---
name: "Andy Ackerman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/andy-ackerman"
fi1m_id: "andy-ackerman"
imdb_id: "nm0009953"
tmdb_id: 1213790
wikidata_id: "Q4760341"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "19 September 1956"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 81
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-24T04:48:49.250317+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."
---

# Andy Ackerman

## Identity

Andy Ackerman

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/andy-ackerman
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** andy-ackerman
- **IMDb ID:** nm0009953
- **TMDB ID:** 1213790
- **Wikidata ID:** Q4760341
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Ackerman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4760341, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009953/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1213790

Director and producer. Born 19 September 1956 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 19 September 1956, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Active:** 1982–present
- **Frequently works with:** [James Burrows](https://film.one/person/james-burrows.md), [Alec Berg](https://film.one/person/alec-berg.md), [Andy Cowan](https://film.one/person/andy-cowan.md), [Anne Flett-Giordano](https://film.one/person/anne-flett-giordano.md), [Chuck Lorre](https://film.one/person/chuck-lorre.md), [Dan O'Shannon](https://film.one/person/dan-oshannon.md), [David Angell](https://film.one/person/david-angell.md), [David Isaacs](https://film.one/person/david-isaacs.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 89 (2), 1990s 88 (1), 2000s 70 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 87 to 84 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 5, Family 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Ackerman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4760341, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009953/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1213790

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Seinfeld*](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md) (90)
- **Hulu:** [*Frasier*](https://film.one/tv/frasier.md) (88)
- **Apple TV:** [*Cheers*](https://film.one/tv/cheers.md) (88)
- **HBO Max:** [*Curb Your Enthusiasm*](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md) (84)
- **Peacock:** [*Two and a Half Men*](https://film.one/tv/two-and-a-half-men.md) (55)

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

## Fi1m on Andy Ackerman

> Andy Ackerman makes sitcoms work through pauses, line readings and the way actors play together. We rate that patient craft, though his contribution is often difficult to separate from the writing and performances.

A pause in *Frasier* (1993) can be as funny as the line before it. We laughed because Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce know how long to hold back, giving the writing time to register. Ackerman directed episodes in the early seasons, and that attention to timing is central to his approach elsewhere. We rate him as a careful director of ensemble comedy, alert to the small adjustments that make a line work. The writing and the actors deserve their share of the credit.

His work as a videotape editor on *WKRP in Cincinnati*, from 1979 to 1982, gives some context to that concern with rhythm. He moved into directing on *Cheers* in 1988, then worked on *Frasier*. Taking over as the primary director of *Seinfeld* in 1994 gave him a longer run with one ensemble. There is a useful counterexample to the idea that his job is merely to record people talking: the backwards flat set in *Seinfeld*'s *The Bizarro Jerry*. The staging makes a visual joke within the familiar multi-camera arrangement.

He directed all 88 episodes of *The New Adventures of Old Christine* (2006–10), also serving as executive producer. With creator Kari Lizer and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who had also worked with him on *Seinfeld*, he could refine line readings across an entire series. His method keeps timing and delivery at the centre, with adjustments for each ensemble's voice. We value the willingness to work at that scale: a slightly different reading can matter more to a comedy than a change of camera position.

*Frasier* also shows why timing cannot solve everything: some misunderstandings continue beyond the last good joke. We recommend it warmly, but there are stretches when even these actors are being asked to keep too much going. Ackerman's reputation rests chiefly on conventional multi-camera comedy, and the evidence for an individual style beyond it is limited. That need not prevent us from valuing a director who takes a pause seriously. Start with *Frasier*, and listen to Grammer and Hyde Pierce between the lines.

## Biography

Andy Ackerman is an American television director, producer and script editor. Born Robert Andrew Ackerman in Los Angeles, he graduated from Santa Clara University in 1978. He began his career as a videotape editor on WKRP in Cincinnati (1979–82), for which he won an Emmy Award, and later worked as an assistant editor on Welcome Back, Kotter.

Ackerman replaced Tom Cherones as the primary director of Seinfeld from its sixth season in 1994, directing 89 episodes through 1998. He has directed episodes of Frasier (1993–95) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (from 2000), as well as every episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine. Other series he has directed include Cheers, Wings, Becker, Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men and Santa Clarita Diet. He has received three Primetime Emmy Awards and multiple nominations.

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

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Two and a Half Men* (2003), Fi1m 55, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/two-and-a-half-men.md)
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)
- *Frasier* (1993), Fi1m 88, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/frasier.md)
- *Seinfeld* (1989), Fi1m 90, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)
- *Cheers* (1982), Fi1m 88, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/cheers.md)

## Complete filmography (46)

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

- *Leanne* (2025), series, Director
- *Poppa's House* (2024), series, Director
- *Marlon* (2017), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Santa Clarita Diet* (2017), series, Director
- *Household Name* (2017), Director
- *The Great Indoors* (2016), series, Director
- *Mr. Robinson* (2015), series, Director
- *Grace and Frankie* (2015), series, Director
- *The McCarthys* (2014), series, Director
- *Go On* (2012), series, Director
- *I Hate My Teenage Daughter* (2011), series, Producer
- *Whitney* (2011), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Perfect Couples* (2010), series, Director
- *Eli Stone* (2008), series, Producer
- *Rules of Engagement* (2007), series, Director
- *Happy Hour* (2006), series, Director, Producer
- *The New Adventures of Old Christine* (2006), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Hot Properties* (2005), series, Director
- *Life on a Stick* (2005), series, Director
- *Center of the Universe* (2004), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Listen Up!* (2004), series, Director
- *Come to Papa* (2004), series, Director
- *Two and a Half Men* (2003), series, Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/tv/two-and-a-half-men.md)
- *Andy Richter Controls the Universe* (2002), series, Director, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer
- *Watching Ellie* (2002), series, Director
- *Raising Dad* (2001), series, Director
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)
- *Becker* (1998), series, Director
- *LateLine* (1998), series, Director
- *Jenny* (1997), series, Director
- *Public Morals* (1996), series, Director
- *Suddenly Susan* (1996), series, Director
- *Everybody Loves Raymond* (1996), series, Director
- *Good Company* (1996), series, Director
- *Dweebs* (1995), series, Director
- *Almost Perfect* (1995), series, Director
- *Ellen* (1994), series, Director
- *Frasier* (1993), series, Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/frasier.md)
- *Big Wave Dave's* (1993), series, Director
- *Roc* (1991), series, Director
- *Wings* (1990), series, Director
- *Seinfeld* (1989), series, Director, Producer — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)
- *All Is Forgiven* (1986), series, Editor
- *Cheers* (1982), series, Director, Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/cheers.md)
- *Peep Show*, series, Director
- *The Hill*, Director

---
© 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/andy-ackerman