---
name: "Tom Kingsley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tom-kingsley"
fi1m_id: "tom-kingsley"
imdb_id: "nm2444240"
tmdb_id: 939336
wikidata_id: "Q7816474"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "18 November 1985"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-01T21:25:43.410327+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."
---

# Tom Kingsley

## Identity

Tom Kingsley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/tom-kingsley
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** tom-kingsley
- **IMDb ID:** nm2444240
- **TMDB ID:** 939336
- **Wikidata ID:** Q7816474
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kingsley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7816474, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2444240/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/939336

Director. Born 18 November 1985 in London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 18 November 1985, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 2011–present
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 79 (3), 2020s 78 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 78 to 77 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 5, Drama 2, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Screen time:** 1 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kingsley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7816474, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2444240/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/939336

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Stath Lets Flats*](https://film.one/tv/stath-lets-flats.md) (82), [*Ghosts*](https://film.one/tv/ghosts.md) (80)
- **AMC+:** [*This Is Going to Hurt*](https://film.one/tv/this-is-going-to-hurt.md) (84)
- **Disney+:** [*Alice and Steve*](https://film.one/tv/alice-and-steve.md) (72)

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

## Fi1m on Tom Kingsley

> Tom Kingsley is good at letting comic actors make a quarrel feel personal. We recommend his character-led comedy with a reservation: in *Alice and Steve*, the increasingly busy revenge can get between us and the performers.

In *Alice and Steve* (2026), Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement take every grievance personally, which is where the comedy works best. We enjoyed their exchanges because the anger did not quite obscure the friendship that made it hurt. Tom Kingsley directs them with a proper interest in what each performer can get from the other. We rate that attention, even when the programme around them becomes too busy for its own good.

His route to television ran through two features co-directed with Will Sharpe, *Black Pond* (2011) and *The Darkest Universe* (2016). He then became a regular director of ensemble comedy, working across multiple series of *Stath Lets Flats* (2018–2021) and *Ghosts* (2019–2023). The move into episodes of *This Is Going to Hurt* (2022) and *Doctor Who* (2023) widened the sorts of story he handled. What connects these jobs is an interest in comedy that must live alongside something else, rather than keep everything safely light.

The limitations of *Alice and Steve* also help define what we value in his work. Clement has to remain recognisable as the friend Walker’s Alice valued while giving her good reason to be furious, and Kingsley handles their exchanges well. The writing attends so closely to her anger that Clement can seem underused, while the younger woman whose relationship triggers the dispute receives less attention than Alice’s response to it. As the revenge piles up, the programme begins to crowd out the simpler pleasure of watching Walker and Clement work. Some of those antics could go without costing us much.

His return to features with the action comedy *Deep Cover* (2025) gives that balance another test. For us, the useful question as he moves between sitcoms, drama and action comedy is how much space remains for the actors. Try *Alice and Steve* for Walker and Clement, with the warning that their company is sometimes more rewarding than the feud.
Fi1m

## Biography

Tom Kingsley is an English film and television director. Born in London in 1985, he was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He began his career directing short films and co-directed his debut feature *Black Pond* (2011) with Will Sharpe.

Kingsley is best known for directing the Channel 4 sitcom *Stath Lets Flats* (2018–2021) and the BBC comedy series *Ghosts* (2019–2023). He has also directed episodes of *This Is Going to Hurt* (2022) and *Doctor Who* (2023), as well as the series *Alice and Steve* (2026). His work includes the feature *Deep Cover* (2025). *Stath Lets Flats* won three BAFTA awards, and *Black Pond* received several nominations including at the BAFTAs and British Independent Film Awards.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, tomkingsley.com, comedy.co.uk.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Alice and Steve* (2026), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/alice-and-steve.md)
- *This Is Going to Hurt* (2022), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-going-to-hurt.md)
- *Ghosts* (2019), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/ghosts.md)
- *Stath Lets Flats* (2018), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/stath-lets-flats.md)
- *Black Pond* (2011), Fi1m 74, Director, Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/black-pond.md)

## Complete filmography (12)

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

- *Alice and Steve* (2026), series, Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/alice-and-steve.md)
- *Deep Cover* (2025), Director
- *Smoggie Queens* (2024), series, Director
- *Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials* (2023), Director
- *Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat* (2023), Director
- *This Is Going to Hurt* (2022), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-going-to-hurt.md)
- *Ghosts* (2019), series, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/ghosts.md)
- *Stath Lets Flats* (2018), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/stath-lets-flats.md)
- *Pls Like* (2017), series, VFX Editor, Editor, Director
- *The Darkest Universe* (2016), Director, Editor, Producer
- *Black Pond* (2011), Director, Producer, Writer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/black-pond.md)
- *Cockroach* (2009), Cinematography, Editor, Writer, 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/tom-kingsley