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Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More
"From the director of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, and Will & Grace comes an insightful and nostalgic memoir that offers a bounty of behind-the-scenes moments from our favorite shows, peeling away the layers behind how a successful sitcom comes together--and stays that way. In Directed by James Burrows, the legendary talent not only provides backstories into the genesis and casting of the dozens of great sitcoms he directed, Burrows also offers insight into how these memorable shows are created, how they get on the air, and how the cast and crew continue to develop and grow each season, all coupled with tales of his challenges, career victories, and defeats, as well as advice for those who aspire to direct. All this from the man who helped launch the careers of Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, and Melissa McCarthy. Readers will discover the childhood and young adult influences and experiences that inspired Burrows, including, first and foremost, his father, legendary playwright and Broadway director Abe Burrows. Directed by James Burrows explores Burrows's journey in theater and television, including his first gigs in "the family business" in the late 1960s, his start working on Broadway and regional theater, directing, stage managing, and building sets. Hoping that his theatrical experience could be transferable to TV directing, he applied for a job with The Mary Tyler Moore Show. From there, he became a sought-after television director. His major break came with Taxi, for which he directed more than half of the series. Forming a partnership with writers/producers Glen and Les Charles, he then co-created the mega-hit Cheers, directing most of its episodes. Burrows went on to direct the pilots and multiple episodes of Frasier, Friends, Mike & Molly, The Big Bang Theory, and Two and a Half Men, plus all 246 episodes of Will & Grace and episodes of more than a hundred other shows. A heart-and-soul master class in sitcom, Directed by James Burrows reveals what it truly takes to get a laugh"--
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2022
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November 21, 2022
Directed by James Burrows by James Burrows, Eddy Friedfeld (With) is a 2022 Ballantine Books publication.
I can tell you the names of the characters and the actors who portray them on television shows- especially those I grew up watching -but ask me who the director was and I might draw a complete blank.
That said, James Burrows is one director's name I recognize. He worked on so many of the best sitcoms in American history. Still, I had no idea how long he had been working behind the camera, how he got his start, and all the amazing shows he directed.
This book is not just about a list of shows or actors Burrows worked on or with, but it was also an education on what goes on behind the scenes that creates that awesome chemistry that makes a show standout and becomes a major success.
For me, it was also a bit of a trip down memory lane. It brought back the magic of some of my favorite shows, but also gave me incredible new insights and details that made me want to binge watch every one of these shows all over again, so I could see them through Burrows' eye lens.
That said, the book is listed as a memoir- or autobiography, but it is almost entirely about Burrows professional life. If you are hoping to get a feel for who the man is in his private life, you won’t find that here- so maybe we should create a new category – like ‘professional memoir’ or something, so we know what to -or not to- expect. I’d like to have had more of a balance in a memoir- but other than that, I thought this was a very interesting book. It is also nostalgic and entertaining, too.
3.5 rounded up.
I can tell you the names of the characters and the actors who portray them on television shows- especially those I grew up watching -but ask me who the director was and I might draw a complete blank.
That said, James Burrows is one director's name I recognize. He worked on so many of the best sitcoms in American history. Still, I had no idea how long he had been working behind the camera, how he got his start, and all the amazing shows he directed.
This book is not just about a list of shows or actors Burrows worked on or with, but it was also an education on what goes on behind the scenes that creates that awesome chemistry that makes a show standout and becomes a major success.
For me, it was also a bit of a trip down memory lane. It brought back the magic of some of my favorite shows, but also gave me incredible new insights and details that made me want to binge watch every one of these shows all over again, so I could see them through Burrows' eye lens.
That said, the book is listed as a memoir- or autobiography, but it is almost entirely about Burrows professional life. If you are hoping to get a feel for who the man is in his private life, you won’t find that here- so maybe we should create a new category – like ‘professional memoir’ or something, so we know what to -or not to- expect. I’d like to have had more of a balance in a memoir- but other than that, I thought this was a very interesting book. It is also nostalgic and entertaining, too.
3.5 rounded up.
July 17, 2022
"Thank you for reading [this], and thank you for watching. To the extent that I have made you and your family and friends laugh, I'm honored, grateful and humbled." -- the author's epilogue, page 345
With the exception of The Office or Parks & Recreation, I haven't been a regular viewer of sitcoms in the last fifteen or more years. However, reading TV director James Burrows' work biography was a reminder of a lot of the quality comedy on the airwaves from my childhood up to early adulthood. (And Burrows doesn't attempt to steal the spotlight - he is very generous with accolades towards the assorted performers, writers, and crew members from various series.) Burrows' statistics reveal a man who openly loves his work - 76 of the 114 episodes of Taxi, 243 of the 273 episodes of Cheers, 15 episodes of Friends during the first two seasons, and all 246 episodes of Will & Grace during both the initial 1998-2006 run AND the 2017-2020 revival . . . and many more. (Admittedly, I only mentioned the shows that I watched - with the exception of Taxi - and enjoyed during their actual first-run airings. Burrows was involved in a number of other popular or notable recent sitcoms as well.) There was a large amount of humor (Burrows had some great self-deprecating anecdotes from his 'salad days' in the 60's and 70's) and nostalgia in this book, and he also does a pretty good job explaining what it really takes to mold an episode into what viewers eventually see on the screen.
