7 Times Filmmakers Tried Their Hand at Television

Comingsoon.net is counting down the seven most interesting times auteurs of the medium of cinema took the increasingly-common route of moving over to television. Indeed, it is happening more and more often. Check out our gallery of seven of the best products to come out of this changing wave of film and television!

With the changing landscape of content delivery systems and the so-called age of “prestige” television, it has become commonplace for filmmakers to make the jump to television. Of course, what exactly television means in a modern context is unclear. For example, David Lynch’s 2017 Twin Peaks revival was released episodically, but the creator himself referred to the project as a lengthy film. The lines are blurring between what were once two entirely distinct mediums.

Netflix and streaming services like it are now securing distribution rights for Academy Award nominees like Roma and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Shows like The Sopranos or Game of Thrones are lauded with praises like “cinematic.” The expanded worlds of films like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe cross over from film to television with ease. There are holdouts to this rising trend, as there always are. Namely, Steven Spielberg has made his opinions on the matter crystal clear: Netflix and the content it carries should not be allowed to compete in the Academy Awards. But many of Spielberg’s contemporaries feel differently. Some are making the jump themselves. With this changing tide, here are seven instances of filmmakers attempting to—with varying degrees of success—create a series.