---
name: "Jeremiah Zagar"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jeremiah-zagar"
fi1m_id: "jeremiah-zagar"
imdb_id: "nm1476102"
tmdb_id: 550121
wikidata_id: "Q111678565"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "1 January 1981"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 70
average_as: "director"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-24T23:01:15.334653+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."
---

# Jeremiah Zagar

## Identity

Jeremiah Zagar

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jeremiah-zagar
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jeremiah-zagar
- **IMDb ID:** nm1476102
- **TMDB ID:** 550121
- **Wikidata ID:** Q111678565
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Zagar, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111678565, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1476102/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/550121

Director. Born 1 January 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 1 January 1981, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Active:** 2022–present
- **Average Fi1m score:** 70, as director, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Zagar, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111678565, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1476102/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/550121

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Hustle*](https://film.one/film/hustle.md) (72)
- **HBO Max:** [*Task*](https://film.one/tv/task.md) (67)

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

## Fi1m on Jeremiah Zagar

> Jeremiah Zagar gives troubled families time to seem like people rather than plot devices. We value his patience with actors, though *Task* shows how readily that patience can become a drag on the drama.

In *Task* (2025), the family troubles surrounding Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey get time to matter before the investigation gathers pace. Jeremiah Zagar gives actors room to establish those tensions, even when the crime story needs to get moving. We value that care, but the series asks for more patience than it consistently rewards. Zagar directed four episodes of Brad Ingelsby's crime drama, including the premiere and finale, so he deserves neither all the credit nor all the blame. His strengths and limitations are nevertheless easy to recognise here.

His beginnings in documentaries, including *In a Dream* (2008), are a useful clue to that patience. *We the Animals* (2018), his narrative feature debut, adapted Justin Torres's novel, with natural performances from its young actors among its strengths. Zagar's practice of staying physically close to performers during filming fits this interest in emotional intimacy. *Hustle* (2022) took him into a Philadelphia basketball drama with Adam Sandler, bringing documentary methods to the sports sequences. The move into a larger production did not require him to discard his earlier habits.

*Task* puts those habits to a sterner test because the family scenes must also help sustain a crime series. Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield give the supporting ensemble enough space to prevent the drama shrinking to a contest between Ruffalo and Pelphrey. Keith P. Cunningham's production design supplies a credible, lived-in setting for those domestic tensions. We cared about the families, which made the long wait for the investigation to gather pace more frustrating. With so little humour, there is also less relief between one unhappy household and the next.

Elie Smolkin and Alex Disenhof's cinematography reinforces the sombre mood of *Task*, and its consistency becomes wearing. The actors have done enough to earn a little relief from all that seriousness. We would welcome a brisker story that still allowed Zagar to spend time with the supporting cast. Choose *Task* for the families, and be prepared to wait for the investigation.

## Biography

Jeremiah Zagar is an American film and television director. He grew up in South Philadelphia and made his first documentary, *In a Dream* (2008), about his father, the mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar.

Zagar's narrative feature debut *We the Animals* (2018), adapted from the novel by Justin Torres, premiered at Sundance and received five Independent Spirit Award nominations. He followed it with the Adam Sandler sports drama *Hustle* (2022).

In 2025 he directed four episodes of the HBO series *Task*, created by Brad Ingelsby, and served as an executive producer on the show.

*Sources: imdb.com, phillyvoice.com, deadline.com, themoviedb.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Task* (2025), Fi1m 67, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/task.md)
- *Hustle* (2022), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/hustle.md)

## Complete filmography (19)

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

- *The Scout* (2026), Thanks
- *Task* (2025), series, Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/tv/task.md)
- *It's in the Game: Madden NFL* (2024), series, Executive Producer
- *Monster Factory* (2023), series, Executive Producer
- *Hustle* (2022), Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/hustle.md)
- *The Fix* (2022), series, Executive Producer
- *We the Animals* (2018), Director, Writer, Editor
- *Sidelined* (2018), Executive Producer
- *Voyeur* (2017), Executive Producer
- *Live/Play 2015 - League of Legends* (2015), Director
- *Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart* (2014), Director
- *The Square* (2013), Additional Editor
- *Focus Forward: Short Films, Big Ideas* (2012), Director
- *Always A Fire* (2012), Director, Editor
- *Heart Stop Beating* (2011), Director
- *In a Dream* (2009), Director, Editor
- *Orgasm Inc.* (2009), Editor
- *The Painted Bride*, Director, Writer
- *Nothing to See Here*, Director, Screenplay

---
© 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/jeremiah-zagar