With the exception of The Office or Parks & Recreation, I haven't been a regular viewer of sitcoms in the last fifteen or more years. However, reading TV director James Burrows' work biography was a reminder of a lot of the quality comedy on the airwaves from my childhood up to early adulthood. (And Burrows doesn't attempt to steal the spotlight - he is very generous with accolades towards the assorted performers, writers, and crew members from various series.) Burrows' statistics reveal a man who openly loves his work - 76 of the 114 episodes of Taxi, 243 of the 273 episodes of Cheers, 15 episodes of Friends during the first two seasons, and all 246 episodes of Will & Grace during both the initial 1998-2006 run AND the 2017-2020 revival . . . and many more. (Admittedly, I only mentioned the shows that I watched - with the exception of Taxi - and enjoyed during their actual first-run airings. Burrows was involved in a number of other popular or notable recent sitcoms as well.) There was a large amount of humor (Burrows had some great self-deprecating anecdotes from his 'salad days' in the 60's and 70's) and nostalgia in this book, and he also does a pretty good job explaining what it really takes to mold an episode into what viewers eventually see on the screen.
September 24, 2023
A very enjoyable book. Some good insight on how my favorite shows get made.
July 18, 2026
I bought this at Book Outlet earlier this year (or late last year? what is time) and didn’t feel any particular rush to get to it. Then James Burrows died in June, and now just felt like the right time.
This is a career-focused memoir told by James Burrows to Eddy Friedfield, who compiled it all into a book. You can definitely tell that Burrows is not a writer (a fact that he opines at least four times throughout the book—is this irony or what?) But he does have a sense for story and comic timing, otherwise his fifty almost unbelievably successful years directing sitcom television would make no sense whatsoever. The amount of great television this man is partly responsible for is astounding. Just take a look at his filmography if you don’t believe me. He especially enjoyed directing pilots, getting in on the ground of a new show and forming it into something better. He directed seventy-five pilots that went to series over the course of his career, which is wild.
The book is told in chronological order, following mostly his time on the big hits: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (which gave him his break), Taxi, Cheers (which he co-created with the Charles brothers, and of which he directed 237 episodes), Frasier, Friends (which he shepherded throughout the first season*), and Will & Grace (where he directed every single episode!).
*He infamously took the six cast members to Las Vegas for a last hurrah of not being famous, gave them each $200 to gamble (except Matt LeBlanc, who got $400 because he immediately lost his first $200). He is also the one who advised the six of them to negotiate as a group so that they were all paid the same, which changed the way the industry dealt with ensemble casts going forward.
For a book that was ghostwritten (sort of) this was a very fun read, but I will tell you now that I have no idea if this will be a good read for other people whose special interest isn’t the history of television. There are lots and lots of fun tidbits thrown in everywhere in addition to covering his time on the above shows. The man knew everyone, and everyone seems to have loved him. The title of the Epilogue is “Die With Your Boots On,” and he did, working up until the age of 85, loving what he did until the last. (This book was written in 2021, five years before his death.)
He is pretty humble about his contributions to all this television, but I am pretty firmly convinced that many of our favorite TV programs would not have been if not for his talents.
This is a career-focused memoir told by James Burrows to Eddy Friedfield, who compiled it all into a book. You can definitely tell that Burrows is not a writer (a fact that he opines at least four times throughout the book—is this irony or what?) But he does have a sense for story and comic timing, otherwise his fifty almost unbelievably successful years directing sitcom television would make no sense whatsoever. The amount of great television this man is partly responsible for is astounding. Just take a look at his filmography if you don’t believe me. He especially enjoyed directing pilots, getting in on the ground of a new show and forming it into something better. He directed seventy-five pilots that went to series over the course of his career, which is wild.
The book is told in chronological order, following mostly his time on the big hits: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (which gave him his break), Taxi, Cheers (which he co-created with the Charles brothers, and of which he directed 237 episodes), Frasier, Friends (which he shepherded throughout the first season*), and Will & Grace (where he directed every single episode!).
*He infamously took the six cast members to Las Vegas for a last hurrah of not being famous, gave them each $200 to gamble (except Matt LeBlanc, who got $400 because he immediately lost his first $200). He is also the one who advised the six of them to negotiate as a group so that they were all paid the same, which changed the way the industry dealt with ensemble casts going forward.
For a book that was ghostwritten (sort of) this was a very fun read, but I will tell you now that I have no idea if this will be a good read for other people whose special interest isn’t the history of television. There are lots and lots of fun tidbits thrown in everywhere in addition to covering his time on the above shows. The man knew everyone, and everyone seems to have loved him. The title of the Epilogue is “Die With Your Boots On,” and he did, working up until the age of 85, loving what he did until the last. (This book was written in 2021, five years before his death.)
He is pretty humble about his contributions to all this television, but I am pretty firmly convinced that many of our favorite TV programs would not have been if not for his talents.
August 27, 2022
What should have been fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of some of the greatest sitcoms of all time instead is a simplistic career reference book filled with errors, oddities, unnecessary background facts, and the author's incredible ego. Despite the fact that he repeatedly writes that he doesn't have an ego, that's the first sign of someone who does, and this book proves it with him taking credit for all sorts of successes that were either not his or a team effort.
