Traditionally, only feature film directors have been considered important enough to have their names turned into adjectives. But that may be changing as TV—sorry, longform storytelling—proves itself equally viable as a means of artistic expression. So while we do not currently refer to things as “Fukunagaesque” or “Glatterian,” we might soon.
The rising profile of TV also means more exposure for female directors, who are relatively more common in TV and documentary filmmaking. Unlike the all-male gang on the DGA’s feature film nominations list, women are represented in nearly every major TV category, including two for first-time nominee Jodie Foster for her work on House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. (The Variety/Talk/News/Sports categories, which honor the specific skill set of directing live shows, are both sausage fests.) In documentary, Laura Poitras was nominated for her work on Citizenfour, part of the doc’s critically-acclaimed march towards a presumed Oscar nomination.
A list of the nominees in major categories is below; Deadline also has the nominees for best directing in reality series, children’s programming, and commercials, if you’re interested.
DRAMATIC SERIES
Dan Attias, Homeland, “13 Hours In Islamabad”
Jodie Foster, House Of Cards, “Chapter 22″
Cary Joji Fukunaga, True Detective, “Who Goes There”
Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland, “From A To Be And Back Again”
Alex Graves, Game Of Thrones, “The Children”
COMEDY SERIES
Louis C.K., Louie, “Elevator: Part 6″
Jodie Foster, Orange Is The New Black, “Thirsty Bird”
Mike Judge, Silicon Valley, “Minimum Viable Product”
Gail Mancuso, Modern Family, “Las Vegas”
Jill Soloway, Transparent, “Best New Girl”
MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI SERIES
Rob Ashford and Glenn Weiss, Peter Pan Live!
Lisa Cholodenko, Olive Kitteridge
Uli Edel, Houdini
Ryan Murphy, The Normal Heart
Michael Wilson, The Trip To Bountiful
DOCUMENTARY
Dan Krauss, The Kill Team
John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, Finding Vivian Maier
Jesse Moss, The Overnighters
Laura Poitras, Citizenfour
Orlando von Einsiedel, Virunga
VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
Paul G. Casey, Real Time With Bill Maher
Dave Diomedi, The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon
Jim Hoskinson, The Colbert Report
Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live
Chuck O’Neil, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS
Hamish Hamilton, The 86th Annual Academy Awards
Louis J. Horvitz, The 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors
Des McAnuff, Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays
Rich Russo, Super Bowl XLVIII
Glenn Weiss, The 68th Annual Tony Awards