---
name: "Alec Berg"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/alec-berg"
fi1m_id: "alec-berg"
imdb_id: "nm0073688"
tmdb_id: 57406
wikidata_id: "Q4714077"
roles: ["Writer","Director","Producer"]
born: "28 August 1969"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-10-05T03:24:21.333530+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Alec Berg

## Identity

Alec Berg

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/alec-berg
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** alec-berg
- **IMDb ID:** nm0073688
- **TMDB ID:** 57406
- **Wikidata ID:** Q4714077
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Berg, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4714077, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0073688/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57406

Writer and director. Born 28 August 1969 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S..

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Director, Producer
- **Born:** 28 August 1969, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
- **Active:** 1989–2018
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 4 directing, 1 writing, 1 crew
- **Frequently works with:** [David Mandel](https://film.one/person/david-mandel.md), [Jeff Schaffer](https://film.one/person/jeff-schaffer.md), [Larry Charles](https://film.one/person/larry-charles.md), [Andy Ackerman](https://film.one/person/andy-ackerman.md), [Dan O'Keefe](https://film.one/person/dan-okeefe.md), [David Steinberg](https://film.one/person/david-steinberg.md), [Donick Cary](https://film.one/person/donick-cary.md), [Eric Appel](https://film.one/person/eric-appel.md)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 90 (1), 2000s 62 (2), 2010s 82 (3)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Berg, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4714077, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0073688/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57406

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Barry*](https://film.one/tv/barry.md) (85), [*Curb Your Enthusiasm*](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md) (84), [*Silicon Valley*](https://film.one/tv/silicon-valley.md) (82)
- **Netflix:** [*Seinfeld*](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md) (90)
- **Disney+:** [*New Girl*](https://film.one/tv/new-girl.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Alec Berg

> Alec Berg builds comedies around small decisions that cause increasingly awkward problems. We rate his television work highly, though the careful plotting can become repetitive when a series runs for years.

The founders in *Silicon Valley* (2014) keep promising to make the world a better place. Berg and his fellow writers let the claim sound foolish without adding a punchline. He is particularly good at giving foolishness a convincing procedure, so that a ridiculous problem receives the same attention as a sensible one. His insistence on research helps. The technical details are treated properly, and that makes the silliness funnier.

He joined *Seinfeld* (1989) for its final four seasons as a writer, and its intricate plotting remains a useful starting point for understanding his work. Small decisions grow into problems that the characters can no longer manage. He co-wrote and co-directed *EuroTrip* (2004), but we would introduce him through his television work. On *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), he contributed stories and directed episodes, working within an outline-led approach to comedy. The repeated disputes can wear us down, but the patience with which the supporting cast lets an argument develop is worth noticing.

As co-showrunner with Mike Judge on *Silicon Valley*, Berg had room to develop longer stories while keeping individual episodes satisfying. Thomas Middleditch makes Richard Hendricks's discomfort worth following even when the plot starts to look familiar. Yet the programme repeatedly returns to the same plot, and later seasons suffer for it. The jokes remain sharp enough for us to recommend it, even when the season's broad shape has become predictable.

With *Barry* (2018), co-created with Bill Hader, Berg helped make a comedy willing to become much darker than its opening premise. We were unsettled by Hader's barely moving face, because the hitman who enters an acting class seems unable to perform the terrible things he can do. Hader deserves much of the credit, but Berg's practice of allowing improvisation within a firm structure also matters: the actors have room to make these people difficult. Henry Winkler's Gene Cousineau sells his method to students who cannot afford it, and the performance works without making him particularly likeable. Start with *Barry*, but expect fewer laughs as it goes on.

## Biography

Alec Berg is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He wrote for the final four seasons of the sitcom *Seinfeld* (1989) and has directed episodes and contributed stories to *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000).

Berg graduated from Harvard University, where he wrote for *The Harvard Lampoon*. He co-created the series *Barry* (2018) with Bill Hader and has served as executive producer and writer on *Silicon Valley* (2014). His film credits include co-writing *EuroTrip* (2004), *The Dictator* (2012) and *The Cat in the Hat* (2003).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

### Directed (4)

- *Barry* (2018), Fi1m 85, Director, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/barry.md)
- *Silicon Valley* (2014), Fi1m 82, Director, Executive Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/silicon-valley.md)
- *New Girl* (2011), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/new-girl.md)
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), Fi1m 84, Executive Producer, Director, Story, Consulting Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)

### Wrote (1) — the average rests on these

- *Seinfeld* (1989), Fi1m 90, Writer, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)

### Crew (1)

- *Shark Tale* (2004), Fi1m 40, Additional Dialogue — [page](https://film.one/film/shark-tale.md)

## Complete filmography (15)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Barry* (2018), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Director, Creator — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/tv/barry.md)
- *The Big Sick* (2017), Thanks
- *Silicon Valley* (2014), series, Director, Writer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/silicon-valley.md)
- *Clear History* (2013), Writer, Producer
- *The Dictator* (2012), Screenplay, Producer
- *New Girl* (2011), series, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/new-girl.md)
- *Shark Tale* (2004), Additional Dialogue — Fi1m 40, [page](https://film.one/film/shark-tale.md)
- *EuroTrip* (2004), Producer, Writer, Director
- *The Cat in the Hat* (2003), Screenplay
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), series, Executive Producer, Director, Consulting Producer, Story — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)
- *It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World* (2000), Screenplay
- *Best Laid Plans* (1999), as Phone Guy No. 1
- *Seinfeld* (1989), series, Executive Producer, Writer — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)
- *Automated Trucking*, Producer, Story
- *Untitled How the Grinch Stole Christmas Sequel*, Screenplay

## Gallery

- ![Alec Berg](https://film.one/media/person/61640/gallery-5fc01970d579.jpg) Alec Berg — Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Alec_Berg_at_SXSW_2016.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- !["SILICON VALLEY: Making the World a Better Place", a panel at SXSW 2016 starring the cast and creators of Silicon Valley (TV series). From left to right, pictur](https://film.one/media/person/61640/gallery-13c94eddfafa.jpg) "SILICON VALLEY: Making the World a Better Place", a panel at SXSW 2016 starring the cast and creators of Silicon Valley (TV series). From left to right, pictur — Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/SXSW_2016_-_Silicon_Valley_panel_%2825127899203%29.jpg/1280px-SXSW_2016_-_Silicon_Valley_panel_%2825127899203%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- !["SILICON VALLEY: Making the World a Better Place", a panel starring the cast and creators of Silicon Valley (TV series). From left to right, pictured is Steven  (2016)](https://film.one/media/person/61640/gallery-568a35a0fdfd.jpg) "SILICON VALLEY: Making the World a Better Place", a panel starring the cast and creators of Silicon Valley (TV series). From left to right, pictured is Steven  (2016) — Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/SXSW_2016_-_Silicon_Valley_panel_%2825633530442%29.jpg/1280px-SXSW_2016_-_Silicon_Valley_panel_%2825633530442%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- !["SILICON VALLEY: Making the World a Better Place", a panel at SXSW 2016 starring the cast and creators of Silicon Valley (TV series). From left to right, pictur](https://film.one/media/person/61640/gallery-ed2418267491.jpg) "SILICON VALLEY: Making the World a Better Place", a panel at SXSW 2016 starring the cast and creators of Silicon Valley (TV series). From left to right, pictur — Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/SXSW_2016_-_Silicon_Valley_panel_%2825754527265%29.jpg/1280px-SXSW_2016_-_Silicon_Valley_panel_%2825754527265%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Alec Berg](https://film.one/media/person/61640/gallery-86465989e5f1.jpg) Alec Berg — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/alec-berg