Jim Burrows acts like television is a director's medium, but it's not--producers can get any director to shoot a great script with quality actors. Proof is in the very shows that Burrows helped with, when he would often leave to do other things and the sitcom remained successful. The irony is that the one series he was most involved with (Will and Grace) is the most repetitive and what some consider the least creative of the hits on Burrows IMDb page. And while Burrows may have made some decent contributions to his famous sitcoms he is not anywhere near as significant as he claims to be.
There are many problems with the book, the main being that it is often a "just the facts" retelling of his career and too many paragraphs giving us the history of performers on his shows instead of actually providing great stories of things he was involved with. This man was part of the production team that put together the gigantic Broadway flop Breakfast at Tiffanies--but he gives us no details beyond his job. He alludes to being a confidant of the show's star Mary Tyler Moore, almost implying they had a physical relationship, but he doesn't go into any detail and when he begins work on her great sitcoms in the fourth season it seems like the two don't even know each other.
Or how about his being the director on the set when the Laverne & Shirley stars blew up at each other over the number of lines each got in the script, starting a war that lasted for years? He tells us nothing beyond the fact that he was there.
He had to direct the notoriously difficult Andy Kauffman at Latka on Taxi, and beyond a few paragraphs about how they "fired" Kauffman's alter-ego Tony Clifton, Burrows calls Kauffman "a genius." Not once but twice! Huh? The guy was crazy, caused all sorts of cast strife, didn't show up for work on time...and yet all we get is how great Andy was? He does this to a number of famously difficult stars, including Rhoda's Valerie Harper, who he hints wouldn't take direction from him but turns it into a praise in order to keep the peace.
Too much of the book is about casting (most of the stories we've heard before) and the mechanics of how to direct a sitcom (which few people will care about). The space Burrows devotes to different shows is also odd: Cheers gets 100 pages and that is way, way, way too much. Taxi also gets a surprisingly large amount of space. By comparison Frasier, Will & Grace, and even Friends don't get as much as expected since they are all actively popular reruns. And if you want to know many insights into the Chuck Lorre series or the other well-known comedies James directed, there are just leftovers with few dramatic stories. He says everyone is great to work with (except network executives who don't understand comedy), most were perfectly cast (sorry Dave Foley), and the author quickly wraps things up without seeing that he devoted too much of the book to two 40+ year-old sitcoms that he considered groundbreaking but in truth not a lot of people care about anymore.
Add to these frustrations Burrows' many misstatements about TV history and his claims to have done a number of "firsts" that were actually done by others. There are so many mistakes in the book that I started to groan turning to a new chapter where once again the author was rewriting history or wasting space mentioning shows he had nothing to do with. There are also contradictions and confusing timelines where he jumps forward and back.
At one point he says in June of 1978 when he directed something called Free Country, "there were less than 30 shows on television." Really? There were actually hundreds of shows on all of television, including local, syndicated, and national. There were about 70 on the three networks in prime time and the actual number of comedies varied often as schedules changed. What he meant to write was "there were around 30 scripted sitcoms on network TV." If you're going to spew "facts" then you need to be accurate!
The author seems to have wanted to write a seminal work on the history of television comedy, almost lecturing to the reader in spots, but instead it's essentially a brag book. Some will say he deserves it, but don't trust all he says when he gets outside his personal experiences (and even a couple of those are questionable). If he can't get his basic facts straight on the medium he works in (or can't communicate them clearly) and won't deliver dramatic emotional stories that are the heart of any good memoir, then this book has to be considered a disappointment and failure.
Jim Burrows acts like television is a director's medium, but it's not--producers can get any director to shoot a great script with quality actors. Proof is in the very shows that Burrows helped with, when he would often leave to do other things and the sitcom remained successful. The irony is that the one series he was most involved with (Will and Grace) is the most repetitive and what some consider the least creative of the hits on Burrows IMDb page. And while Burrows may have made some decent contributions to his famous sitcoms he is not anywhere near as significant as he claims to be.
There are many problems with the book, the main being that it is often a "just the facts" retelling of his career and too many paragraphs giving us the history of performers on his shows instead of actually providing great stories of things he was involved with. This man was part of the production team that put together the gigantic Broadway flop Breakfast at Tiffanies--but he gives us no details beyond his job. He alludes to being a confidant of the show's star Mary Tyler Moore, almost implying they had a physical relationship, but he doesn't go into any detail and when he begins work on her great sitcoms in the fourth season it seems like the two don't even know each other.
Or how about his being the director on the set when the Laverne & Shirley stars blew up at each other over the number of lines each got in the script, starting a war that lasted for years? He tells us nothing beyond the fact that he was there.
He had to direct the notoriously difficult Andy Kauffman at Latka on Taxi, and beyond a few paragraphs about how they "fired" Kauffman's alter-ego Tony Clifton, Burrows calls Kauffman "a genius." Not once but twice! Huh? The guy was crazy, caused all sorts of cast strife, didn't show up for work on time...and yet all we get is how great Andy was? He does this to a number of famously difficult stars, including Rhoda's Valerie Harper, who he hints wouldn't take direction from him but turns it into a praise in order to keep the peace.
Too much of the book is about casting (most of the stories we've heard before) and the mechanics of how to direct a sitcom (which few people will care about). The space Burrows devotes to different shows is also odd: Cheers gets 100 pages and that is way, way, way too much. Taxi also gets a surprisingly large amount of space. By comparison Frasier, Will & Grace, and even Friends don't get as much as expected since they are all actively popular reruns. And if you want to know many insights into the Chuck Lorre series or the other well-known comedies James directed, there are just leftovers with few dramatic stories. He says everyone is great to work with (except network executives who don't understand comedy), most were perfectly cast (sorry Dave Foley), and the author quickly wraps things up without seeing that he devoted too much of the book to two 40+ year-old sitcoms that he considered groundbreaking but in truth not a lot of people care about anymore.
