--- name: "James Manos Jr." canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-manos-jr" fi1m_id: "james-manos-jr" imdb_id: "nm0543612" tmdb_id: 1223737 wikidata_id: "Q1110157" roles: ["Writer"] born: "1 January 2000" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 84 average_as: "writer" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-17T15:40:25.275996+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." --- # James Manos Jr. ## Identity James Manos Jr. - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/james-manos-jr - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** james-manos-jr - **IMDb ID:** nm0543612 - **TMDB ID:** 1223737 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1110157 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Manos_Jr., https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1110157, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0543612/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1223737 Writer. Born 1 January 2000 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Writer - **Born:** 1 January 2000, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA - **Active:** 1999–2006 - **Frequently works with:** [Nick Gomez](https://film.one/person/nick-gomez.md), [Steve Shill](https://film.one/person/steve-shill.md) - **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won · 1 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as writer, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 94 (1), 2000s 79 (2) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 84 to 77 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Crime 3, Drama 3, Action & Adventure 1, Mystery 1 - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Manos_Jr., https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1110157, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0543612/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1223737 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*The Sopranos*](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md) (94) - **Apple TV:** [*Dexter*](https://film.one/tv/dexter.md) (74) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on James Manos Jr. > James Manos Jr. can make a dangerous protagonist engaging company, with humour that leaves us uneasy about our enjoyment. We value that instinct in *Dexter*, though the writing too often explains what the actor has already shown us. In *Dexter* (2006), Michael C. Hall makes a serial killer interesting before the voiceover has finished explaining him. James Manos Jr.'s premise puts Dexter Morgan on both sides of a crime story: he tracks criminals by day and kills people who have escaped justice. The humour makes him engaging company, and the choice of victims makes that company easier to accept. We recommend the programme with reservations, particularly about its eagerness to reassure us. Manos helps create the discomfort, but the writing sometimes takes it away again. Before that came writing and co-producing on the first season of *The Sopranos* (1999), including co-writing *College*. He then contributed stories and served as consulting producer on the first two seasons of *The Shield* (2002). Neither credit makes him responsible for everything that works in those programmes. Developing *Dexter* and writing its pilot gave him greater responsibility for the central character. Establishing the killer's humanity and humour from the start was a strong basis for a series, even if the reassurances went too far. The writing credits also include Melissa Rosenberg, and our complaint about *Dexter* belongs to the programme rather than to Manos alone. Voiceover and flashbacks repeatedly tell us things before we have had time to wonder about them. We were frustrated by those interruptions because Hall had already given us enough reason to keep watching. Editors including Elena Maganini and Scott K. Wallace give the crime plotting a firmer pace than the explanations. The narration's interest in the character's private observations is understandable; the difficulty is knowing when to leave him quiet. Manos was an executive producer on *Dexter*'s first season and then departed, so later developments are a poor test of his writing. His subsequent executive producer credits include *South of Hell* (2015) and *Ice* (2016–2018), while *Dexter: Original Sin* (2024) credits him as original series creator. Those credits tell us little about individual scenes, and we would not pretend otherwise. Start with *Dexter* for the clearest view of his work, with some patience for a voiceover that gets ahead of our curiosity. ## Biography James Manos Jr. is an American screenwriter and television producer. He co-wrote the episode 'College' of the first season of *The Sopranos* (1999) with series creator David Chase, for which they received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Manos developed the Showtime series *Dexter* (2006–2013) for television, adapting Jeff Lindsay's novel *Darkly Dreaming Dexter*, and wrote the pilot episode. He later served as consulting producer on *The Shield* (2002–2003). His other credits include producing the television films *The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom* (1993) and *The Ditchdigger's Daughters* (1997). A trained theatre director, Manos holds a degree in English and theatre from Colgate University and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. *Sources: imdb.com, sopranos.fandom.com, realitytvworld.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Dexter* (2006), Fi1m 74, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/dexter.md) - *The Shield* (2002), Fi1m 84, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-shield.md) - *The Sopranos* (1999), Fi1m 94, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md) ## Complete filmography (7) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Dexter: Original Sin* (2024), series, Original Series Creator - *America Adrift* (2016), Producer - *South of Hell* (2015), series, as Executive Producer - *Dexter* (2006), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/dexter.md) - *The Shield* (2002), series, Story — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-shield.md) - *The Sopranos* (1999), series, Writer — Fi1m 94, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md) - *The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom* (1993), Producer ## Awards ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated - 1999: Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (won), for *The Sopranos* - 1993: Outstanding Television Movie (nominated), for *The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © 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/james-manos-jr