Directed by James Burrows

Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More

De: James Burrows, Eddy Friedfeld

Narrado por: James Burrows, Danny Campbell

“Being directed by the Jimmy Burrows, while on Friends, was like hitting the jackpot. I’m delighted that everyone can now share in his incredible insight with this book.”—JENNIFER ANISTON

From the director of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, and Will & Grace comes an insightful and nostalgic behind-the-scenes memoir that’s “as difficult to put down as a Friends marathon is to turn off” (The Washington Post).

Legendary sitcom director James Burrows has spent five decades making America laugh. Here readers will find never-revealed stories behind the casting of the dozens of great sitcoms he directed, as well as details as to how these memorable shows were created, how they got on the air, and how the cast and crew continued to develop and grow. Burrows also examines his own challenges, career victories, and defeats, and provides advice for aspiring directors, writers, and actors. All this from the man who helped launch the careers of Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, and Melissa McCarthy, to name a few.

Burrows talks fondly about the inspiration he found during his childhood and young adult years, including his father, legendary playwright and Broadway director Abe Burrows. From there he goes on to explain his rigorous work ethic, forged in his early years in theater, where he did everything from stage managing to building sets to, finally, directing. Transitioning to television, Burrows locked into a coveted job with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where he first observed and then started to apply his craft. Directing most of the episodes of Taxi came next, where he worked closely with writers/producers Glen and Les Charles. The three formed a remarkable creative partnership that helped Burrows achieve his much sought-after goal of ownership and agency over a project, which came with the creating and directing of the seminal and beloved hit Cheers. Burrows has directed more than seventy-five pilots that have gone to series and over a thousand episodes, more than any other director in history.

Directed by James Burrows is a heart-and-soul master class in sitcom, revealing what it truly takes to get a laugh.

a trip down memory lane

I really enjoyed the book. it was fun to hear about the inception of many of my favorite sitcoms and the art and genius behind them. I caught myself laughing out loud as Jim read from the scripts and I was able to picture the episodes. it's a great book for any aspirational theater or TV Director tho read. I found his leadership skills helpful as well. Enjoy !

I learned so much about the format of the sitcom. so much more appreciation for the writers, actors and director and producers.

James Burrows did an outstanding job of going through his life's work in an engaging and informative way. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in creativity; especially creativity within an ensemble.

I'm a Director and this was phenomenal!

It used to piss me off that James Burrows would take every episode all season long and never give anybody else a break, but at least this book gives us insider information into what made him so great!

Burrows' love of all he did❣️

Extraordinary story of how decades of TV, mostly comedies,were made. If you watched Any TV in the last 50 years, you've seen his art, craft, skill and humanity.
Probably 90% of great TV was made by Burrows and/or Norman Lear.
What works or doesn't, why and how.
SO many memories❣️❣️❣️👍🏽👏🏾

Loved it!

Such heartfelt and lovely stories about legendary tv shows. A must read for any sitcom fan!