Add to these frustrations Burrows' many misstatements about TV history and his claims to have done a number of "firsts" that were actually done by others. There are so many mistakes in the book that I started to groan turning to a new chapter where once again the author was rewriting history or wasting space mentioning shows he had nothing to do with. There are also contradictions and confusing timelines where he jumps forward and back.
At one point he says in June of 1978 when he directed something called Free Country, "there were less than 30 shows on television." Really? There were actually hundreds of shows on all of television, including local, syndicated, and national. There were about 70 on the three networks in prime time and the actual number of comedies varied often as schedules changed. What he meant to write was "there were around 30 scripted sitcoms on network TV." If you're going to spew "facts" then you need to be accurate!
The author seems to have wanted to write a seminal work on the history of television comedy, almost lecturing to the reader in spots, but instead it's essentially a brag book. Some will say he deserves it, but don't trust all he says when he gets outside his personal experiences (and even a couple of those are questionable). If he can't get his basic facts straight on the medium he works in (or can't communicate them clearly) and won't deliver dramatic emotional stories that are the heart of any good memoir, then this book has to be considered a disappointment and failure.
June 9, 2022
I read a free digital review copy provided by the publisher, via Netgalley.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers, Friends, Will & Grace; these were staples of my young-adult TV viewing. I like behind-the-scenes books about TV and movies—for example, I thoroughly enjoyed Mel Brooks’s All About Me—so I was looking forward to reading Burrows’s reflections on those classic sitcoms.
Like Brooks, Burrows starts out with memories of growing up in New York City. Burrows is the son of the legendary radio and stage writer and director Abe Burrows, so his youth had a lot more celebrity acquaintances in it. While Burrows’s recollections overall aren’t as entertaining as Brooks’s, this is a solid enjoyable read for fans of those TV shows. I would say, though, that Burrows’s views on directing and the world of sitcom production can be slow going. He goes on at length about these topics at the end of Chapter 12, and it would have been better if he’d sprinkled these observations in smaller chunks throughout the book.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers, Friends, Will & Grace; these were staples of my young-adult TV viewing. I like behind-the-scenes books about TV and movies—for example, I thoroughly enjoyed Mel Brooks’s All About Me—so I was looking forward to reading Burrows’s reflections on those classic sitcoms.
Like Brooks, Burrows starts out with memories of growing up in New York City. Burrows is the son of the legendary radio and stage writer and director Abe Burrows, so his youth had a lot more celebrity acquaintances in it. While Burrows’s recollections overall aren’t as entertaining as Brooks’s, this is a solid enjoyable read for fans of those TV shows. I would say, though, that Burrows’s views on directing and the world of sitcom production can be slow going. He goes on at length about these topics at the end of Chapter 12, and it would have been better if he’d sprinkled these observations in smaller chunks throughout the book.
June 17, 2022
Burrows is an accomplished director, to be sure, but this reads like the longest Emmy Award acceptance speech ever.
March 19, 2022
There's no denying that 81-year-old James Burrows is a television icon. Director of over 50 TV pilots, over 1,000 television episodes, and winner of ten Emmy awards and four Directors Guild of America awards, Burrows co-created the television "Cheers" and is known for his work on such series as "Taxi," "Frasier," "Friends," "Will & Grace," and quite a few more.
Quite simply, it's almost impossible to think about sitcom television and not think about Burrows.
"Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories From the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More" is a journey through his professional history with a brief foray into his early years as the son of well-known composer/director/writer Abe Burrows and his time at Oberlin College.
"Directed by James Burrows" is not, however, an autobiography in any serious sense of the term. Instead, it is truly a journey through Burrows' history as a director with most chapters dedicated to his experiences on a particular series and nearly every chapter weaving together episodic stories about his experiences with cast members, a show's history, and occasional little tidbits about many of television's most beloved shows.
Burrows' directing history started in 1974 with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and included such classic favorites as "The Bob Newhart Show," "Laverne & Shirley," "The Betty White Show," "Rhoda," "Lou Grant," and others. It was with "Taxi" in 1978 that Burrows would truly become a household name and he would end up directing 75 episodes of the series. In 1982, Burrows co-created "Cheers" and over the course of the show's run would direct 237 episodes. While certainly not every show that Burrows directed would become a classic, the truth is there's likely no other name associated with so many television hits. Burrows was nominated for an Emmy Award in every year from 1980-2005 with the exception of 1997.
Astounding.
While true fans of Burrows and these shows will likely enjoy "Directed by James Burrows," the book struggles to find its literary voice as it neither really tells us that much about Burrows nor does it really delve more deeply into these television shows than most true fans have already explored. It's hard to imagine too many television fans truly learning that much from "Directed by James Burrows," though it's still enjoyable when Burrows shares his own thoughts, opinions, and experiences and occasionally does offer insider info about other actors/actresses who were considered for roles and glimpses into the people behind the characters.
