Lev L. Spiro
Encyclopedia
Lev L. Spiro is an American television and film director. In addition to multiple episodes of shows such as Weeds
, Arrested Development, Ugly Betty
, Gilmore Girls
and The O.C.
, he directed the television films Minutemen
and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
.
. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin
, where he received a Master's Degree in Film Production. His early work includes adaptations of The Convict, a short story by James Lee Burke
, and The Suicide Club
, a story by Robert Louis Stevenson
, which starred Jonathan Pryce
and Paul Bettany
.
Episodic television work includes multiple episodes of Showtime's Weeds
, ABC’s Ugly Betty
and CW’s Everybody Hates Chris
, as well as Arrested Development, The O.C.
, Gilmore Girls
and many more. In 2008, Spiro directed the critically acclaimed sci-fi/action/comedy feature Minutemen
, which garnered a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs. In 2009 he directed Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
which premiered to 13.5 million viewers, making it the highest rated scripted cablecast of 2009, and which won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program. Most recently Spiro directed the pilot for the new one hour dramedy series Jane By Design
for ABC Family
. He is currently shooting the third Beverly Hills Chihuahua
film for Disney.
Weeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
, Arrested Development, Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
, Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
and The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, he directed the television films Minutemen
Minutemen (film)
Minutemen is a 2008 science-fiction Disney Channel Original Movie.The film was written by John Killoran and David Diamond and David Weissman and directed by Lev L. Spiro, who received a Director's Guild nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programs for it...
and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama fantasy film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. Filmed primarily in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February and March 2009, the Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on August 28,...
.
Early life
Spiro earned dual Bachelor's Degrees in Political Science and Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, where he received a Master's Degree in Film Production. His early work includes adaptations of The Convict, a short story by James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke is an American author of mysteries, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won an Edgar Award for Black Cherry Blues and Cimarron Rose . The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by Alec Baldwin and then Tommy Lee Jones...
, and The Suicide Club
The Suicide Club (Stevenson)
The Suicide Club is a collection of three 19th century detective fiction short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson that combine to form a single narrative...
, a story by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, which starred Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
and Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany is an English actor. He has appeared in a wide variety of films, including A Knight's Tale, A Beautiful Mind, and The Da Vinci Code...
.
Career
In the past decade, Spiro has directed many one hour drama and half hour single-camera comedy pilots and episodes for network television.Episodic television work includes multiple episodes of Showtime's Weeds
Weeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
, ABC’s Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
and CW’s Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
, as well as Arrested Development, The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
and many more. In 2008, Spiro directed the critically acclaimed sci-fi/action/comedy feature Minutemen
Minutemen (film)
Minutemen is a 2008 science-fiction Disney Channel Original Movie.The film was written by John Killoran and David Diamond and David Weissman and directed by Lev L. Spiro, who received a Director's Guild nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programs for it...
, which garnered a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs. In 2009 he directed Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama fantasy film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. Filmed primarily in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February and March 2009, the Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on August 28,...
which premiered to 13.5 million viewers, making it the highest rated scripted cablecast of 2009, and which won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program. Most recently Spiro directed the pilot for the new one hour dramedy series Jane By Design
Jane By Design
Jane By Design is an upcoming drama television series on ABC Family. The network green-lighted the series in April 2011. The series is set to premiere on January 3, 2012, following Switched at Birth.-Premise:...
for ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
. He is currently shooting the third Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a 2008 family comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is directed by Raja Gosnell and released on October 3, 2008...
film for Disney.
Directing credits
- Jane By DesignJane By DesignJane By Design is an upcoming drama television series on ABC Family. The network green-lighted the series in April 2011. The series is set to premiere on January 3, 2012, following Switched at Birth.-Premise:...
(Pilot) (2011) - Are We There Yet?Are We There Yet? (TV series)Are We There Yet? is an American television sitcom, which premiered on TBS on June 2, 2010. Based on the 2005 feature film of the same name, it revolves around a family adjusting to the new addition of the matriarch's new husband and trying to deal with normal family situations...
(2011) - Supah NinjasSupah NinjasSupah Ninjas is an American action-comedy series, created by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. The series premiered as a special preview on Nickelodeon on January 17, 2011 in the United States and started airing regularly on April 16, 2011.- Premise :...
(2011) - Glory DazeGlory Daze (TV series)Glory Daze is an American comedy-drama television series. The one-hour series revolves around a group of college freshmen who pledge a fraternity in 1986...
