Directing

Michael Uppendahl

Michael Uppendahl is an American television and film director. He is well known for his work on the AMC period drama Mad Men; FX's horror anthology series American Horror Story, and Marvel's Legion; and the Fox musical/dramedy Glee. His first television credit came from directing 4 episodes of the CBS sitcom Becker, from 2003-2004. He wrote, directed and produced the 2009 short film A Hundred & …

Known For

Are You Here

Are You Here · 2013

When Steve Dallas, a womanizing local weatherman, hears that his off-the-grid best friend Ben Baker has lost his estranged father, the two return to Ben's childhood home. Once there, they discover Ben has inherited the family fortune, and the ill-equipped duo must battle Ben's formidable sister and deal with his father's gorgeous 25-year old widow.

Adam

A hard-living salesman becomes a quadriplegic after an accident.

Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls

Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls · 2016

Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls

MovieDocumentary

Go behind the scenes of the second season of Fargo.

The Lion's Mouth Opens

The Lion's Mouth Opens · 2014

The Lion's Mouth Opens

MovieDocumentary

A documentary on filmmaker Marianna Palka, as she confronts her risk of Huntington's Disease.

American Horror Story

American Horror Story · 2011

American Horror Story

SeriesDramaMystery

An anthology horror drama series centering on different characters and locations, including a house with a murderous past, an asylum, a witch coven, a freak show, a hotel, a farmhouse in Roanoke, a cult, the apocalypse and a summer camp.

Shameless

Shameless · 2011

SeriesDramaComedy

Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be... perhaps better off. When Frank's not at the bar spending what little money they have, he's passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead · 2010

The Walking Dead

SeriesAction & AdventureDrama

Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.

Fargo

SeriesCrimeDrama

A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.

Filmography

Sort

Are You Here

Are You Here · 2013

When Steve Dallas, a womanizing local weatherman, hears that his off-the-grid best friend Ben Baker has lost his estranged father, the two return to Ben's childhood home. Once there, they discover Ben has inherited the family fortune, and the ill-equipped duo must battle Ben's formidable sister and deal with his father's gorgeous 25-year old widow.

Officier Norbey

Adam

A hard-living salesman becomes a quadriplegic after an accident.

Director

Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls

Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls · 2016

Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls

MovieDocumentary

Go behind the scenes of the second season of Fargo.

Director

The Lion's Mouth Opens

The Lion's Mouth Opens · 2014

The Lion's Mouth Opens

MovieDocumentary

A documentary on filmmaker Marianna Palka, as she confronts her risk of Huntington's Disease.

American Horror Story

American Horror Story · 2011

American Horror Story

SeriesDramaMystery

An anthology horror drama series centering on different characters and locations, including a house with a murderous past, an asylum, a witch coven, a freak show, a hotel, a farmhouse in Roanoke, a cult, the apocalypse and a summer camp.

Director

Shameless

Shameless · 2011

SeriesDramaComedy

Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be... perhaps better off. When Frank's not at the bar spending what little money they have, he's passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.

Director

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead · 2010

The Walking Dead

SeriesAction & AdventureDrama

Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.

Director

Fargo

SeriesCrimeDrama

A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.

Director

Mad Men

Mad Men · 2007

Set in 1960-1970 New York, this sexy, stylized and provocative drama follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising.

Director

Glee

SeriesComedyDrama

In this musical comedy, optimistic high school teacher Will Schuester tries to refuel his own passion while reinventing the high school's glee club and challenging a group of outcasts to realize their star potential as they strive to outshine their singing competition while navigating the cruel halls of McKinley High.

Director

Weeds

SeriesComedyCrime

After the unexpected death of her husband, a suburban mom resorts to selling weed to support her family.

Director

Fear the Walking Dead

Fear the Walking Dead · 2015

Fear the Walking Dead

SeriesAction & AdventureDrama

What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.

Director

Marvel's Daredevil

Marvel's Daredevil · 2015

Marvel's Daredevil

SeriesCrimeDrama

Lawyer-by-day Matt Murdock uses his heightened senses from being blinded as a young boy to fight crime at night on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil.

Director

Ray Donovan

Ray Donovan · 2013

Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan does the dirty work for LA's top power players, and makes their problems disappear. His father's unexpected release from prison sets off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.

Director

American Crime Story

American Crime Story · 2016

American Crime Story

SeriesCrimeDrama

An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminal investigations.

Executive Producer

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story · 2024

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

SeriesDramaCrime

The story of the Menéndez brothers, who were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez.

Director

The Shards

The Shards · 2026

SeriesDramaMystery

17-year-old Bret Easton Ellis is in his final year at the elite Buckley prep school. Upending his world is the arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory, whose unsettling presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler.

Executive Producer

The Beauty

The Beauty · 2026

SeriesDramaSci-Fi & Fantasy

The world of high fashion turns dark when international supermodels begin dying in gruesome and mysterious ways. FBI Agents Cooper Madsen and Jordan Bennett are sent to Paris to uncover the truth. As they delve deeper into the case, they uncover a sexually transmitted virus that transforms ordinary people into visions of physical perfection, but with terrifying consequences.

Executive Producer

Legion

SeriesAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy

David Haller, AKA Legion, is a troubled young man who may be more than human. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.

Director

Castle Rock

Castle Rock · 2018

SeriesMysteryDrama

Based on the stories of Stephen King, the series intertwines characters and themes from the fictional town of Castle Rock.

Director

Mayfair Witches

Mayfair Witches · 2023

Mayfair Witches

SeriesDramaSci-Fi & Fantasy

An intuitive young neurosurgeon discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.

Director

Hunters

Hunters · 2020

SeriesCrimeDrama

A diverse band of Nazi Hunters living in 1977 New York City discover that hundreds of high ranking Nazi officials are living among us and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S. The eclectic team of Hunters set out on a bloody quest to bring the Nazis to justice and thwart their new genocidal plans.

Director

Scream Queens

Scream Queens · 2015

SeriesMysteryComedy

The super-charged comedy-horror series is a modern take on the classic whodunit with a killer cast.

Director

Ratched

Ratched · 2020

SeriesMysteryDrama

In 1947, Mildred Ratched begins working as a nurse at a leading psychiatric hospital. But beneath her stylish exterior lurks a growing darkness.

Director

Manhattan

Manhattan · 2014

SeriesDramaWar & Politics

Set against the backdrop of the greatest clandestine race against time in the history of science with the mission to build the world's first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Flawed scientists and their families attempt to co-exist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives.

Director

Candy

SeriesDramaCrime

Candy Montgomery is a 1980s housewife and mother who did everything right — but when the pressure of conformity builds within her, her actions scream for just a bit of freedom. Until someone tells her to shush. With deadly results.

Director

TURN: Washington's Spies

TURN: Washington's Spies · 2014

TURN: Washington's Spies

SeriesWar & PoliticsDrama

The story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.

Director

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez · 2024

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez

Charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores the disparate strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide and their legacy in sports and American culture.

Director