As a fan of several of these series, however, I frequently found myself wanting more than Burrows was offering here. For a book stretched out to nearly 400 pages, I often felt like the material was being stretched as there are many occasions when Burrows will use an episode's dialogue to illustrate a point. These little clips of dialogue can be anything from a few lines to multiple pages, occasionally nostalgic in their presentation but also at times feeling unnecessary.
I wanted to learn more about Burrows himself and his television relationships over the years. While "Directed by James Burrows" offers glimpses, it seldom really offers enough depth that we feel like we can bond with Burrows and really understand how he became such an iconic director. Why was he different? While it's arguable that his heyday ended around 2005, he's continued directing up to 2000 and even post-2005 has served up memorable work on "Mike & Molly" and "The Millers" along with other shows.
"Directed by James Burrows" is certainly a decent enough read. I suppose I was just hoping for something as awesome and iconic as Burrows himself. Those who are less familiar with his shows will likely be more engaged here and Burrows himself certainly comes off as a likable, friendly host for all of these literary conversations.
If I could, I'd likely go for a 3.5 star but I just can't quite justify a 4.0. Suffice it to say that I appreciated my time with "Directed by James Burrows," but by the time the final pages arrived just like many television series I couldn't help but feel like perhaps it had overstayed its welcome.
Quite simply, it's almost impossible to think about sitcom television and not think about Burrows.
"Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories From the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More" is a journey through his professional history with a brief foray into his early years as the son of well-known composer/director/writer Abe Burrows and his time at Oberlin College.
"Directed by James Burrows" is not, however, an autobiography in any serious sense of the term. Instead, it is truly a journey through Burrows' history as a director with most chapters dedicated to his experiences on a particular series and nearly every chapter weaving together episodic stories about his experiences with cast members, a show's history, and occasional little tidbits about many of television's most beloved shows.
Burrows' directing history started in 1974 with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and included such classic favorites as "The Bob Newhart Show," "Laverne & Shirley," "The Betty White Show," "Rhoda," "Lou Grant," and others. It was with "Taxi" in 1978 that Burrows would truly become a household name and he would end up directing 75 episodes of the series. In 1982, Burrows co-created "Cheers" and over the course of the show's run would direct 237 episodes. While certainly not every show that Burrows directed would become a classic, the truth is there's likely no other name associated with so many television hits. Burrows was nominated for an Emmy Award in every year from 1980-2005 with the exception of 1997.
Astounding.
While true fans of Burrows and these shows will likely enjoy "Directed by James Burrows," the book struggles to find its literary voice as it neither really tells us that much about Burrows nor does it really delve more deeply into these television shows than most true fans have already explored. It's hard to imagine too many television fans truly learning that much from "Directed by James Burrows," though it's still enjoyable when Burrows shares his own thoughts, opinions, and experiences and occasionally does offer insider info about other actors/actresses who were considered for roles and glimpses into the people behind the characters.
As a fan of several of these series, however, I frequently found myself wanting more than Burrows was offering here. For a book stretched out to nearly 400 pages, I often felt like the material was being stretched as there are many occasions when Burrows will use an episode's dialogue to illustrate a point. These little clips of dialogue can be anything from a few lines to multiple pages, occasionally nostalgic in their presentation but also at times feeling unnecessary.
I wanted to learn more about Burrows himself and his television relationships over the years. While "Directed by James Burrows" offers glimpses, it seldom really offers enough depth that we feel like we can bond with Burrows and really understand how he became such an iconic director. Why was he different? While it's arguable that his heyday ended around 2005, he's continued directing up to 2000 and even post-2005 has served up memorable work on "Mike & Molly" and "The Millers" along with other shows.
"Directed by James Burrows" is certainly a decent enough read. I suppose I was just hoping for something as awesome and iconic as Burrows himself. Those who are less familiar with his shows will likely be more engaged here and Burrows himself certainly comes off as a likable, friendly host for all of these literary conversations.
If I could, I'd likely go for a 3.5 star but I just can't quite justify a 4.0. Suffice it to say that I appreciated my time with "Directed by James Burrows," but by the time the final pages arrived just like many television series I couldn't help but feel like perhaps it had overstayed its welcome.
August 8, 2022
I was excited to read this book since I am a sitcom fan from way back. However, it was a disappointing, stream of consciousness word salad. There were a few nuggets that were interesting, but otherwise it was a recitation of what he directed, when, who starred in it, and what the plots were of specific episodes. I was very surprised to see that he had help "writing" this.
September 22, 2022
Solid 3.5 stars. If you have been a fan of sitcoms for the past fifty years, chances are you've seen the words "Directed by James Burrows" flash across your television screen. James (or Jimmy, as his friends call him) is a very talented director and he has directed more American television and pilots than any other person I believe. It was very interesting getting a look at the way his upbringing (theater kid through and through) shaped how he directs, his interactions with big named stars over the decades (he is a big fan of both Ted Danson and Jennifer Aniston for example) and a behind the scenes look at what goes into making a tv show (hint: a lot of work).
The only thing I disliked was the big chunks of dialogue from various shows he sprinkled in each chapter. If I am already a fan of the show (and I expect I would be otherwise why would I have picked up this book?), I do not need a two- three page dialogue of certain scenes. It was interesting at first but I started skipping them towards the middle because it was too much repetitiveness. Give me more behind the scenes stories and less script dialogue! I did like his two chapters on Cheers (the Diane and the Rebecca years), his chapter on Friends and his chapter on Mike&Molly and Chuck Lorre because those are the shows I am most familiar with (Frasier is on my to watch list). He definitely is an icon treasure and a legendary director for sure. Glad I read this book but I do not see myself reading it again. Not really a need to read it more than once to be honest but wow, James Burrows sure has led a interesting life!
