--- name: "Elliot Hegarty" canonical: "https://film.one/person/elliot-hegarty" fi1m_id: "elliot-hegarty" imdb_id: "nm0373673" tmdb_id: 1380821 wikidata_id: "Q5365490" roles: ["Director"] born: "5 June 1971" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 79 average_as: "director" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-23T23:00:58.144668+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." --- # Elliot Hegarty ## Identity Elliot Hegarty - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/elliot-hegarty - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** elliot-hegarty - **IMDb ID:** nm0373673 - **TMDB ID:** 1380821 - **Wikidata ID:** Q5365490 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Hegarty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5365490, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0373673/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1380821 Director. Born 5 June 1971 in London, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 5 June 1971, London, UK - **Active:** 2009–present - **Frequently works with:** [Jack Burditt](https://film.one/person/jack-burditt.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as director, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Hegarty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5365490, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0373673/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1380821 ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Rivals*](https://film.one/tv/rivals.md) (80) - **Apple TV:** [*Ted Lasso*](https://film.one/tv/ted-lasso.md) (78) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Elliot Hegarty > We rate Elliot Hegarty’s willingness to let comic actors be broad and stay with a ridiculous joke. *Rivals* makes the case for that approach, even when its crowded plotting starts to wear. The naked tennis in *Rivals* (2024) is allowed to remain ridiculous for as long as the joke needs. We laughed because the scene does not hurry towards something more respectable. That confidence is worth looking for in Elliot Hegarty’s work, though here it belongs to a directing team. Alexandra Brodski, Jamie Jay Johnson and Dee Koppang O’Leary share the credit with him. The ensemble takes the nonsense seriously enough for it to work, without requiring us to take it seriously too. There is a substantial stretch of comedy directing behind that assurance. His television work runs from *Star Stories* (2006) through 21 episodes of *The Middle* (2009), with sustained work in both British comedy and American sitcoms. With Jack Whitehall, he directed *Bad Education* (2012) and its 2015 film adaptation, taking a television collaboration into a feature. The move towards comedy-drama includes two episodes of *Ted Lasso* (2020) and two seasons of *Cheaters* (2022). That experience matters when considering a programme whose pleasures depend so heavily on actors working comfortably together. Hegarty was lead director and executive producer on *Rivals*, so crediting the wider team need not mean understating his contribution. David Tennant and the ensemble make the indulgence worthwhile, and the direction gives them room to play broadly. We prefer this confidence to comedy that keeps signalling embarrassment about its own jokes. The sexual comedy is particularly well served by that freedom: it asks for commitment from the performers, and gets it. The reservation is that *Rivals* sometimes gives us too much plotting to enjoy the company properly. We would prefer fewer complications and more space for the performers, though the crowded storytelling never quite exhausts the pleasure of watching them. Our enthusiasm for Hegarty rests on that comic assurance; the series gives us less reason to praise its pacing. Start with *Rivals* if an unabashedly adult soap appeals, and allow for stretches when keeping up with the plot becomes the evening’s less enjoyable task. Fi1m ## Biography Elliot Hegarty is a British film and television director. He was born in London in 1971 and studied politics at Nottingham University before training at the NYU Film School and the London Film School. Hegarty has directed episodes of *Ted Lasso* (2020) for Apple TV+ and served as lead director and executive producer on the first season of *Rivals* (2024) for Disney+. His other credits include *Trying* (2020), *Lovesick* (2014), *Bad Education* (2012), *The Middle* (2009), *black-ish* (2014) and the feature films *The Bad Education Movie* (2015) and *County Kilburn* (2000), which he also wrote. He has received an International Emmy Award for *Rivals* and has been nominated for BAFTA Awards. He has also directed commercials and worked extensively in both British and American television. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, elliothegarty.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Rivals* (2024), Fi1m 80, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/rivals.md) - *Ted Lasso* (2020), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/ted-lasso.md) ## Complete filmography (22) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Rivals* (2024), series, Executive Producer, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/rivals.md) - *Cheaters* (2022), series, Director - *Ted Lasso* (2020), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/ted-lasso.md) - *Trying* (2020), series, Director - *Cinderella: After Ever After* (2019), Director - *The Midnight Gang* (2018), Director - *Grandpa's Great Escape* (2018), Director - *The Real O'Neals* (2016), series, Director - *The Bad Education Movie* (2015), Director - *Lovesick* (2014), series, Director - *black-ish* (2014), series, Director - *Bad Education: Christmas Special* (2013), Director - *Super Fun Night* (2013), series, Director - *Bad Education* (2012), series, Director - *Mr. Sunshine* (2011), series, Director - *Lizzie and Sarah* (2010), Director - *The Middle* (2009), series, Director - *FM* (2009), series, Director - *Comedy Showcase* (2007), series, Director - *Roman's Empire* (2007), series, Director - *County Kilburn* (2000), Director - *Charmer*, series, Director, Executive Producer --- © 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/elliot-hegarty