Jason Ensler

Jason Ensler
Jason Ensler
Born	July 21, 1970 (age 54)
Occupation(s)	Film/television director and television producer
Years active	2001–present

Jason Ensler
Jason Ensler
	photograph
Born	July 21, 1970 (age 54)
Occupation(s)	Film/television director and television producer
Years active	2001–present

Jason Ensler is an American film director, television director, producer, and screenwriter. He's directed the pilots to Andy Barker, P.I., Franklin & Bash, Hart of Dixie, and The Eastmans.

Early life

Jason Ensler was born in Northridge, California and raised in East Setauket, NY.¹ He graduated Ward Melville High School in 1988 and attended Brandeis University where he earned a BA in Politics and Theater.² He graduated USC School of Cinematic Arts with an MFA in Cinema/Television production.

Career

Early career

Ensler began his work in television as part of the creative team at NBC 2000, a division of NBC promo. As a writer, director and editor, he designed launch campaigns for The West Wing, Scrubs, Frasier, Third Watch, The Olympics, and The NBA. He produced and edited the Upfront presentation for NBC's 75th Anniversary, and wrote and directed The Zucker Follies, a musical mockumentary starring Megan Mullally, Sean Hayes, Martin Sheen, and many others.³

In the summer of 2002, Ensler was hired to direct Behind The Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company starring Bret Anthony, Melanie Paxson, Jud Tylor, and Brian Dennehy for NBC, which documents the true story of ambition, greed, and betrayal that rocked the set of the hit show Three's Company during it's eight year run. In an effort to make the film feel authentically 70's, Ensler shot exclusively on 16mm Agfa stock and signed a deal with Ohio Players to provide the soundtrack.⁴ He then directed Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart starring Cybill Shepherd and Tim Matheson, which chronicled Martha Stewart's rise to fame, subsequent incarceration for insider trading, and eventual comeback. Both films were critically acclaimed when they aired in May 2003, and became the highest rated TV movies of the decade.⁵

He began his career in episodic television with episodes of Scrubs and The West Wing before directing the feature film Grilled for New Line Cinema.⁶ Written by William Tepper, and starring Ray Romano, Kevin James, Burt Reynolds, Juliette Lewis, SophiaVergara, Kim Coates, and Michael Rapaport, Ensler created a darkly comedic character study which showcases Kevin James and Ray Romano in unexpected performances. Although it received mixed reviews, it has gained a loyal fan base with its release on VOD.⁷

Pilots

In 2006, Ensler was asked by Jonathan Groff and Conan O'Brien to direct and produce the pilot and series of Andy Barker, P.I. starring Andy Richter, Clea Lewis, and Tony Hale. Critically acclaimed for its smart and offbeat antics, the six episodes of Andy Barker P.I. have had a long shelf life as a cult TV hit, and was listed on Entertainment Weekly's top 10 shows of 2006. A more comprehensive oral history⁸ of the show was published by Uproxx in 2015.

Ensler has since directed and executive produced the pilots for:

Kath & Kim written by Michelle Nader, starring Molly Shannon, Selma Blair;

The Eastmans written by Margaret Nagle, starring Donald Sutherland, Jacqueline Bisset, Gaby Hoffman, Saffron Burrows;

Franklin & Bash written by Kevin Falls and Bill Chais, starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Breckin Meyer, Malcolm McDowell;

Hart of Dixie written by Leila Gerstein, starring Rachel Bilson, Jaime King, Scott Porter, Wilson Bethel, Cress Williams;

Cult written by Rockne O'Bannon, starring Matt Davis, Alona Tal, Jessica Lucas and Robert Knepper.

Recent Work

In 2013, Ensler directed the award-winning music video for Vintage Trouble’s Pelvis Pusher.

In 2014, Ensler was brought on to executive produce and direct the Steven Spielberg produced Red Band Society for Fox.¹⁰ Based upon the Catalan drama series Polseres Vermelles, developed by Margaret Nagle, and starring Octavia Spencer, Dave Annable, Zoe Levin, Charlie Rowe, and Ciara Bravo, this heartfelt drama series was well-reviewed for its irreverent, life-affirming tone¹¹, and notable for its soundtrack - which successfully mixed punk, pop, alternative, and soul.¹²

In 2015, Ensler directed and executive produced the pilot The Curse of the Fuentes Women, written by Silvio Horta and starring Christina Vidal, Adan Canto, Rachel Ticotin, and Sonia Braga.⁹

He has recently directed episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Goldbergs, Sirens, Hostages, Grace and Frankie and The Newsroom.

Documentaries

Ensler has long been a member of and has shot documentary footage for the Network of Spiritual Progressives, founded by Tikkun editor Rabbi Michael Lerner, Sister Joan Chrittister, and Cornel West. He is on the executive board of Shifting Baselines, a think tank and production entity founded and run by author and filmmaker Randy Olson, that seeks to find more effective ways of communicating science to the public. He produced, directed and edited IRIS, a documentary for Children's Hospital Los Angeles, about Retinoblastoma, a rare form of children’s eye cancer, which was effective in passing legislation in California for early detection. And he produced, directed, and edited Farewell, My Subaru, a short documentary about author Doug Fine and the hard-won benefits of his carbon neutral lifestyle in rural New Mexico.¹³

Personal

Ensler is married to actress and multi-media artist Rebecca McFarland.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Credit	Role
2006	Grilled	Director
2001	Kissing Jessica Stein	Additional Editor and Creative Consultant
2000	Alcatraz Avenue		TR Jones
1999	12 Stops on the Road to Nowhere	Editor
1998	The List	Producer	Roxy Emcee

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes/Episodes
2014	Red Band Society	Director Executive Producer	3 episodes 1 season
2014	Sirens	Director	2 episodes
2013	Hostages		Season 1, Episode 2
	Brooklyn Nine-Nine		Season 1, Episode 5
	The Goldbergs		Season 1, Episode 4
	The Newsroom	Director	Season 2, Episode 8
2013	Cult	Director Executive Producer	Season 1, Episode 1 12 episodes
2011-2012	Franklin & Bash	Director Executive Producer	7 episodes 19 episodes
2011	Hart of Dixie	Director Executive Producer	Season 1, Episode 1 Season 1, Episode 2
2009	Gossip Girl	Director	Season 3, Episode 12
2009	The Eastmans	Director and Co-Executive Producer	TV Movie
2008-2009	Kath & Kim	Director and Co-Executive Producer	6 episodes
2008	Man of Your Dreams	Director	TV Movie
2008	Psych	Director	Season 2, Episode 12
2007-2008	Chuck		Season 1, Episode 3 Season 1, Episode 9 Season 2, Episode 1
2007	My Name Is Earl		Season 3, Episode 12
	Andy Barker, P.I.	Director and Producer	6 episodes
	The World According to Barnes	Director	TV Movie
2006	South Beach		2 episodes
2006	Help Me Help You		2 episodes
2005	The West Wing		Season 6, Episode 18
2004	Scrubs		Season 3, Episode 18
2004	Ed		Season 4, Episode 13
2003	Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart		TV Movie
2003	Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company'		TV Special