---
name: "Jesse Peretz"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jesse-peretz"
fi1m_id: "jesse-peretz"
imdb_id: "nm0673400"
tmdb_id: 130816
wikidata_id: "Q3177627"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "19 May 1968"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 12
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "director"
average_over: 12
updated: "2026-10-07T15:06:59.267374+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."
---

# Jesse Peretz

## Identity

Jesse Peretz

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jesse-peretz
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jesse-peretz
- **IMDb ID:** nm0673400
- **TMDB ID:** 130816
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3177627
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Peretz, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3177627, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0673400/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/130816

Director and producer. Born 19 May 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 19 May 1968, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- **Active:** 2005–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Craig Zisk](https://film.one/person/craig-zisk.md), [Kim Rosenstock](https://film.one/person/kim-rosenstock.md), [Miguel Arteta](https://film.one/person/miguel-arteta.md), [Alex Hardcastle](https://film.one/person/alex-hardcastle.md), [Anthony Hemingway](https://film.one/person/anthony-hemingway.md), [Claire Scanlon](https://film.one/person/claire-scanlon.md), [Gillian Robespierre](https://film.one/person/gillian-robespierre.md), [Jamie Babbit](https://film.one/person/jamie-babbit.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as director, over 12 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 74 (2), 2010s 75 (7), 2020s 75 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 71 across 12 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 10 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 12, Drama 7, Crime 2, Mystery 1, Romance 1, Sport 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Peretz, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3177627, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0673400/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/130816

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*New Girl*](https://film.one/tv/new-girl.md) (80), [*Only Murders in the Building*](https://film.one/tv/only-murders-in-the-building.md) (76), [*The Mindy Project*](https://film.one/tv/the-mindy-project.md) (72), [*High Fidelity*](https://film.one/tv/high-fidelity-2020.md) (70)
- **Netflix:** [*Orange Is the New Black*](https://film.one/tv/orange-is-the-new-black.md) (79), [*Nobody Wants This*](https://film.one/tv/nobody-wants-this.md) (78), [*GLOW*](https://film.one/tv/glow.md) (78)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Nurse Jackie*](https://film.one/tv/nurse-jackie.md) (72), [*Modern Love*](https://film.one/tv/modern-love.md) (61)
- **HBO Max:** [*Girls*](https://film.one/tv/girls.md) (82)
- **Peacock:** [*The Office*](https://film.one/tv/the-office-2005.md) (77)
- **Pluto TV:** [*Juliet, Naked*](https://film.one/film/juliet-naked.md) (70)

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

## Fi1m on Jesse Peretz

> We rate Jesse Peretz’s feel for character comedy and his attention to performers. *Nobody Wants This* is an agreeable way into his work, though its writing gives the religious differences between its leads too little weight.

In *Nobody Wants This* (2024), Kristen Bell and Adam Brody make the attraction between their characters convincing. We enjoyed their company because the romance feels believable, even when the obstacles need better writing. Jesse Peretz’s work on the series fits his established strength in character comedy and his intimate approach to performance scenes. He is worth following for those qualities, with some care over how much of a series’ success we attribute to one director.

The early features, including *First Love, Last Rites* (1997) and *The Ex* (2006), met with mixed reviews. *Our Idiot Brother* (2011) was the breakthrough that established his reputation for character comedy. His earlier work in music videos informs the technical assurance and intimacy of his approach to performers. Those are useful skills for comedy that depends on our taking an interest in people, particularly when the script gives the actors more to do than deliver jokes.

From the 2010s, television became his main occupation, with sustained collaborations rather than the occasional episode. He directed 18 episodes of Lena Dunham’s *Girls* (2012) and also served as a producer. On *GLOW* (2017), he directed the pilot and further episodes, continuing his association with female-led storytelling. *Juliet, Naked* (2018), an adaptation drawing on his music-industry background, continued the feature work alongside television. The length of his involvement in *Girls* makes that collaboration particularly important when considering his work.

*Nobody Wants This* also makes clear what an appealing cast cannot fix. The supporting players are funny, but the writing makes too little of the religious differences between the leads. We want those difficulties explored more fully; the romance would be stronger if the script gave the couple’s differences as much attention as their attraction. That is a meaningful limitation, though Bell and Brody keep the series enjoyable. Choose it for an evening of romantic comedy, with modest expectations of how thoroughly it will examine what keeps the pair apart.

## Biography

Jesse Peretz is an American film and television director and former musician. Born on 19 May 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he was a founding member and bassist of the rock band The Lemonheads, formed in 1986 while he was at Harvard University. He left the band before its major success but continued as its photographer and later directed music videos for the group and others, including the Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly", for which he won a Grammy Award.

Peretz's feature films as director include *First Love, Last Rites* (1997), *The Château* (2001), *The Ex* (2006), *Our Idiot Brother* (2011) and *Juliet, Naked* (2018). In television he has directed episodes of series including *Girls*, *GLOW*, *The Summer I Turned Pretty*, *City on Fire* and *Nobody Wants This* (2024–). He has also worked as a producer on several shows.

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

## On Fi1m (12)

- *Nobody Wants This* (2024), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/nobody-wants-this.md)
- *Only Murders in the Building* (2021), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/only-murders-in-the-building.md)
- *High Fidelity* (2020), Fi1m 70, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/high-fidelity-2020.md)
- *Modern Love* (2019), Fi1m 61, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/modern-love.md)
- *Juliet, Naked* (2018), Fi1m 70, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/juliet-naked.md)
- *GLOW* (2017), Fi1m 78, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/glow.md)
- *Orange Is the New Black* (2013), Fi1m 79, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/orange-is-the-new-black.md)
- *Girls* (2012), Fi1m 82, Director, Producer, Co-Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/girls.md)
- *The Mindy Project* (2012), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mindy-project.md)
- *New Girl* (2011), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/new-girl.md)
- *Nurse Jackie* (2009), Fi1m 72, Supervising Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/nurse-jackie.md)
- *The Office* (2005), Fi1m 77, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-office-2005.md)

## Complete filmography (27)

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

- *Love Story* (2026), series, Director
- *Nobody Wants This* (2024), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/nobody-wants-this.md)
- *The Girls on the Bus* (2024), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *City on Fire* (2023), series, Director
- *The Summer I Turned Pretty* (2022), series, Director
- *As We See It* (2022), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *Only Murders in the Building* (2021), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/only-murders-in-the-building.md)
- *Teenage Bounty Hunters* (2020), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *High Fidelity* (2020), series, Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/high-fidelity-2020.md)
- *Modern Love* (2019), series, Director — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/tv/modern-love.md)
- *Juliet, Naked* (2018), Director — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/juliet-naked.md)
- *GLOW* (2017), series, Executive Producer, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/glow.md)
- *Divorce* (2016), series, Director
- *Orange Is the New Black* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/tv/orange-is-the-new-black.md)
- *The Mindy Project* (2012), series, Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mindy-project.md)
- *Girls* (2012), series, Director, Co-Executive Producer, Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/girls.md)
- *Bent* (2012), series, Director
- *American Horror Story* (2011), series, Director
- *New Girl* (2011), series, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/new-girl.md)
- *Our Idiot Brother* (2011), Executive Producer, Director, Story
- *Sabaya* (2009), series, Director
- *Nurse Jackie* (2009), series, Director, Supervising Producer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/nurse-jackie.md)
- *Who I Am* (2007), Director
- *The Ex* (2006), Director
- *The Office* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-office-2005.md)
- *The Château* (2001), Director, Writer
- *First Love, Last Rites* (1998), Director, Writer

---
© 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/jesse-peretz