---
name: "Kim Manners"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kim-manners"
fi1m_id: "kim-manners"
imdb_id: "nm0543129"
tmdb_id: 157892
wikidata_id: "Q463617"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "13 January 1951"
died: "25 January 2009"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "director"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-23T12:12:51.902140+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."
---

# Kim Manners

## Identity

Kim Manners

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/kim-manners
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** kim-manners
- **IMDb ID:** nm0543129
- **TMDB ID:** 157892
- **Wikidata ID:** Q463617
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Manners, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463617, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0543129/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/157892

Director. Born 13 January 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 25 January 2009.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 13 January 1951, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 25 January 2009
- **Active:** 1987–2005
- **Frequently works with:** [Cliff Bole](https://film.one/person/cliff-bole.md), [David Nutter](https://film.one/person/david-nutter.md), [James L. Conway](https://film.one/person/james-l-conway.md), [John Shiban](https://film.one/person/john-shiban.md), [Kevin Hooks](https://film.one/person/kevin-hooks.md), [Larry Shaw](https://film.one/person/larry-shaw.md), [Mike Vejar](https://film.one/person/michael-vejar.md), [Paul Shapiro](https://film.one/person/paul-shapiro.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as director, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 84 (1), 1990s 84 (1), 2000s 77 (1)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Mystery 3, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 3, Drama 2, Action & Adventure 1, Crime 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Manners, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463617, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0543129/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/157892

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The X-Files*](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md) (84)
- **Paramount+:** [*Star Trek: The Next Generation*](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-the-next-generation.md) (84)
- **Peacock:** [*Supernatural*](https://film.one/tv/supernatural.md) (77)

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

## Fi1m on Kim Manners

> Kim Manners made fantastical television convincing by concentrating on the people caught up in it. We rate his contribution to *The X-Files* highly: tight close-ups, believable performances and suspense maintained across a long run.

Manners liked a close-up so tight that the top of the actor's head disappeared from the frame. It is an effective way of keeping our attention on a person when the story has wandered into the improbable. The risk is that such framing starts to insist on a feeling, but his concern with believable performances gave it a purpose. His contribution to *The X-Files* (1993) matters: a programme built around unexplained events needs someone who can make the people confronting them convincing.

His route into that work ran through episodic television, beginning with his directing debut on *Charlie's Angels* in 1978. Seven episodes of *The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.* (1993) gave him work he regarded as a creative stretch. He joined *The X-Files* in its second series in 1995 and went on to direct 52 episodes. That volume matters because maintaining suspense and strong performances across a long-running programme was central to his strength.

We enjoyed the company of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in *The X-Files* enough to want another long evening of unexplained events. Manners's attention to believable performances suited a programme so dependent on its leads. Credit needs sharing with creator-producer Chris Carter, fellow director-producer Rob Bowman and writers James Wong and Glen Morgan. Our reservation is the series' fondness for secrecy, which sometimes tries our patience. There is only so much a director can do when a programme keeps withholding answers.

He took that experience to *Supernatural* (2005), directing 16 episodes and serving as executive producer. His strengths there were familiar: strong performances and the ability to build suspense. His work rewards attention to how television is made one episode at a time, rather than just to who devised the programme. Start with his episodes of *The X-Files*, and watch how much attention he gives the person faced with the impossible.

## Biography

Kim Manners (13 January 1951 – 25 January 2009) was an American television director and producer. Raised in a show business family, his father Sam Manners had production credits on series including *The Wild Wild West* and *Route 66*. Manners began his career as an assistant director and unit production manager before making his directorial debut in 1978 on an episode of *Charlie's Angels*.

He directed episodes of numerous series including *21 Jump Street*, *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, *Baywatch*, *Mission: Impossible* and *The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.* Manners joined *The X-Files* in its second season as a producer and director, ultimately directing 52 episodes and serving as co-executive producer. The production team received four Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. After the series ended in 2002 he worked as executive producer and director on *Supernatural* until his death from lung cancer.

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

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Supernatural* (2005), Fi1m 77, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/supernatural.md)
- *The X-Files* (1993), Fi1m 84, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)
- *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (1987), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-the-next-generation.md)

## Complete filmography (35)

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

- *Breaking Bad* (2008), series, In Memory Of — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md)
- *Over There* (2005), series, Director
- *Supernatural* (2005), series, Director, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/supernatural.md)
- *Empire* (2005), series, Director
- *Harsh Realm* (1999), series, Director
- *M.A.N.T.I.S.* (1994), series, Director
- *Greyhounds* (1994), Director
- *The X-Files* (1993), series, Director, Co-Executive Producer, Producer, Supervising Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)
- *The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.* (1993), series, Director
- *The Hat Squad* (1992), series, Director
- *The Commish* (1991), series, Director
- *Broken Badges* (1990), series, Director
- *K-9000* (1990), Director
- *Booker* (1989), series, Director
- *Baywatch* (1989), series, Director
- *Paradise* (1988), series, Director
- *Mission: Impossible* (1988), series, Director
- *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (1987), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-the-next-generation.md)
- *J.J. Starbuck* (1987), series, Director
- *Wiseguy* (1987), series, Director
- *21 Jump Street* (1987), series, Director
- *Sidekicks* (1986), series, Director
- *Sledge Hammer!* (1986), series, Director
- *Stingray* (1985), series, Director
- *Street Hawk* (1985), series, Director
- *Finder of Lost Loves* (1984), series, Director
- *Hunter* (1984), series, Director
- *Hawaiian Heat* (1984), series, Director
- *Automan* (1983), series, Director
- *Hardcastle and McCormick* (1983), series, Director
- *Matt Houston* (1982), series, Director
- *Simon & Simon* (1981), series, Director
- *The Pride of Jesse Hallam* (1981), Production Manager, Second Unit Director
- *Charlie's Angels* (1976), series, Director
- *Valdez Is Coming* (1971), Second Assistant Director

---
© 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/kim-manners