001–2005), where he also directed four episodes. He has directed episodes of Rome (2005), Big Love (2006), The Newsroom (2012), Tokyo Vice (2022) and other series, and made his feature directorial debut with The Back-Up Plan (2010).
Poul has received multiple Emmy nominations and other industry awards, including a News & Documentary Emmy for The Pacific Century.
