---
name: "Lesli Linka Glatter"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lesli-linka-glatter"
fi1m_id: "lesli-linka-glatter"
imdb_id: "nm0322128"
tmdb_id: 15798
wikidata_id: "Q460765"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "26 July 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 22
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "director"
average_over: 21
updated: "2026-10-13T21:40:42.953320+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."
---

# Lesli Linka Glatter

## Identity

Lesli Linka Glatter

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lesli-linka-glatter
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** lesli-linka-glatter
- **IMDb ID:** nm0322128
- **TMDB ID:** 15798
- **Wikidata ID:** Q460765
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesli_Linka_Glatter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q460765, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322128/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15798

Director and producer. Born 26 July 1953 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 26 July 1953, Dallas, Texas, USA
- **Active:** 1990–present
- **Also known as:** Leslie Linka Glatter, Lesli Glatter
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 22: 21 directing, 1 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Christopher Misiano](https://film.one/person/christopher-misiano.md), [Dan Attias](https://film.one/person/dan-attias.md), [Nelson McCormick](https://film.one/person/nelson-mccormick.md), [Paris Barclay](https://film.one/person/paris-barclay.md), [Clark Johnson](https://film.one/person/clark-johnson.md), [Daniel Sackheim](https://film.one/person/daniel-sackheim.md), [Elodie Keene](https://film.one/person/elodie-keene.md), [Eric Laneuville](https://film.one/person/eric-laneuville.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as director, over 21 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 86 (5), 2000s 76 (9), 2010s 78 (6), 2020s 56 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 74 across 19 titles
- **Score spread:** 10 at 80+, 10 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 21, Crime 5, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 4, Comedy 3, Mystery 3, Action & Adventure 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesli_Linka_Glatter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q460765, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322128/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15798

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*ER*](https://film.one/tv/er.md) (88), [*Justified*](https://film.one/tv/justified.md) (87), [*Gilmore Girls*](https://film.one/tv/gilmore-girls.md) (81), [*Homeland*](https://film.one/tv/homeland.md) (78), [*House*](https://film.one/tv/house-2004.md) (78)
- **Paramount+:** [*Freaks and Geeks*](https://film.one/tv/freaks-and-geeks.md) (88), [*The Good Wife*](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md) (84), [*Weeds*](https://film.one/tv/weeds.md) (76)
- **HBO Max:** [*The Leftovers*](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md) (87), [*The West Wing*](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md) (86)
- **AMC+:** [*Mad Men*](https://film.one/tv/mad-men.md) (88)
- **Apple TV:** [*Twin Peaks*](https://film.one/tv/twin-peaks.md) (86)

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

## Fi1m on Lesli Linka Glatter

> Lesli Linka Glatter knows how to make two people talking hold our attention. We rate her as a television director who serves actors and scripts without making the staging feel like an announcement of her presence.

In *Twin Peaks* (1990), jealousy is funny until it hurts, and the strange things happening around it do not make that hurt any less recognisable. We were more moved than we expected by its soap-opera emotions, with Kyle MacLachlan’s steadiness giving us someone to hold on to. Lesli Linka Glatter directed four episodes under David Lynch, so it would be careless to hand her sole credit for the programme’s changes of mood. But it is a useful place to begin with a director who pays close attention to what characters want. We rate that skill, even when it is harder to isolate than an extravagant camera movement.

Her early television work included Steven Spielberg’s *Amazing Stories* (1985–87), before the features *Now and Then* (1995) and *The Proposition* (1998). Those films received mixed reviews, and further theatrical work did not follow. The more telling step was the pilot of *Gilmore Girls* (2000), made with creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, where Glatter helped establish the programme’s tone and style. That matters when judging her: she has helped decide how a series should work, as well as working within somebody else’s decisions.

The practical strengths are clearest in *Homeland*’s episode “Q&A” (2012), where simple framing sustains the pressure of an interrogation. Glatter’s preparation centres on what characters want and what they leave unsaid, and she remains open to collaborators changing the plan. Her dance background informs the blocking and camera movement, particularly when conversation has to keep moving. Across 25 episodes of *Homeland*, working with showrunner Alex Gansa, she had room to develop that attention over a longer stretch. We value that clarity, especially when the dialogue has to carry the scene.

In *Love & Death* (2023), Glatter directed five episodes, with the emphasis again on actors’ emotional depth and motivation. That is where we would look for her contribution; the programme need not resemble her previous work for the directing to be worth noticing. Our caveat about *Twin Peaks* concerns the series as a whole: its patience sometimes becomes drift. We would start there, provided a little wandering does not spoil an evening.

## Biography

Lesli Linka Glatter is an American film and television director. Born in Dallas, Texas, she began her career as a dancer and choreographer before training through the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women.

Her first film, the short *Tales of Meeting and Parting* (1985), received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. She directed episodes of *Twin Peaks* (1990–1991), *Freaks and Geeks* (2000), *The West Wing* (1999–2006), *Mad Men* (2007–2015) and *Homeland* (2011–2020), on which she also served as executive producer. She has received multiple Primetime Emmy Award and Directors Guild of America Award nominations, winning the latter three times.

Glatter has also directed episodes of series including *ER*, *NYPD Blue*, *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*, *House* and *The Walking Dead*, as well as feature films such as *Now and Then* (1995).

