---
name: "William M. Finkelstein"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-m-finkelstein"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "1 January 1952"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T23:37:45.368535+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."
---

# William M. Finkelstein

Writer. Born 1 January 1952 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 1 January 1952, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1990–1993
- **Also known as:** William M. Finklestein, Bill Finkelstein, William Finkelstein, William Finklestein
- **Works often with:** Daniel Sackheim, David Shore, Doug Palau, Gardner Stern, Greg Plageman, Jill Goldsmith

## Biography

William M. Finkelstein is an American screenwriter, television producer, actor and director. Born in New York City on 1 January 1952, he worked on *L.A. Law* from 1988, rising through producer roles and sharing two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series in 1989 and 1990.

He wrote for *Law & Order* from 1990 and contributed story and teleplay credits to *NYPD Blue* from 1993, later serving as executive producer on both series. Finkelstein co-created *Brooklyn South* with Steven Bochco and others, and has worked as writer and producer on *Murder One*, *The Good Fight* and *East New York*. He wrote the screenplay for the 2009 film *Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans*.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *NYPD Blue* (1993), Fi1m 82, Story, Teleplay — [page](https://film.one/tv/nypd-blue.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Law & Order* (1990), Writer

## Also known for

- *Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans* (2009), Writer
- *The Good Fight* (2017), Consulting Producer, Writer, Executive Producer
- *L.A. Law* (1986), Director, Writer, Teleplay, Story, Co-Producer, Supervising Producer, Executive Producer
- *East New York* (2022), Executive Producer

---
© 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/william-m-finkelstein