The only thing I disliked was the big chunks of dialogue from various shows he sprinkled in each chapter. If I am already a fan of the show (and I expect I would be otherwise why would I have picked up this book?), I do not need a two- three page dialogue of certain scenes. It was interesting at first but I started skipping them towards the middle because it was too much repetitiveness. Give me more behind the scenes stories and less script dialogue! I did like his two chapters on Cheers (the Diane and the Rebecca years), his chapter on Friends and his chapter on Mike&Molly and Chuck Lorre because those are the shows I am most familiar with (Frasier is on my to watch list). He definitely is an icon treasure and a legendary director for sure. Glad I read this book but I do not see myself reading it again. Not really a need to read it more than once to be honest but wow, James Burrows sure has led a interesting life!
March 9, 2022
This is more like a 3.5
I'd so been looking forward to this and was thrilled when I was accepted for an ARC, but ultimately came away somewhat disappointed. I'm an enormous Cheers fan and Burrows directed almost all of the episodes. But even a cursory reading of Cheers articles meant I knew everything that Burrows said about the show. There were no surprises. In fact, the entire book read as if it was ghostwritten by someone who interviewed Burrows maybe once or twice but otherwise used Google and handed in a long book report. That doesn't mean the book isn't interesting if you are into directing, TV, or the specific shows - Taxi, Cheers, Friends, Frasier, etc - that Burrows had a hand in, I was just hoping for more.
Thank you #NetGalley #JamesBurrows and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'd so been looking forward to this and was thrilled when I was accepted for an ARC, but ultimately came away somewhat disappointed. I'm an enormous Cheers fan and Burrows directed almost all of the episodes. But even a cursory reading of Cheers articles meant I knew everything that Burrows said about the show. There were no surprises. In fact, the entire book read as if it was ghostwritten by someone who interviewed Burrows maybe once or twice but otherwise used Google and handed in a long book report. That doesn't mean the book isn't interesting if you are into directing, TV, or the specific shows - Taxi, Cheers, Friends, Frasier, etc - that Burrows had a hand in, I was just hoping for more.
Thank you #NetGalley #JamesBurrows and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 11, 2022
Sadly, all I learned from this book is that James Burrows has a massive ego.
June 10, 2022
James Burrows, one of the most prolific and successful TV sitcom directors ever, presents a side-splittingly hilarious tell-all that is part memoir and part master class on working in television. His impressive résumé includes directing THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW (four episodes), THE BOB NEWHART SHOW (11 episodes), TAXI (75 episodes), CHEERS (243 episodes), FRASIER (32 episodes), FRIENDS (15 episodes), MIKE & MOLLY (49 episodes) and all 246 episodes of WILL & GRACE. "The hours of laughter that I got on WILL & GRACE added years to my life," he writes. He is also the go-to director for TV pilots, having directed more than 75 that were picked up as series.
Packed with hilarious dialogue and jokes from classic sitcoms, DIRECTED BY JAMES BURROWS is also brimming with sound advice for actors, directors and writers hoping to work in television. Burrows also fills the book with entertaining behind-the-scenes anecdotes. He succinctly explains why on The MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW spinoff, PHYLISS, Cloris Leachman's narcissistic and self-absorbed character didn't work as a lead role, while the writers of Cheers were able to rewrite and spin off FRASIER with a lead character possessing the same traits. After directing eight episodes, he turned down the role of primary director for LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, because he didn't like the tension and turmoil on the set. TAXI fans will delight in discovering that Danny DeVito took bribes from coworkers to announce the names of friends and family when dispatching cabs.
DIRECTED BY JAMES BURROWS is a treasure trove of brilliant advice, stories and uproarious routines from classic TV shows.
Packed with hilarious dialogue and jokes from classic sitcoms, DIRECTED BY JAMES BURROWS is also brimming with sound advice for actors, directors and writers hoping to work in television. Burrows also fills the book with entertaining behind-the-scenes anecdotes. He succinctly explains why on The MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW spinoff, PHYLISS, Cloris Leachman's narcissistic and self-absorbed character didn't work as a lead role, while the writers of Cheers were able to rewrite and spin off FRASIER with a lead character possessing the same traits. After directing eight episodes, he turned down the role of primary director for LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, because he didn't like the tension and turmoil on the set. TAXI fans will delight in discovering that Danny DeVito took bribes from coworkers to announce the names of friends and family when dispatching cabs.
DIRECTED BY JAMES BURROWS is a treasure trove of brilliant advice, stories and uproarious routines from classic TV shows.
July 19, 2022
boring book
July 15, 2026
With a book from the man who directed more than 1,000 episodes of sitcoms, including some of my all-time favorites, I was hoping for a little more inside baseball. Ultimately I was most interested in his background and training that got him to the TV director’s chair—his first gig was on a sitcom acme, The Mary Tyler Moore Show—and his chapter “Behind the Scenes, More Favorite People, and Near Misses,” containing insights you can’t get elsewhere and a dissection on projects that didn’t work out. I ate up creative details like how he liked his sets to have not only different levels but also pillars. I guess to some people the stories behind casting Cheers and Friends are new. Not having watched Mike & Molly, Will & Grace, or The Big Bang Theory, my interest flagged as he went beyond the mid-90s. But, again, I’m sure many readers will better enjoy those sections.
