The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has published the 2016–17 Episodic TV Director Diversity Report. The annual study examines the directing credits on all the episodes broadcast in a given TV season. For the 2016–17 edition the DGA analyzed a record 4,482 episodes, marking a 10 percent increase from 2015–16’s 4,061 episodes. Alongside the rise in the amount of TV content, the number of female and minority directors also increased slightly from the previous season to reach an all-time high.
People of color directed 22 percent of 2016–17 episodes, as compared to last year’s 19 percent. Women directed 21 percent of this season’s episodes, a four point increase from last year. While it’s exciting to see the number of women and non-white helmers grow, it’s worth repeating that the huge racial and gender gap amongst TV directors is still very much a reality.
Specifically, white men helmed 62 percent of episodes in the 2016–17 season. This is a smaller number than last year’s 67 percent but still accounts for the majority of episodes. Non-white men directed 17 percent of 2016–17 episodes, white women directed 16 percent, and women of color directed only five percent. This is only incremental growth from 2015–16, where non-white men directed 16 percent of episodes, white women directed 14 percent, and non-white women directed three percent. Things on the small screen are getting better — but progress is infuriatingly slow, especially for women of color.
“While this report, and our recent report on hiring of first-time TV directors, reflect some progress overall, there are stark disparities among the major studios that raise questions about how committed to inclusion some employers really are,” DGA President Thomas Schlamme stated. “We want to make sure that every talented individual has an equal shot, and a path forward. But for that to happen, employers must expand their hiring processes to discover the world of capable directors hiding in plain sight. Frankly, it’s hard to understand why they’re not doing more.”
In addition to compiling the overall data on TV directors, the DGA report ranked studios and TV series in terms of their hiring practices. Amazon (33.6 percent), HBO (29.3 percent), and Twentieth Century Fox (28.9 percent) had the best track record of employing female directors. Viacom (14.8 percent), Netflix (15.9 percent), and Sony (17 percent) had the worst.
As for specific television shows, below are the 10 series with the highest rate of hiring female directors. Bolded shows also made last year’s top 10.
- “Time Traveling Bong” (3 eps total) Viacom Media Networks/Comedy Central 100 percent. (3 eps directed by white women, 0 directed by women of color)
- “Queen Sugar” (13 eps total ) Warner Bros./OWN 100 percent. (2 eps directed by white women, 11 directed by women of color)
- “Outlander” (4 eps total) Sony/Starz 100 percent. (4 eps directed by white women, 0 directed by women of color)
- “Black Mirror” (1 ep total) Endemol UK Holding Limited/Netflix 100 percent. (1 ep directed by white women, 0 directed by women of color)
- “I Love Dick” (8 eps total) Amazon/Amazon Prime 88 percent. (7 eps directed by white women, 0 directed by women of color)
- “Transparent” (10 eps total) Amazon/Amazon Prime 80 percent. (6 eps directed by white women, 2 directed by women of color)
- “The Handmaid’s Tale” (10 eps total) MGM Television Entertainment
Inc./Hulu 80 percent. (8 eps directed by white women, 0 directed by women of color) - “Jane the Virgin” (20 eps total) CBS Companies/CW 75 percent. (13 eps directed by white women, 2 directed by women of color)
- “American Crime” (8 eps total) Disney/ABC Companies/ABC 75 percent. (2 eps directed by white women, 4 directed by women of color)
- “Insecure” (7 eps total) Home Box Office, Inc./HBO 71 percent. (0 eps directed by white women, 5 directed by women of color)
As you can see, many of the series with the highest number of women helmers also demonstrate a wide racial disparity. And series like “Game of Thrones,” “Another Period,” “Mom,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” and “Mr. Robot” employed zero women and zero people of color as directors.
Obviously, as Schlamme remarked, a lot of work still needs to be done, even if the needle is slowly shifting. With any luck, studies like this DGA report will draw eyes to the fact that white men are still a healthy majority of TV directors — and inspire people in power to change things.
Head over to the DGA website to read the full Episodic TV Director Diversity Report.
