Tristram Shapeero is a British television director. He has directed many comedy series, initially in the United Kingdom and later in the United States.

Early life

Shapeero was born in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and spent his childhood in Bath, where he attended St. Stephen's School and

Beechen Cliff School Beechen Cliff School is a boys' secondary school in Bath, Somerset, England, with about 1,150 pupils. Its earliest predecessor school was founded in 1896. There are around 930 boys in years 7 to 11 and a co-educational sixth form of 402 pupils. ...

Career

Shapeero started his career as a show runner on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's '' Norbert Smith: A Life'' and then worked on ''

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...

''. He went to New York in 1991 to direct a few television comedy episodes; while in New York he met his future wife, Erica. After moving back to the UK, he continued to direct television comedy., directing British comedies that include all episodes of '' Pulling'', every other episode of ''

Green Wing ''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the Sketch comedy, sketch show ''Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and ...

'', and Series 2 and 3 of ''

Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...

''. He also directed episodes of shows such as ''

Brass Eye ''Brass Eye'' is a British satirical television series parodying current affairs news programming. A series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001. The series was created and presented by Chris Morris, written ...

'', '' I'm Alan Partridge'', and ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...

''. He has been nominated for a BAFTA eight times – '' Gimme Gimme Gimme'' and '' Brass Eye Special'' (two nominations) in 2002, ''

Bremner, Bird and Fortune ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'' is a satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune ("the Two Johns") with the satirical impressionist Ror ...

'' in 2003, ''Green Wing'' in 2005 and 2007, ''Peep Show'' in 2006, and ''Pulling'' in 2007. Shapeero relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 2009 to direct American television. He first directed an episode of ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

'', and later was a producer of ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

'' for two seasons and directed 24 episodes of the show. He has also directed ''

Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep'' ...

'', ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'', and ''

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American streaming television sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25 ...

''. Shapeero's first feature film as director was ''

A Merry Friggin' Christmas ''A Merry Friggin' Christmas'' (Also known as ''A Merry Christmas Miracle'') is a 2014 American black comedy film directed by Tristram Shapeero and written by Phil Johnston. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Joel McHale, Lauren Graham, Cl ...

'', starring

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

and

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed i ...

, and was released in 2014. In November 2020 Shapeero forgot to mute his microphone before an online audition on

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...

and was heard making potentially disparaging comments about actor

Lukas Gage Lukas Gage is an American actor. He has appeared in '' American Vandal'', ''The White Lotus'', '' Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse'', and ''Euphoria''. Biography Gage was born in San Diego, California and raised in Encinitas, California. He ...

's apartment, in which he referred to the actor as "poor", saying "These poor people live in these tiny apartments". He later apologised, insisting that his remarks were about how the actor deserved sympathy, as opposed to his economic situation.

Personal life

Shapeero received an honorary Doctor of Letters from

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The insti ...

in 2010. He is married to his wife, Erica.

Directing credits

*''

Los Dos Bros ''Los Dos Bros'' is a British television comedy about two half-brothers (Darren Boyd and Cavan Clerkin) who find themselves in a series of strange situations. They discuss their experiences back to a psychiatrist (Vicki Pepperdine). The series ...

'' (1999–2001) *''

Smack the Pony ''Smack the Pony'' is a British sketch comedy show that was originally broadcast between 1999 and 2003 on Channel 4. The main performers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from ...

'' (2000) *'' Gimme Gimme Gimme'' (2001) *'' Brass Eye Special'' (2001) *'' I'm Alan Partridge'' (2001) *''

Bremner, Bird And Fortune ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'' is a satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune ("the Two Johns") with the satirical impressionist Ror ...

'' (2001) *''

'' (2002) *''

French & Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

'' (2002) *''

'' (2004–2005) *''

'' (2004–2007) *'' Absolute Power'' (2005) *''

Feel the Force ''Feel the Force'' is a British television police sitcom produced for BBC Scotland by Catherine Bailey Limited. The series is written by Georgia Pritchett; the first episode was broadcast on BBC 2 on 8 May 2006. The series was directed by Tr ...

'' (2006) *'' Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul'' (2008) *'' Pulling'' (2006–2009) *''Sidney Turtlebaum'' (2008) *''

Reggie Perrin ''Reggie Perrin'' is a modern update of the 1970s BBC sitcom ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'', which starred Leonard Rossiter. The revival stars Martin Clunes and was first broadcast on 24 April 2009. Series 1 was released on DVD in R ...

(2009) *''

The Persuasionists ''The Persuasionists'' is a sitcom broadcast on BBC Two set in the world of advertising starring Iain Lee, Simon Farnaby, Adam Buxton, Jarred Christmas and Daisy Haggard, and featuring Natalie Gumede (amongst others). It was the sitcom wri ...

'' (2010) *''

'' (2010–2013, 4 episodes) *''

'' (24 episodes) *''

Bored to Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, Ne ...

'' (2010–2011) *'' Happy Endings'' (2011–2013) *''

Nurse Jackie ''Nurse Jackie'' is an American medical comedy-drama television series. It premiered on Showtime on June 8, 2009, and its seventh and final season premiered on April 12, 2015. The series finale aired on June 28, 2015. The show stars Edie Falco ...

'' (2011) *''

Workaholics ''Workaholics'' is an American sitcom created and predominantly written by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, all of whom star in the series. ''Workaholics'' originally ran on Comedy Central from April 6, 2011, to Marc ...

'' (2011–2012) *''

Childrens Hospital ''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospital'' as webisodes) is an American black comedy television show, television series and web series that parodies the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Cord ...

'' (2011–2012) *''

New Girl ''New Girl'' is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Television for Fox that originally aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around a kooky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zoo ...

'' (2012–2013) *'' Big Bad World (2013) *''

'' (2014) *''

'' (2014–2016) *''

'' (2015-2017) *''

Blunt Talk ''Blunt Talk'' is an American sitcom on the Starz cable network starring Patrick Stewart, created by Jonathan Ames, and executive produced by Seth MacFarlane. The series' first two episodes were released online on August 15, 2015, and premiered on ...

'' (2015–2016) *'' GLOW'' (2017) *''

Turn Up Charlie ''Turn Up Charlie'' is a British comedy streaming television series created by Idris Elba and Gary Reich. The series stars Elba as a disc jockey who reluctantly becomes the nanny for his famous friend's daughter; Piper Perabo, JJ Feild and Frank ...

'' (2019) *''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...

'' (2019) *''

Never Have I Ever "Never have I ever", also known as "I've never..." or "ten fingers", is a drinking game in which players take turns asking other players about things they have not done. Other players who have done this thing respond by taking a drink. A vers ...

'' (2020) *''Pivoting'' (2020) *''

Mr. Mayor ''Mr. Mayor'' is an American sitcom television series created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock for NBC. The series stars Ted Danson, Bobby Moynihan, Holly Hunter, Vella Lovell, Mike Cabellon, and Kyla Kenedy and premiered on January 7, 2021. ...

'' (2021) *''

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

'' (2021) *'' Pivoting'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Tristram Shapeero in BBC Comedy Guide
at Channel4.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapeero, Tristram 1966 births British emigrants to the United States British television directors Living people People from Bath, Somerset People educated at Beechen Cliff School Date of birth missing (living people)