Burrows avoids grinding axes and is fleetingly diplomatic when it comes to the many conflicts he must’ve faced over his fifty-year teevee career. “Shelly (Long) was never the easiest to work with,” “(Helen Baxendale on Friends) was nice but not particularly funny,” and “Rob (Schneider) was neither sweet nor did he know how to play a sweet character” are about as much as he dishes dirt. (Oh! And Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams’s relationship on Laverne & Shirley was “acrimonious” and “the four creators (of Taxi) started brushing up against one another, and we had to work around their internal friction.”)
I’ll take what I can get from James Burrows. Now that he’s gone maybe we’ll get a deeper dive into the professional biography of the guy with the best résumé in television history.
Burrows avoids grinding axes and is fleetingly diplomatic when it comes to the many conflicts he must’ve faced over his fifty-year teevee career. “Shelly (Long) was never the easiest to work with,” “(Helen Baxendale on Friends) was nice but not particularly funny,” and “Rob (Schneider) was neither sweet nor did he know how to play a sweet character” are about as much as he dishes dirt. (Oh! And Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams’s relationship on Laverne & Shirley was “acrimonious” and “the four creators (of Taxi) started brushing up against one another, and we had to work around their internal friction.”)
I’ll take what I can get from James Burrows. Now that he’s gone maybe we’ll get a deeper dive into the professional biography of the guy with the best résumé in television history.
July 2, 2026
I love well-written memoirs & autobiographies read by their subject/writer!
Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More needs must be added to this canon!
The sadness of James Burrows’ death last week was tempered a bit by multiple writers, directors, and actors all strongly recommending Burrows’ memoir, especially with him reading/narrating the tale of his phenomenal television career.
The sections discussing Taxi, Cheers, and Frasier really sing with backstage & off-camera insight. Burrows, while straight, is a complete mensch and honorary member of the LGBTQIA+ community for his work on “Will and Grace.” (I also love the philosophy backstory on those two characters’ names!)
Burrows has more than a few quotes, and he's consistently humble and gracious in attributing the source. For instance, he confirms it was Garry Marshall who once referred to "television network executives as people who aren't funny who are telling people who ARE funny what to do."
Burrows offer this practical requirement for being in a [television] "writer's room, you must have a great memory for movies, theater, television, books, and other social & cultural references that you can draw on. In that environment, you're pitching suggestions like 'why can't we do this scene from Citizen Kane, only twist it a little bit? The variation on the theme is what great writing, particularly great sitcom writing, is all about."
Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More needs must be added to this canon!
The sadness of James Burrows’ death last week was tempered a bit by multiple writers, directors, and actors all strongly recommending Burrows’ memoir, especially with him reading/narrating the tale of his phenomenal television career.
The sections discussing Taxi, Cheers, and Frasier really sing with backstage & off-camera insight. Burrows, while straight, is a complete mensch and honorary member of the LGBTQIA+ community for his work on “Will and Grace.” (I also love the philosophy backstory on those two characters’ names!)
Burrows has more than a few quotes, and he's consistently humble and gracious in attributing the source. For instance, he confirms it was Garry Marshall who once referred to "television network executives as people who aren't funny who are telling people who ARE funny what to do."
Burrows offer this practical requirement for being in a [television] "writer's room, you must have a great memory for movies, theater, television, books, and other social & cultural references that you can draw on. In that environment, you're pitching suggestions like 'why can't we do this scene from Citizen Kane, only twist it a little bit? The variation on the theme is what great writing, particularly great sitcom writing, is all about."
December 28, 2024
It tries to pack in an enormous amount of material: personal biography, history of sitcoms, methods of television direction, observations on popular culture...and sometimes it's almost too top-heavy as a result. There are also a few too many script excerpts -- this is when the book falls into writing analysis mode. All of these are fine on their own, but together it almost causes the book to explode...almost. That it not only holds together but is a fast-paced, enjoyable read, is no doubt an all-around testament to James Burrows' skill as a director.
October 5, 2023
A great How to book on directing sitcoms…some interesting anecdotes but a vanilla walk down memory lane…
p.s Jim when Joe Biden told you he was walking down a Delaware St. in 1955 as. a 12 year old with his dad and he saw two men kissing and he asked his working class father who came of age before the depression, what that was, and joes father said it was love and Joe needed to get over it…
…that was lie..it never happened..
p.s Jim when Joe Biden told you he was walking down a Delaware St. in 1955 as. a 12 year old with his dad and he saw two men kissing and he asked his working class father who came of age before the depression, what that was, and joes father said it was love and Joe needed to get over it…
…that was lie..it never happened..
September 20, 2022
Directed by James Burrows was a good book. The book told the story of James burrows who directed such sitcoms as cheers , will and grace and the Mary Tyler Moore show. I found it very informative.
February 18, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed this book written by the Director Extraordinaire of the American sitcom. I adored Cheers, Frasier, Mike and Molly, Friends and Will and Grace and James Burrows was the beloved director of all of them. What a fascinating behind the scenes look.
March 19, 2024
Fun read, love the bts of all the shows he directed. But this was more of a “how to be a director” kind of book than a memoir.
