---
name: "Michael Lehmann"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-lehmann"
fi1m_id: "michael-lehmann"
imdb_id: "nm0499724"
tmdb_id: 7145
wikidata_id: "Q717498"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "30 March 1957"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 17
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "director"
average_over: 16
updated: "2026-10-23T04:12:06.598330+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."
---

# Michael Lehmann

## Identity

Michael Lehmann

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/michael-lehmann
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** michael-lehmann
- **IMDb ID:** nm0499724
- **TMDB ID:** 7145
- **Wikidata ID:** Q717498
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lehmann, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q717498, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0499724/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7145

Director and producer. Born 30 March 1957 in San Francisco, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 30 March 1957, San Francisco, California, USA
- **Active:** 1989–present
- **Also known as:** Michael Stephen Lehmann, Michael Lehman
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 17: 16 directing, 1 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Alan Taylor](https://film.one/person/alan-taylor.md), [Adam Bernstein](https://film.one/person/adam-bernstein.md), [John Dahl](https://film.one/person/john-dahl.md), [Keith Gordon](https://film.one/person/keith-gordon.md), [Nick Gomez](https://film.one/person/nick-gomez.md), [Scott Winant](https://film.one/person/scott-winant.md), [Seith Mann](https://film.one/person/seith-mann.md), [Tim Hunter](https://film.one/person/tim-hunter.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as director, over 16 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 80 (1), 1990s 84 (5), 2000s 68 (9), 2010s 82 (1), 2020s 67 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 71 across 13 titles
- **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 8 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 13, Comedy 9, Mystery 8, Crime 6, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 2, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 3 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $96m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lehmann, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q717498, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0499724/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7145

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Veronica Mars*](https://film.one/tv/veronica-mars.md) (84), [*Boston Legal*](https://film.one/tv/boston-legal.md) (76), [*True Blood*](https://film.one/tv/true-blood.md) (71), [*R.J. Decker*](https://film.one/tv/r-j-decker.md) (67)
- **HBO Max:** [*The Larry Sanders Show*](https://film.one/tv/the-larry-sanders-show.md) (91), [*The West Wing*](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md) (86), [*Big Love*](https://film.one/tv/big-love.md) (79)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Heathers*](https://film.one/film/heathers.md) (80), [*Nurse Jackie*](https://film.one/tv/nurse-jackie.md) (72)
- **AMC+:** [*The Terror*](https://film.one/tv/the-terror.md) (82)
- **Apple TV:** [*Dexter*](https://film.one/tv/dexter.md) (74)
- **Hulu:** [*Californication*](https://film.one/tv/californication.md) (63)

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

## Fi1m on Michael Lehmann

> Michael Lehmann is most interesting when comedy turns on how people behave in groups. We value his work with ensembles, but the uneven features make us cautious about choosing a film on his name alone.

In *The West Wing* (1999), people take their work seriously and still manage to be funny. Michael Lehmann directed *Five Votes Down*, contributing to a programme whose cast can make an earnest speech worth hearing. We like that balance, and his interest in the absurd ways people behave together gives us a reason to follow his work. The feature films are too uneven to make the director's name a reliable recommendation by itself.

His debut, *Heathers* (1989), took aim at high-school cliques and the teen films that sentimentalised them. Lehmann and writer Daniel Waters thought John Hughes's films made school look too happy and sentimental, a specific complaint that gave the satire somewhere to start. *Hudson Hawk* (1991), an action-comedy with Bruce Willis, moved into larger studio filmmaking with less assured results. *The Truth About Cats & Dogs* (1996) took a lighter romantic-comedy route. These changes of subject and tone make it difficult to treat the debut as a promise of what every subsequent film would be.

Television became his main work from the mid-1990s, with directing credits across comedy, drama and horror-tinged series. His work includes *The Larry Sanders Show* and multiple episodes of *True Blood* (2008), alongside *The West Wing*. That is a useful spread of experience for someone comfortable with ensembles and shifts between the serious and the ridiculous. We would be wary, though, of finding the same dark satirist behind every one of these programmes.

We were moved by *The West Wing*'s earnest speeches because the actors made the seriousness feel human, even when the writing was pleased with itself. Lehmann has described the early work there as creatively free and the cast as a pleasure to direct. His account fits what works in the programme, though an episodic directing credit cannot earn him all the credit for its warmth or humour. The dialogue's occasional self-congratulation remains a reason for caution, rather than a reason to stay away. Start with *Heathers* for the darker comedy; choose *The West Wing* when the ensemble is the attraction.

