---
name: "Jim McKay"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jim-mckay"
fi1m_id: "jim-mckay"
imdb_id: "nm0570995"
tmdb_id: 205639
wikidata_id: "Q6196851"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "1 January 1962"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 12
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "director"
average_over: 12
updated: "2026-09-24T21:53:13.117470+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."
---

# Jim McKay

## Identity

Jim McKay

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jim-mckay
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jim-mckay
- **IMDb ID:** nm0570995
- **TMDB ID:** 205639
- **Wikidata ID:** Q6196851
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McKay_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6196851, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570995/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/205639

Director. Born 1 January 1962 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 1 January 1962, Englewood, New Jersey, USA
- **Active:** 1990–present
- **Also known as:** Jim Mckay
- **Frequently works with:** [Steve Shill](https://film.one/person/steve-shill.md), [Adam Bernstein](https://film.one/person/adam-bernstein.md), [Alex Zakrzewski](https://film.one/person/alex-zakrzewski.md), [Christopher Misiano](https://film.one/person/christopher-misiano.md), [Dan Attias](https://film.one/person/dan-attias.md), [Daniel Sackheim](https://film.one/person/daniel-sackheim.md), [David Platt](https://film.one/person/david-platt.md), [Gloria Muzio](https://film.one/person/gloria-muzio.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as director, over 12 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 72 (1), 2000s 86 (4), 2010s 86 (5), 2020s 73 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 83 to 78 across 11 titles
- **Score spread:** 8 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 12, Crime 9
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McKay_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6196851, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570995/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/205639

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Wire*](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md) (90), [*Treme*](https://film.one/tv/treme.md) (82), [*Big Love*](https://film.one/tv/big-love.md) (79)
- **Netflix:** [*Breaking Bad*](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md) (91), [*Better Call Saul*](https://film.one/tv/better-call-saul.md) (84)
- **Apple TV:** [*Black Bird*](https://film.one/tv/black-bird.md) (78), [*Smoke*](https://film.one/tv/smoke.md) (68)
- **Disney+:** [*The Americans*](https://film.one/tv/the-americans.md) (91)
- **AMC+:** [*Rectify*](https://film.one/tv/rectify.md) (87)
- **Paramount+:** [*The Good Wife*](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md) (84)
- **Hulu:** [*Law & Order*](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) (72)

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

## Fi1m on Jim McKay

> Jim McKay builds drama from ordinary behaviour and gets convincing performances from non-professional actors. We rate his patient, actor-led approach, with a caveat: in television, assured direction can only do so much for an overextended story.

The fires in *Smoke* (2025) are hard to stop watching. We felt uneasy about their beauty, because cinematographers François Dagenais and Sam McCurdy make the burning attractive in a story about arson. McKay shares directing duties with Joe Chappelle and Kari Skogland, and the series keeps its visual confidence even as the investigation starts to repeat itself. That is a fair place to begin with him: we rate his care with images and performances, but this is also a reminder that good direction cannot make nine episodes necessary.

His independent features began with *Girls Town* (1996), followed by *Our Song* (2000), *Everyday People* (2004) and *Angel Rodriguez* (2005), all of which he wrote and directed. His recurring subjects are working-class and immigrant communities in cities, with drama built through small moments. He frequently casts non-professional actors, putting the emphasis on believable behaviour rather than conspicuous stylistic flourishes. *En el séptimo día* (2018) brought him back to features and to working with non-professionals.

Television became a regular part of his work from 2006, including *The Wire*, *Breaking Bad* and *The Good Wife*. David Simon chose him for *The Wire* because he could build drama from ordinary moments. That makes sense: episodic work needs someone who can serve the writer without treating every scene as an opportunity to advertise himself. The limitation is that McKay's own interests become harder to distinguish from those of the programme he is serving.

In *Smoke*, created by Dennis Lehane, Taron Egerton and Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine give us reasons to stay. The investigation still cannot sustain nine episodes, however forcefully the fires are photographed. Jeremy Stanbridge's production design is carefully finished without telling us enough about the people who occupy these surroundings. McKay directed three episodes, so neither the series' strengths nor its frustrating repetitions belong to him alone. Try the independent features before using his television credits as a viewing list.