(2010) - Blue Mountain StateBlue Mountain StateBlue Mountain State is an American comedy series that premiered on Spike on January 11, 2010. The series producers include Chris Romano and Eric Falconer and is produced by Lionsgate Television...
(2010) - Wizards of Waverly Place: The MovieWizards of Waverly Place: The MovieWizards of Waverly Place: The Movie is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama fantasy film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. Filmed primarily in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February and March 2009, the Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on August 28,...
(2009) - Jonas (Pilot) (2009)
- Everybody Hates ChrisEverybody Hates ChrisEverybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
(2008) - MinutemenMinutemen (film)Minutemen is a 2008 science-fiction Disney Channel Original Movie.The film was written by John Killoran and David Diamond and David Weissman and directed by Lev L. Spiro, who received a Director's Guild nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programs for it...
(2008) - WeedsWeeds (TV series)Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
(2007) - Ugly BettyUgly BettyUgly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
(2007) - DirtDirt (TV series)Dirt is an American television serial broadcast on the FX network. It premiered on January 2, 2007 and starred Courteney Cox as Lucy Spiller, the editor-in-chief of the first-of-its-kind "glossy tabloid" magazine DirtNow, which was previously two separate publications: drrt and Now Dirt (styled...
(2007) - PsychPsychPsych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
(2006) - Pepper DennisPepper DennisPepper Dennis is a comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from April to July 4, 2006. It was quickly announced on May 17, 2006 that Pepper Dennis would not be one of the WB shows transferred to The CW Television Network....
(2006) - Arrested Development (2005)
- My Name Is EarlMy Name Is EarlMy Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
(2005) - Point PleasantPoint Pleasant (TV series)Point Pleasant is a television series that first aired on the Fox Network in January 2005. It was cancelled in March 2005 due to poor ratings....
(2005) - SummerlandSummerland-Places:* Summerland, British Columbia, a Canadian town* Summerlands, Victoria, an Australian town* Summerland, California, USA, an unincorporated community near Santa Barbara* Summerland Key, an island in the Florida Keys in the United States...
(Pilot) (2004) - The O.C.The O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
(2004) - One Tree HillOne Tree Hill (TV series)One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
(2004) - EverwoodEverwoodEverwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
(2003) - Do OverDo OverDo Over is an American comedy-drama/fantasy series created by Kenny Schwartz and Rick Wiener. The series, which was broadcast on The WB in 2002, stars Penn Badgley.-Synopsis:...
(Pilot) (2002) - Dawson's CreekDawson's CreekDawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
(2001) - Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
(2001) - PopularPopular (TV series)Popular is an American teenage comedy-drama on The WB Television Network in the United States, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two teenage girls that reside on polar opposite sides of the popularity spectrum at their high school, but are forced to...
(2000) - Arli$$Arliss-Criticism:This show, which ran for seven seasons, is a prime example of how HBO differs from traditional networks due to its nature as a network its viewers specifically pay to be able to watch. Arliss was cited by so many viewers as the sole reason that they paid for the network that its...
(2000) - The Suicide Club (2000)
- The JerseyThe JerseyThe Jersey is a television series produced by the Disney Channel and based on the Monday Night Football Club books by Gordon Korman.-Premise:...
(Pilot) (1999) - Cousin SkeeterCousin SkeeterCousin Skeeter is a television show which ran on Nickelodeon from 1998 to 2003. It starred Robert Ri'chard as Bobby, a young boy, whose life changed when his strange cousin Skeeter comes to live with his family. With Skeeter's help, Bobby learns life lessons and tackles the general ups and downs of...
(1998) - Welcome to Planet Earth (1996)
Awards/Nominations
- Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
(2010) Outstanding Children's Program, for Wizards of Waverly Place: The MovieWizards of Waverly Place: The MovieWizards of Waverly Place: The Movie is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama fantasy film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. Filmed primarily in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February and March 2009, the Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on August 28,... - Image Award Nomination (2010) Outstanding Children's Program, for Wizards of Waverly Place: The MovieWizards of Waverly Place: The MovieWizards of Waverly Place: The Movie is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama fantasy film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. Filmed primarily in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February and March 2009, the Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on August 28,...
- DGA Award Nomination (2009) Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs, for MinutemenMinutemenMinutemen were members of teams of select men from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats, hence the name.The minutemen were among the first...
- GLAAD Media Award (2000) Outstanding TV Individual Episode for PopularPopular (TV series)Popular is an American teenage comedy-drama on The WB Television Network in the United States, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two teenage girls that reside on polar opposite sides of the popularity spectrum at their high school, but are forced to...
Wild Wild Mess