## Biography

Michael Lehmann is an American film and television director. Born in San Francisco in 1957, he graduated from Columbia University in 1978 and from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1985. His early industry work included answering phones at Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope and supervising cameras on films such as *The Outsiders* (1983).

Lehmann's feature directorial debut was the black comedy *Heathers* (1989). He went on to direct films including *Hudson Hawk* (1991), *The Truth About Cats & Dogs* (1996) and *40 Days and 40 Nights* (2002).

On television he has directed episodes of *The West Wing* (1999), *The Larry Sanders Show*, *True Blood*, *Californication*, *American Horror Story* and *Dexter*, among many others.

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

## On Fi1m (17)

### Directed (16) — the average rests on these

- *R.J. Decker* (2026), Fi1m 67, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/r-j-decker.md)
- *The Terror* (2018), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-terror.md)
- *Bored to Death* (2009), Fi1m 50, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/bored-to-death.md)
- *Nurse Jackie* (2009), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/nurse-jackie.md)
- *True Blood* (2008), Fi1m 71, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/true-blood.md)
- *Californication* (2007), Fi1m 63, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/californication.md)
- *Big Love* (2006), Fi1m 79, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/big-love.md)
- *Dexter* (2006), Fi1m 74, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/dexter.md)
- *Boston Legal* (2004), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/boston-legal.md)
- *Veronica Mars* (2004), Fi1m 84, Consulting Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/veronica-mars.md)
- *40 Days and 40 Nights* (2002), Fi1m 47, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/40-days-and-40-nights.md)
- *The West Wing* (1999), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md)
- *Fallen Angels* (1993), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md)
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), Fi1m 89, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)
- *The Larry Sanders Show* (1992), Fi1m 91, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-larry-sanders-show.md)
- *Heathers* (1989), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/heathers.md)

### Produced (1)

- *Ed Wood* (1994), Fi1m 84, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ed-wood.md)

## Complete filmography (49)

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

- *R.J. Decker* (2026), series, Director — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/tv/r-j-decker.md)
- *Dexter: Original Sin* (2024), series, Director
- *War Sailor* (2023), series, Co-Producer
- *Will Trent* (2023), series, Director
- *War Sailor* (2022), Co-Producer
- *The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window* (2022), series, Director
- *American Rust* (2021), series, Director
- *68 Whiskey* (2020), series, Executive Producer
- *The Terror* (2018), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-terror.md)
- *Deception* (2018), series, Director
- *Snowfall* (2017), series, Director
- *Marvel's Jessica Jones* (2015), series, Director
- *Scream Queens* (2015), series, Director
- *Blunt Talk* (2015), series, Director
- *The Brink* (2015), series, Director
- *Betas* (2013), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Night Train to Lisbon* (2013), Associate Producer
- *American Horror Story* (2011), series, Director
- *Outsourced* (2010), series, Director
- *The Big C* (2010), series, Director
- *Bored to Death* (2009), series, Director — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/tv/bored-to-death.md)
- *The Beautiful Life: TBL* (2009), series, Director
- *Nurse Jackie* (2009), series, Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/nurse-jackie.md)
- *True Blood* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/true-blood.md)
- *Miss Guided* (2008), series, Director
- *Flakes* (2007), Director
- *Californication* (2007), series, Director — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/californication.md)
- *Because I Said So* (2007), Director
- *Dexter* (2006), series, Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/dexter.md)
- *Big Love* (2006), series, Director — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/tv/big-love.md)
- *The Comeback* (2005), series, Director
- *Boston Legal* (2004), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/boston-legal.md)
- *Veronica Mars* (2004), series, Director, Consulting Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/veronica-mars.md)
- *Century City* (2004), series, Director, Producer
- *Wonderfalls* (2004), series, Director
- *40 Days and 40 Nights* (2002), Director — Fi1m 47, [page](https://film.one/film/40-days-and-40-nights.md)
- *Watching Ellie* (2002), series, Director
- *The West Wing* (1999), series, Director — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md)
- *My Giant* (1998), Director
- *The Truth About Cats & Dogs* (1996), Director
- *Ed Wood* (1994), Executive Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/ed-wood.md)
- *Airheads* (1994), Director
- *Fallen Angels* (1993), series, Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md)
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), series, Director — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)
- *The Larry Sanders Show* (1992), series, Director — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-larry-sanders-show.md)
- *Hudson Hawk* (1991), Director
- *Meet the Applegates* (1990), Writer, Director
- *Heathers* (1989), Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/heathers.md)
- *The Beaver Gets a Boner* (1985), Director

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director 1992: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director (won), for *Hudson Hawk*

*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/michael-lehmann