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

## On Fi1m (22)

### Directed (21) — the average rests on these

- *Love & Death* (2023), Fi1m 56, Executive Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/love-and-death.md)
- *The Leftovers* (2014), Fi1m 87, Director, Co-Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md)
- *Masters of Sex* (2013), Fi1m 74, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-sex.md)
- *Nashville* (2012), Fi1m 74, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/nashville-2012.md)
- *Homeland* (2011), Fi1m 78, Executive Producer, Director, Co-Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/homeland.md)
- *Justified* (2010), Fi1m 87, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/justified.md)
- *The Walking Dead* (2010), Fi1m 68, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-walking-dead.md)
- *The Good Wife* (2009), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *The Mentalist* (2008), Fi1m 71, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md)
- *True Blood* (2008), Fi1m 71, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/true-blood.md)
- *Mad Men* (2007), Fi1m 88, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/mad-men.md)
- *Heroes* (2006), Fi1m 68, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/heroes.md)
- *Grey's Anatomy* (2005), Fi1m 68, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/greys-anatomy.md)
- *Weeds* (2005), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/weeds.md)
- *House* (2004), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/house-2004.md)
- *Gilmore Girls* (2000), Fi1m 81, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/gilmore-girls.md)
- *Freaks and Geeks* (1999), Fi1m 88, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/freaks-and-geeks.md)
- *The West Wing* (1999), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md)
- *ER* (1994), Fi1m 88, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/er.md)
- *NYPD Blue* (1993), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/nypd-blue.md)
- *Twin Peaks* (1990), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/twin-peaks.md)

### Produced (1)

- *PIECES OF HER* (2022), Fi1m 55, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/pieces-of-her.md)

## Complete filmography (59)

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

- *Imperfect Women* (2026), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Zero Day* (2025), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *Love & Death* (2023), series, Executive Producer, Director — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/tv/love-and-death.md)
- *PIECES OF HER* (2022), series, Executive Producer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/tv/pieces-of-her.md)
- *Wild Indian* (2021), Thanks
- *The Morning Show* (2019), series, Director
- *Law & Order True Crime* (2017), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *SIX* (2017), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *The Leftovers* (2014), series, Director, Co-Executive Producer — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md)
- *Masters of Sex* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-sex.md)
- *Ray Donovan* (2013), series, Director
- *Nashville* (2012), series, Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/nashville-2012.md)
- *The Newsroom* (2012), series, Director
- *Boss* (2011), series, Director
- *Homeland* (2011), series, Director, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/homeland.md)
- *The Playboy Club* (2011), series, Co-Executive Producer
- *The Chicago Code* (2011), series, Co-Executive Producer
- *The Walking Dead* (2010), series, Director — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-walking-dead.md)
- *Pretty Little Liars* (2010), series, Director
- *Justified* (2010), series, Director — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/justified.md)
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Lie to Me* (2009), series, Director
- *The Starter Wife* (2008), series, Director
- *The Mentalist* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md)
- *True Blood* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/true-blood.md)
- *Swingtown* (2008), series, Director
- *Journeyman* (2007), series, Director
- *Mad Men* (2007), series, Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/mad-men.md)
- *Heartland* (2007), series, Director
- *Heroes* (2006), series, Director — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/heroes.md)
- *The Unit* (2006), series, Director
- *Weeds* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/weeds.md)
- *The Closer* (2005), series, Director
- *Revelations* (2005), series, Director
- *Grey's Anatomy* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/greys-anatomy.md)
- *Numb3rs* (2005), series, Director
- *House* (2004), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/house-2004.md)
- *The O.C.* (2003), series, Director
- *Presidio Med* (2002), series, Director
- *In My Life* (2002), Director
- *Citizen Baines* (2001), series, Director
- *Gilmore Girls* (2000), series, Director — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/gilmore-girls.md)
- *Freaks and Geeks* (1999), series, Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/freaks-and-geeks.md)
- *Third Watch* (1999), series, Director
- *The West Wing* (1999), series, Director — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md)
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, Director
- *Buddy Faro* (1998), series, Director
- *The Proposition* (1998), Director
- *Now and Then* (1995), Director
- *ER* (1994), series, Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/er.md)
- *State of Emergency* (1994), Director
- *NYPD Blue* (1993), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/nypd-blue.md)
- *On the Air* (1992), series, Director
- *Twin Peaks* (1990), series, Director — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/twin-peaks.md)
- *Into the Homeland* (1987), Director
- *To Live and Die in L.A.* (1985), Choreographer
- *Tales of Meeting and Parting* (1985), Director
- *Amazing Stories* (1985), series, Director
- *Ashley's War*, Director

## Gallery

- ![Lesli Linka Glatter](https://film.one/media/person/61069/gallery-c278517dfe39.jpg) Lesli Linka Glatter — Image via TMDB
- ![Lesli Linka Glatter](https://film.one/media/person/61069/gallery-6fd2a82b9c92.jpg) Lesli Linka Glatter — Image via TMDB
- ![Lesli Linka Glatter](https://film.one/media/person/61069/gallery-8459c20aba1e.jpg) Lesli Linka Glatter — Image via TMDB
- ![Lesli Linka Glatter](https://film.one/media/person/61069/gallery-e8bd11b2d204.jpg) Lesli Linka Glatter — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1985: Best Live Action Short Film (nominated), for *Tales of Meeting and Parting*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Dorothy Arzner Directors Award 2016: Dorothy Arzner Directors Award (won)

*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/lesli-linka-glatter