It’s hard to overstate the impact Lesli Linka Glatter has had on television over the past 30 years. If you’ve ever empathized with high school mean girl Kim Kelly, gasped in horror at an office lawnmower ride gone wrong, or held your breath as Carrie Mathison and Brody go head-to-head, then you’ve seen the director’s incisive, unforgettable work. Though she started as a dancer (she notably choreographed William Friedkin’s To Live And Die In LA) it wasn’t long before Linka Glatter found herself behind the camera, taking TV gigs with Amazing Stories and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. Her first feature, Now And Then, finally gave young girls a nostalgic coming-of-age tale of their own, and her work since has touched on every genre—and basically every channel—imaginable.
Last month, at the winter TCA press tour, she appeared alongside Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, and Homeland showrunners Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon to tout the show’s upcoming final season. Linka Glatter’s been an instructive voice behind the series, having directed standout episode “Q&A” in season two, and then four episodes per season since. Amid interviews about how the team plans to bring the Showtime drama to a satisfying conclusion, she stopped by our studio to take a look back at her history-making career. We touched on how Homeland changed the game, Now And Then’s lifelong fans, and what she’s up to next.