November 2, 2022
Another Hollywood memoir “in the books” (pun for my 3 Goodreads friends), this time from the director of Cheers, Friends, Will & Grace, and much more. Always interested in any snapshot and tidbit about this industry, especially from hitmakers. What a dream to be directed by Jim Burrows…
June 27, 2023
Super enjoyable and interesting deep dive into some of the most iconic shows and actors. Really enjoyed and made me want to watch Cheers and Will & Grace all the way through!
November 16, 2023
Absolutely stuffed with wisdom and lessons in comedy from the single greatest television director of all time. A must-read for anyone working in TV, and a huge recommend for anyone who can recall the joy of watching a beloved sitcom.
August 26, 2022
OMG, I read this fascinating book in two days. If you want to know what directors and writers do and how they collaborate with actors on sitcoms, get this book! If you’re a fan of The Mary Tyler Moore Show or any of the sitcoms mentioned above, you will get a kick out of James Burrows’ anecdotes. How did those sitcoms get developed? What changes occurred? This is a really enjoyable read.
July 5, 2022
2.5
I thought this book was a little poorly written and although I learned a couple of pieces of information I didn't know before, I didn't find it to be the nostalgic journey of a book that I was looking for.
I thought this book was a little poorly written and although I learned a couple of pieces of information I didn't know before, I didn't find it to be the nostalgic journey of a book that I was looking for.
June 19, 2022
This book is not only a tribute to the golden age of sitcoms but also a tribute to the art form that the sitcom truly is
October 4, 2022
Ladies, find someone who loves you as much as James Burrows loves James Burrows.
August 20, 2022
"In a sea of danishes, I get a bagel." —Burrows's comment on finally being allowed to direct an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show ("Neighbors") in the fifth season, only to find out that the script was lacking. He turned a poor script into a decent episode and got a lot more work on many shows as a result.
James Burrows has a specialized job: he directs sitcoms. (He directed one movie and didn't like the whole process.) Burrows is generous with credit, especially to writers and actors. He praises "Teddy" Danson to the skies and is complimentary to most of the other people he mentions. However, he gives mixed reviews to Shelley Long (very talented and a great "center" for the show but sometimes difficult to work with) and Dave Foley (funny but not a "center" and unable to play a romantic lead). The only person he is completely negative about is Rob Schneider. I didn't even know that guy had a sitcom, but he did (with Cheech Marin!), and it lasted one season. Burrows loved working on Friends and said it's the only show he knows of that has five "centers"—five actors who can each carry an entire series. Burrows contends that he is the one who advised the Friends cast to negotiate their contracts and salaries together so that executives would have a more difficult time pitting them against one another.
James Burrows has a specialized job: he directs sitcoms. (He directed one movie and didn't like the whole process.) Burrows is generous with credit, especially to writers and actors. He praises "Teddy" Danson to the skies and is complimentary to most of the other people he mentions. However, he gives mixed reviews to Shelley Long (very talented and a great "center" for the show but sometimes difficult to work with) and Dave Foley (funny but not a "center" and unable to play a romantic lead). The only person he is completely negative about is Rob Schneider. I didn't even know that guy had a sitcom, but he did (with Cheech Marin!), and it lasted one season. Burrows loved working on Friends and said it's the only show he knows of that has five "centers"—five actors who can each carry an entire series. Burrows contends that he is the one who advised the Friends cast to negotiate their contracts and salaries together so that executives would have a more difficult time pitting them against one another.
May 2, 2023
If you like listening to an older man enthuse about sitcoms for 12 hours, have I got the book for you! James Burrows reads his own memoir, which is 40% "here's how I did it and I'd do it again the same way" and 40% "we worked with the greatest actors, writers, directors, photographers, grips, etc., etc., etc., they were all so lovely" and 20% direct quotes from the TV shows Burrows directed.
It's repetitive and overstuffed with praise, but it's also very real and very satisfying. It's a big marshmallow hug of a book. Sitcoms are designed to bring people together, to be short and sweet and smart. Burrows takes his career as a sitcom director seriously. He's not directing sitcoms when he'd rather be directing Oscar winners or Broadway shows. He's directing sitcoms because they're important.
If nothing else, Directed by James Burrows will make you want to watch some, if not all, of the sitcoms he directed. Like, immediately.
A note on the audiobook: Burrows reads it and, for the first few hours at least, you can realllllly tell he's just reading what's written on the page. It's monotone and bland - sleepy reading. After a while, you either get used to it or he picks up some excitement (I'm not sure which, really). If you can make it over the hump, this is a decent listen.
It's repetitive and overstuffed with praise, but it's also very real and very satisfying. It's a big marshmallow hug of a book. Sitcoms are designed to bring people together, to be short and sweet and smart. Burrows takes his career as a sitcom director seriously. He's not directing sitcoms when he'd rather be directing Oscar winners or Broadway shows. He's directing sitcoms because they're important.
If nothing else, Directed by James Burrows will make you want to watch some, if not all, of the sitcoms he directed. Like, immediately.
A note on the audiobook: Burrows reads it and, for the first few hours at least, you can realllllly tell he's just reading what's written on the page. It's monotone and bland - sleepy reading. After a while, you either get used to it or he picks up some excitement (I'm not sure which, really). If you can make it over the hump, this is a decent listen.
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