Directed by James Burrows

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

By: James Burrows, Eddy Friedfeld

Narrated by: James Burrows, Danny Campbell

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

“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 listeners 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. 

©2022 James Burrows and Eddy Friedfeld (P)2022 Random House Audio

Read like the credits rolling at end of a show

I thought this book would be interesting and funny because a lot of the TV shows were very funny. Sadly this, for me, was not the case. There was an endless listing of names and shows meant to impress the reader but for me, it was just noise. Although I appreciated the “positive” attitude, not everyone and every show could be that sugar coated sweet and wonderful. The people and shows might have changed but each chapter was basically the same. I was disappointed.

Some Good Material but Quite Repetitive

It's tough to judge who the target audience is for this memoir. Those studying directing? Regular fans of sitcoms? It seems like Burrows tried to please both and, I think, the book suffers somewhat. There are some interesting (and valuable, I'd say) lessons in here about dealing constructively with others in a multi-faceted and fast-paced professional workplace. And, it's probably required reading for those wanting to direct TV. However, for non-directors such as myself, these lessons become repetitive after a few shows' worth of memories. Only the actors/producers/writers change. The latter part of the book about TV camera placement/operation seems an afterthought, from this perspective. It would have been interesting had the book been organized by, perhaps, types of struggles Burrows had to overcome to succeed, rather than organizing it chronologically where, at some point, it starts reading like a victory lap. In the end, I come away thinking Burrows has a lot to say, but his co-author mismanaged how to organize/present it.

Autobiog is Master Class in directing TV Sitcoms

For decades Jim Burrows has been the most in demand director for situation comedy series on American Tv for good reason. His touch and taste has given us Cheers, Friends, Will & Grace, Taxi and many more shows that are part of the fabric of American life. As he nears 80 he is still active but takes time to share his secret sauce. It’s not much of a bio. He grew up in the large shadow of his famous father and worked hard to carve his own career. He has surpassed Abe Burrows in many ways. Much of the book he takes us inside how TV really works and then goes show by show from how it was created to casting and his own significant contributions to the many successes he birthed and nurtured. This is very inside industry. For me it was a treat to hear this master of the sitcom form share his stories of success and failure. For anyone who dreams of directing TV this is a real master class from a real master and a must read.

Enjoy this listen!

If you’re a fan of these tv shows you’ll enjoy this audio book. Burrows is a good narrator and his insight and behind the
scenes info is quite funny and interesting.

Such a wonderful book

For someone who grew up with Cheers, Friends and so many other TV Show classics.

Solid book

James weaved an interesting story with some tidbits here and there. I think weakest part of book was when he tried to reenact the scenes from popular sitcoms.

Perfectly imperfect

Normally, I'm not a big fan of the author narrating, but this one was worth it. At first, I was hearing the issues that might usually be edited out or redone and thinking why did this get through the final edit. But it gave life to the read.

I've grown up watching his shoes without knowing who he is. I caught him on the Smartless podcast, and he was intriguing. This book really was a fun listen. This man is a national treasure and should be protected at all costs.

If you too grew up watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers and the like, you will likely appreciate the inside scoop from the man that made them happen.

Jimmy’s actual voice brought me right into this world.

No need for a professional Narrator

No need for a professional Narrator
Great content that was just excellently presented. No need to read the book, engage yourself in this audiobook version.

I am a huge fan of all these shows.
Jim pulls together of this amazing timeline of adventures and creativity.

I did not realize that he had done all of that until after I saw them. That’s why I was attracted to his excellence…

Needed a professional Narrator

Great content that was just poorly presented. Read the book yourself, skip the audiobook version.

Fantastic read (listen).

A very good book from an apparently very nice guy. A must read if you have enjoyed anything he has directed.

Aaaargh …

I was looking forward to listening to this book because Mr Burrows has been the creator of so much laughter in my life. The material IS very interesting, but I wish someone had had the courage to tell him that his skills lie in directing, not performing. A professional voice-artist should have been used for the narration. I”m having to listen to the book in bite-sized pieces because of the monotonous tone of his storytelling. I’m so sorry for the negative review because he is, by all accounts, a kind and popular man and a huge talent - but Audible is about 'listening' to books ... so it is essential that the narration is spot-on.

A must go Tv nerds

Except for the glaring error that James thinks Harry Enfield starred in Men behaving Badly (he was in 6 episodes - the other star was Neil
Morrissey) I enjoyed this, though could have done without the casual sexism.

Behind the scenes of comedy classics

James Burrows worked on pretty much all of the favourite US comedies of the last four decades. He tells us how the came together, how they worked and his own directing techniques. Absorbing. He isn’t a natural narrator, but it’s what he says in his own voice that counts.

Thank you Mr Burrows

Really interesting. Highly entertaining. Great stories from behind the scenes. Listen as soon as you can.