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IMDbPro

Alan Poul

  • Producer
  • Director
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Alan Poul
Alan Poul is an American film and television producer and director with a long and distinguished record. Among the shows on which he has served as both Executive Producer and Director are "Six Feet Under," "The Newsroom," "Tales of the City," "Swingtown," and "The Eddy." Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Producers Guild Awards, three Peabody Awards, and six GLAAD Awards. Other television producing credits include "My So-Called Life" (Producer), "MotherFatherSon" (Executive Producer), "The Pacific Century" (Producer, Emmy Award), and "Westworld" (Consulting Producer, Season 1). Additional television directing credits include "Rome," "Big Love," "Grace and Frankie," "The Big C," and the pilots for "GCB" and "Perception." In 2003 he was nominated for both the DGA Award and the Directing Emmy for the "Nobody Sleeps" episode of "Six Feet Under."

Prominent in his television work has been his long association with author Armistead Maupin, resulting in his producing all four miniseries based on Maupin's "Tales of the City" books, including the most recent iteration which aired on Netflix in 2019.

On the feature side, Poul's producing credits include Paul Schrader's "Mishima," Ridley Scott's "Black Rain," Bernard Rose's "Candyman," Scott Winant's "Til There Was You," Jean-Marc Vallée's "Los Locos," Skip Woods' "Thursday," and Fina Torres' "Woman on Top." He made his feature directing debut in 2010 with "The Back-up Plan," starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin.

Poul graduated from Yale University with a degree in Japanese Language and Literature, which led to his involvement in "Mishima" and "Black Rain." He is currently (2020) revisiting his Japanese roots as Executive Producer and director of HBO Max's upcoming "Tokyo Vice." He serves on the Boards of Directors of Film Independent and Playwrights Horizons, and on the International Outreach Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Previous board service includes The Producers Guild of America, Outfest, and GLAAD.
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    • Nominated for 7 Primetime Emmys
      • 3 wins & 13 nominations total

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    Known for

    Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodríguez, Frances Conroy, Rachel Griffiths, Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, and Mathew St. Patrick in Six Feet Under (2001)
    Six Feet Under
    8.7
    TV Series
    • Producer
    Tales of the City (2019)
    Tales of the City
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Producer
    Joanna Kulig and André Holland in The Eddy (2020)
    The Eddy
    7.1
    TV Mini Series
    • Producer
    Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom (2012)
    The Newsroom
    8.6
    TV Series
    • Producer

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Producer



    • The Dealer
      • executive producer
      • Pre-production
      • TV Series



    • Rinko Kikuchi, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Ansel Elgort, and Shô Kasamatsu in Tokyo Vice (2022)
      Tokyo Vice
      8.1
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2022–2024
    • Joanna Kulig and André Holland in The Eddy (2020)
      The Eddy
      7.1
      TV Mini Series
      • executive producer
      • 2020
    • Tales of the City (2019)
      Tales of the City
      7.4
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2019
    • MotherFatherSon (2019)
      MotherFatherSon
      6.8
      TV Mini Series
      • executive producer
      • 2019
    • Codes of Conduct (2016)
      Codes of Conduct
      5.3
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2016
    • Westworld (2016)
      Westworld
      8.4
      TV Series
      • consulting producer
      • 2016
    • Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom (2012)
      The Newsroom
      8.6
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2012–2014
    • Perception (2012)
      Perception
      7.5
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2012
    • GCB (2012)
      GCB
      7.1
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2012
    • Molly Parker, Lana Parrilla, and Miriam Shor in Swingtown (2008)
      Swingtown
      7.6
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2008
    • The Walker (2007)
      The Walker
      5.8
      • associate producer
      • 2007
    • Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodríguez, Frances Conroy, Rachel Griffiths, Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, and Mathew St. Patrick in Six Feet Under (2001)
      Six Feet Under
      8.7
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • associate producer
      • co-executive producer
      • 2001–2005
    • Further Tales of the City (2001)
      Further Tales of the City
      7.6
      TV Mini Series
      • executive producer
      • 2001
    • Penélope Cruz in Woman on Top (2000)
      Woman on Top
      5.3
      • producer
      • 2000
    • Thursday (1998)
      Thursday
      7.1
      • producer
      • 1998

    Director



    • Rinko Kikuchi, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Ansel Elgort, and Shô Kasamatsu in Tokyo Vice (2022)
      Tokyo Vice
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2022–2024
    • Joanna Kulig and André Holland in The Eddy (2020)
      The Eddy
      7.1
      TV Mini Series
      • Director
      • 2020
    • Tales of the City (2019)
      Tales of the City
      7.4
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2019
    • Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Grace and Frankie (2015)
      Grace and Frankie
      8.2
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2018
    • World's End (2016)
      World's End
      TV Movie
      • Director
      • 2016
    • Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom (2012)
      The Newsroom
      8.6
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2012–2014
    • Modern Love
      6.6
      TV Movie
      • Director
      • 2012
    • Perception (2012)
      Perception
      7.5
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2012
    • GCB (2012)
      GCB
      7.1
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2012
    • Laura Linney in The Big C (2010)
      The Big C
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2010
    • Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin in The Back-up Plan (2010)
      The Back-up Plan
      5.3
      • Director
      • 2010
    • Molly Parker, Lana Parrilla, and Miriam Shor in Swingtown (2008)
      Swingtown
      7.6
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2008
    • Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin in Big Love (2006)
      Big Love
      7.7
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2006–2007
    • Rome (2005)
      Rome
      8.7
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2005–2007
    • Pink Collar
      7.0
      TV Movie
      • Director
      • 2006

    Actor



    • Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodríguez, Frances Conroy, Rachel Griffiths, Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, and Mathew St. Patrick in Six Feet Under (2001)
      Six Feet Under
      8.7
      TV Series
      • Wedding Guest (uncredited)
      • 2005
    • Penélope Cruz in Woman on Top (2000)
      Woman on Top
      5.3
      • Suit
      • 2000
    • Witch Hunt (1994)
      Witch Hunt
      5.5
      TV Movie
      • Senator's Aide
      • 1994
    • Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett in Light of Day (1987)
      Light of Day
      5.6
      • Cashier (as Alan Mark Poul)
      • 1987
    • Ken Ogata in Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
      Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
      7.9
      • American Reporter (as Alan Mark Poul)
      • 1985

    Videos1

    The Back-up Plan
    Featurette 3:34
    The Back-up Plan

    Personal details

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    • Alternative name
      • Alan Mark Poul

    Did you know

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    • Quotes
      What happens in America is if a film cannot get an R-rating, most multiplexes will not show it. HBO will show anything. They won't show hard-core sex, but there's no private entity like the MPAA that tells them what they can and cannot show. So shows like Tell Me You Love Me, for instance -- is that on here? That aired last summer in the States. It was about three couples in sex therapy. It shows them having sex and it's very graphic. And the images of sexuality in that show would clearly get an NC-17 if it was shown in theaters, but they can show it on TV.

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