---
name: "Richard Shepard"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-shepard"
fi1m_id: "richard-shepard"
imdb_id: "nm0791672"
tmdb_id: 44740
wikidata_id: "Q1446528"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "1 January 1965"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-23T13:15:07.359151+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."
---

# Richard Shepard

## Identity

Richard Shepard

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/richard-shepard
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** richard-shepard
- **IMDb ID:** nm0791672
- **TMDB ID:** 44740
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1446528
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Shepard, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1446528, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791672/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/44740

Director. Born 1 January 1965 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 1 January 1965, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 2005–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Bruce Eric Kaplan](https://film.one/person/bruce-eric-kaplan.md), [Constantine Makris](https://film.one/person/constantine-makris.md), [Jamie Babbit](https://film.one/person/jamie-babbit.md), [Jenni Konner](https://film.one/person/jenni-konner.md), [Jesse Peretz](https://film.one/person/jesse-peretz.md), [Ron Weiner](https://film.one/person/ron-weiner.md), [Sarah Heyward](https://film.one/person/sarah-heyward.md), [Tricia Brock](https://film.one/person/tricia-brock.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 73 (2), 2010s 78 (2), 2020s 78 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 80 to 80 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Comedy 3, Action & Adventure 1, Crime 1, Mystery 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Shepard, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1446528, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791672/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/44740

## Streaming the US now

- **Hulu:** [*30 Rock*](https://film.one/tv/30-rock.md) (86)
- **HBO Max:** [*Girls*](https://film.one/tv/girls.md) (82)
- **Netflix:** [*Nobody Wants This*](https://film.one/tv/nobody-wants-this.md) (78)
- **Disney+:** [*The Handmaid's Tale*](https://film.one/tv/the-handmaids-tale.md) (75)
- **Apple TV:** [*Criminal Minds*](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md) (60)

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

## Fi1m on Richard Shepard

> Richard Shepard handles actors and dialogue well, especially when comedy meets crime. We like his adaptability, though *Nobody Wants This* is a reminder that convincing attraction cannot make up for everything the writing leaves unexplored.

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are convincing enough together in *Nobody Wants This* (2024) to make its romantic premise easy to accept. We enjoyed their company because the attraction feels believable, and the supporting cast gives us reasons to laugh beyond the central pairing. This is where Shepard’s interest in performance and the rhythm of dialogue finds an agreeable home. It is good romantic comedy, though the writing does too little with the religious differences between the leads.

His features often bring comedy into contact with crime or thriller material. After early work including *The Linguini Incident* (1991), *The Matador* (2005) brought his breakthrough with a black comedy starring Pierce Brosnan. Jude Law’s atypical lead role in *Dom Hemingway* (2013) continued that interest in finding less familiar uses for familiar actors. Shepard wrote and directed both films, making their emphasis on character and dialogue a useful guide to his preferences. His stated aim for *Dom Hemingway* was a crime film without crime: he plainly wanted room for people to talk.

Television became a substantial part of his work from the mid-2000s, including the pilot of *Ugly Betty* (2006). Establishing a programme’s tone is a particular skill of his; it requires decisions that other directors can carry forward. On *Girls* (2012), he worked with showrunners Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner and directed twelve episodes across six seasons. The horror-thriller *The Perfection* (2018) and autobiographical documentary *Film Geek* (2023) show that he has continued making features alongside that television work.

Shepard directed episodes of *Nobody Wants This*, so it would be excessive to credit him with everything that works in the series. The reservation is about the writing: the religious differences need more attention than they receive. Ease between the leads cannot supply that missing discussion, however much we enjoy watching them together. We wanted the series to ask harder questions about what keeping this couple together would involve. Start there for Bell, Brody and the supporting cast; keep expectations of the religious debate modest.

## Biography

Richard Shepard is an American film and television director and screenwriter. Born in New York City in 1965, he attended New York University's film school.

He directed the pilot of Ugly Betty (2006), for which he won a Directors Guild of America Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series in 2007. His feature films include The Matador (2005), Dom Hemingway (2013) and The Perfection (2018). Shepard has directed episodes of series including Criminal Minds, Girls, The Handmaid's Tale, Acapulco and Nobody Wants This (2024).

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

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Nobody Wants This* (2024), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/nobody-wants-this.md)
- *The Handmaid's Tale* (2017), Fi1m 75, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-handmaids-tale.md)
- *Girls* (2012), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/girls.md)
- *30 Rock* (2006), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/30-rock.md)
- *Criminal Minds* (2005), Fi1m 60, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md)

## Complete filmography (38)

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

- *Is / Was \ Will* (2025), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Nobody Wants This* (2024), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/nobody-wants-this.md)
- *Film Geek* (2023), Writer, Director, Producer
- *Welcome to Chippendales* (2022), series, Director
- *Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas* (2021), Director, Executive Producer
- *Acapulco* (2021), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist* (2020), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *The Twilight Zone* (2019), series, Director
- *The Perfection* (2018), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Sweetbitter* (2018), series, Director
- *The Handmaid's Tale* (2017), series, Director — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-handmaids-tale.md)
- *Tokyo Project* (2017), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Rosewood* (2015), series, Director
- *Dom Hemingway* (2013), Writer, Director
- *Girls* (2012), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/girls.md)
- *Ringer* (2011), series, Director
- *In the Motherhood* (2009), series, Director
- *I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale* (2009), Director, Producer
- *Bad Mother's Handbook* (2008), Director
- *The Hunting Party* (2007), Screenplay, Director
- *30 Rock* (2006), series, Director — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/30-rock.md)
- *Ugly Betty* (2006), series, Director
- *Criminal Minds* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md)
- *The Matador* (2005), Director, Writer
- *Class Warfare* (2001), Director
- *Scotland, PA* (2001), as McStreaker · Producer
- *Mexico City* (2000), Producer, Screenplay, Director
- *Oxygen* (1999), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Below Utopia* (1997), Story
- *The Royale* (1996), Director
- *Remember WENN* (1996), series, Director
- *Mercy* (1995), Writer, Director, Producer
- *Inside Out 4* (1992), Director, Writer
- *The Linguini Incident* (1991), Director, Writer
- *Inside Out* (1991), Director
- *Cool Blue* (1990), Director, Writer
- *Recap*, series, Director
- *St. Donatus*, series, Executive Producer, Director

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won

- 2007: Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (won), for *Ugly Betty*

*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/richard-shepard