---
name: "Colm McCarthy"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/colm-mccarthy"
fi1m_id: "colm-mccarthy"
imdb_id: "nm1142073"
tmdb_id: 1231927
wikidata_id: "Q15622802"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "16 February 1973"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 11
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "director"
average_over: 11
updated: "2026-10-07T16:03:49.796350+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."
---

# Colm McCarthy

## Identity

Colm McCarthy

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/colm-mccarthy
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** colm-mccarthy
- **IMDb ID:** nm1142073
- **TMDB ID:** 1231927
- **Wikidata ID:** Q15622802
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colm_McCarthy_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15622802, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1142073/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1231927

Director. Born 16 February 1973 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 16 February 1973, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- **Active:** 2001–present
- **Also known as:** Колм МакКарти
- **Frequently works with:** [Andy Wilson](https://film.one/person/andy-wilson.md), [Euros Lyn](https://film.one/person/euros-lyn.md), [Otto Bathurst](https://film.one/person/otto-bathurst.md), [Russell Lewis](https://film.one/person/russell-lewis.md), [Toby Haynes](https://film.one/person/toby-haynes.md), [Anthony Byrne](https://film.one/person/anthony-byrne.md), [Ashley Way](https://film.one/person/ashley-way.md), [Bill Anderson](https://film.one/person/bill-anderson.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as director, over 11 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 71 (4), 2010s 78 (6), 2020s 47 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 76 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 8 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 10, Crime 7, Mystery 5, Action & Adventure 2, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 2, Action 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $2m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colm_McCarthy_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15622802, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1142073/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1231927

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Spooks*](https://film.one/tv/spooks.md) (77), [*Ripper Street*](https://film.one/tv/ripper-street.md) (74), [*Fightland*](https://film.one/tv/fightland.md) (47)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Endeavour*](https://film.one/tv/endeavour.md) (82), [*The Girl with All the Gifts*](https://film.one/film/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts.md) (75)
- **Netflix:** [*Black Mirror*](https://film.one/tv/black-mirror.md) (81), [*Peaky Blinders*](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md) (77)
- **AMC+:** [*Sherlock*](https://film.one/tv/sherlock.md) (78), [*Doctor Who*](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) (78)
- **Hulu:** [*The Tudors*](https://film.one/tv/the-tudors.md) (65)
- **Pluto TV:** [*Murphy's Law*](https://film.one/tv/murphys-law.md) (63)

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

## Fi1m on Colm McCarthy

> Colm McCarthy gives actors room to make genre stories feel human. We rate that approach, though *Black Mirror* also exposes a danger for this sort of drama: carrying on tormenting people after the point is clear.

In the second series of *Peaky Blinders* (2014), Colm McCarthy’s agitated camera suits the characters’ ambition. He favours long rehearsals and multi-camera coverage so actors can play scenes fully, a practical choice that helps explain his interest in character. We rate that attention to performance, and the effort to make camera movement express something specific. The movement has a job beyond keeping the picture busy.

His first feature, the supernatural horror *Outcast* (2010), which he also co-wrote, sits within a career built largely in television. After soaps and procedurals came the six-episode second series of *Peaky Blinders*, working with writer and creator Steven Knight. That sustained work with an ensemble gives a clearer sense of his strengths than a list of prestigious programme titles. *The Girl with All the Gifts* (2016) brought his interest in people under genre pressure to post-apocalyptic fiction.

We recommend *Black Mirror* (2011), though that is a judgement on the series, not on McCarthy alone. His contribution is *Black Museum* (2017). We were distressed by *Black Mirror* because its performances make the suffering matter even when the premise is absurd. Its straight-faced delivery helps, too: it does not need to keep signalling how strange everything is. The reservation is that it sometimes carries on tightening the screws after the point is clear, leaving us with more suffering but little more to think about.

Our interest in *Black Museum* is in the way its separate stories are organised and made visually distinct. That calls on McCarthy’s concern with how shooting and cutting reflect the emotional tone of a scene. His preference for giving actors time is especially welcome in this kind of material, where an elaborate premise can easily become more interesting than anyone caught inside it. Start with *Black Museum*, but leave some breathing space before another episode.

## Biography

Colm McCarthy is a Scottish television and film director. Born on 16 February 1973 in Edinburgh, he has directed episodes of numerous British drama series, including six episodes of the second series of *Peaky Blinders* (2014), one episode of *Sherlock* (2014), one episode of *Black Mirror* (2017), and episodes of *Doctor Who* (2013) and *Endeavour* (2012–2013).

McCarthy's feature films include *The Girl with All the Gifts* (2016) and *Bagman* (2024). He also directed episodes of *The Tudors* (2008) and *Krypton* (2018), among other series. He began his career directing short films before moving into television.

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

## On Fi1m (11)

- *Fightland* (2026), Fi1m 47, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/fightland.md)
- *The Girl with All the Gifts* (2016), Fi1m 75, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts.md)
- *Endeavour* (2013), Fi1m 82, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/endeavour.md)
- *Peaky Blinders* (2013), Fi1m 77, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md)
- *Ripper Street* (2012), Fi1m 74, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/ripper-street.md)
- *Black Mirror* (2011), Fi1m 81, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/black-mirror.md)
- *Sherlock* (2010), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/sherlock.md)
- *The Tudors* (2007), Fi1m 65, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-tudors.md)
- *Doctor Who* (2005), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md)
- *Spooks* (2002), Fi1m 77, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/spooks.md)
- *Murphy's Law* (2001), Fi1m 63, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/murphys-law.md)

## Complete filmography (29)

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

- *Fightland* (2026), series, Director — Fi1m 47, [page](https://film.one/tv/fightland.md)
- *Young Sherlock* (2026), series, Director
- *Bergerac* (2025), series, Director
- *Curfew* (2024), series, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Bagman* (2024), Director
- *The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself* (2022), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *Lesson 7* (2020), Producer
- *Curfew* (2019), series, Director
- *Krypton* (2018), series, Director, Co-Executive Producer
- *The Girl with All the Gifts* (2016), Director — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts.md)
- *Peaky Blinders* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md)
- *Endeavour* (2013), series, Director, Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/endeavour.md)
- *Ripper Street* (2012), series, Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/ripper-street.md)
- *Black Mirror* (2011), series, Director — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/black-mirror.md)
- *Injustice* (2011), series, Director
- *Outcast* (2010), Director, Writer
- *The Deep* (2010), series, Director
- *Sherlock* (2010), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/sherlock.md)
- *Hunter* (2009), series, Director
- *The Tudors* (2007), series, Director — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-tudors.md)
- *Single-Handed* (2007), series, Director
- *Footballers' Wives: Extra Time* (2005), series, Director
- *Doctor Who* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md)
- *Hustle* (2004), series, Director
- *The Big Bow Wow* (2004), series, Director
- *Baldy McBain* (2004), Director
- *Spooks* (2002), series, Director — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/spooks.md)
- *Murphy's Law* (2001), series, Director — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/murphys-law.md)
- *Dream Team* (1997), series, 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/colm-mccarthy