## Biography

Jim McKay is an American film and television director, producer and writer. He began directing feature films in the 1990s, including *Girls Town* (1996), *Our Song* (2000) and *Everyday People* (2004), several of which he also wrote or produced.

McKay has directed numerous television series, including episodes of *The Wire* (2002), *Breaking Bad* (2008), *Better Call Saul* (2015), *Mr. Robot* (2015), *The Americans* (2013), *Evil* (2019), *Black Bird* (2022) and *Tulsa King* (2022). He directed three episodes of the 2025 Apple TV+ series *Smoke*.

He received a Rockefeller Fellowship in 2003 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2004, and was awarded the Lincoln Center Martin E. Segal Award in 2005.

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

## On Fi1m (12)

- *Smoke* (2025), Fi1m 68, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/smoke.md)
- *Black Bird* (2022), Fi1m 78, Consulting Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/black-bird.md)
- *Better Call Saul* (2015), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/better-call-saul.md)
- *Mr. Robot* (2015), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/mr-robot.md)
- *Rectify* (2013), Fi1m 87, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/rectify.md)
- *The Americans* (2013), Fi1m 91, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-americans.md)
- *Treme* (2010), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/treme.md)
- *The Good Wife* (2009), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Breaking Bad* (2008), Fi1m 91, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md)
- *Big Love* (2006), Fi1m 79, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/big-love.md)
- *The Wire* (2002), Fi1m 90, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *Law & Order* (1990), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)

## Complete filmography (49)

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

- *Smoke* (2025), series, Director — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/smoke.md)
- *Tulsa King* (2022), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Black Bird* (2022), series, Director, Consulting Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/black-bird.md)
- *American Rust* (2021), series, Director
- *Law & Order: Organized Crime* (2021), series, Director
- *Home Before Dark* (2020), series, Director
- *FBI: Most Wanted* (2020), series, Director, Co-Executive Producer
- *Evil* (2019), series, Director
- *On the Seventh Day* (2018), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Instinct* (2018), series, Director
- *For the People* (2018), series, Director
- *The Good Fight* (2017), series, Director
- *BrainDead* (2016), series, Director
- *Shades of Blue* (2016), series, Director
- *Quantico* (2015), series, Director
- *Mr. Robot* (2015), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/mr-robot.md)
- *Better Call Saul* (2015), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/better-call-saul.md)
- *Bosch* (2015), series, Director, Producer
- *Rectify* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/rectify.md)
- *Zero Hour* (2013), series, Director
- *The Americans* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-americans.md)
- *Mosquita y Mari* (2012), Executive Producer
- *Boss* (2011), series, Director
- *Blue Bloods* (2010), series, Director
- *Treme* (2010), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/treme.md)
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Hung* (2009), series, Director
- *In Treatment* (2008), series, Director
- *Breaking Bad* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md)
- *Gossip Girl* (2007), series, Director
- *Life Support* (2007), Writer
- *Big Love* (2006), series, Director — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/tv/big-love.md)
- *Angel Rodriguez* (2005), Director, Writer
- *Room* (2005), Executive Producer
- *Everyday People* (2004), Director, Writer, Executive Producer
- *Brother to Brother* (2004), Producer
- *The Wire* (2002), series, Director — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *Law & Order: Criminal Intent* (2001), series, Director
- *Stranger Inside* (2001), Producer
- *The Sleepy Time Gal* (2001), Co-Producer
- *Our Song* (2000), Director, Writer, Producer
- *American Movie* (1999), Co-Producer
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, Director
- *Girls Town* (1996), Writer, Director, Editor
- *R.E.M.: Parallel* (1995), Producer, Director
- *R.E.M. - This Film Is On* (1991), Director
- *R.E.M. Tourfilm* (1990), Director
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)
- *Lighthearted Nation* (1989), Director

## Gallery

- ![Jim McKay](https://film.one/media/person/43501/gallery-a6f0900ecc74.jpg) Jim McKay — Image via TMDB
- ![Jim McKay](https://film.one/media/person/43501/gallery-63d53c77f259.jpg) Jim McKay — Image via TMDB

---
© 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/jim-mckay